Color in Chinese culture
Color in Chinese culture refers to the various colors that are considered auspicious (吉利) or inauspicious (不利). The Chinese character combination for the word for color is 顏色 (yánsè). In ancient China, the character 色, generally used alone, more accurately meant color in the face, or emotion (often implying sexual desire or desirability). During the Tang Dynasty, yánsè began to refer to all color. The Chinese idiom “wǔ (five) yán liù (six) sè,” which is used to describe many colors, may also suggest colors in general.
Arts
Different forms of art have swayed under the influence of great philosophers, teachers, religious figures and even political figures. Chinese art encompasses all facets of fine art, folk art and performance art. Porcelain pottery was one of the first forms of art in the Palaeolithic period. Early Chinese music and poetry was influenced by the Book of Songs, and the Chinese poet and statesman Qu Yuan.
Chinese painting became a highly appreciated art in court circles encompassing a wide variety of Shan shui with specialized styles such as Ming Dynasty painting. Early Chinese music was based on percussion instruments, which later gave away to stringed and reed instruments. By the Han dynasty papercutting became a new art form after the invention of paper. Chinese opera would also be introduced and branched regionally in additional to other performance formats such as variety arts.
Literature
Chinese literature began with record keeping and divination on Oracle Bones. The extensive collection of books that have been preserved since the Zhou Dynasty demonstrate just how advanced the intellectuals were at one time. Indeed, the era of the Zhou Dynasty is often looked to as the touchstone of Chinese cultural development. The Five Cardinal Points are the foundation for almost all major studies. Concepts covered within the Chinese classic texts present a wide range of subjects including poetry, astrology, astronomy, calendar, constellations and many others. Some of the most important early texts include I Ching and Shujing within the Four Books and Five Classics. Many Chinese concepts such as Yin and Yang, Qi, Four Pillars of Destiny in relation to heaven and earth were all theorized in the dynastic periods.
The Song Dynasty was also a period of great scientific literature, and saw the creation of works such as Su Song‘s Xin Yixiang Fayao and Shen Kuo‘s Dream Pool Essays. There were also enormous works of historiography and large encyclopedias, such as Sima Guang‘s Zizhi Tongjian of 1084 AD or the Four Great Books of Song fully compiled and edited by the 11th century. Notable confucianists, taoists and scholars of all classes have made significant contributions to and from documenting history to authoring saintly concepts that seem hundred of years ahead of time. Many novels such as Four Great Classical Novels spawned countless fictional stories. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese culture would embark on a new era with written vernacular Chinese for the common citizens. Hu Shih and Lu Xun would be pioneers in modern literature.
RELATED LINKS
China the Beautiful
Old and new Taoism – Windsor Castle
I CHING PHILOSOPHY Chinese Laws of Creativity and Wisdom
Dao De Jing translated by James Legge
Dao De Jing – Tao Te Ching – The English Text on Windsor Castle
— for educational purposes only
Theory of the Five Elements
In traditional Chinese art and culture, black, red, qing (a conflation of the idea of green and blue sometimes called “grue“), white and yellow are viewed as standard colors. These colors correspond to the five elements of water, fire, wood, metal and earth, taught in traditional Chinese physics. Throughout the Shang, Tang, Zhou and Qin dynasties, China’s emperors used the Theory of the Five Elements to select colors.
| Element | Wood | Fire | Earth | Metal | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Color | Green | Red | Yellow | White | Black |
| Direction | east | south | center | west | north |
| Planet | Jupiter | Mars | Saturn | Venus | Mercury |
| Heavenly creature | Azure Dragon 青龍 |
Vermilion Bird 朱雀 |
Yellow Dragon 黃龍 |
White Tiger 白虎 |
Black Tortoise 玄武 |
| Heavenly Stems | 甲, 乙 | 丙, 丁 | 戊, 己 | 庚, 辛 | 壬, 癸 |
| Phase | New Yang | Full Yang | Yin/Yang balance | New Yin | Full Yin |
| Energy | Generative | Expansive | Stabilizing | Contracting | Conserving |
| Season | Spring | Summer | Change of seasons (Every third month) |
Autumn | Winter |
| Climate | Windy | Hot | Damp | Dry | Cold |
| Development | Sprouting | Blooming | Ripening | Withering | Dormant |
| Livestock | dog | sheep/goat | cattle | chicken | pig |
| Fruit | plum | apricot | jujube | peach | chestnut |
| Grain | wheat | beans | rice | hemp | millet |
Art :: Beauty Expressed 