The Symbolic Meanings of Colors Between China free essay sample

The Symbolic Meanings of Colors Between China and Western Countries Abstract: This bright world is rich in colors. When people are enjoying the beautiful scenery of nature, they create many words to express what they have seen, the so- called colors. People formed a rich association about colors for different colors have different meanings, or symbolic meanings. The associated meanings of color words are the result of mapping from one domain to another. Because of the common sense shared by the people and their similar way of thinking, people with different cultural background are almost the same in perception and taste. That is to say, the symbolic meanings of colors have many points in common. While because of the differences in customs, environment, ways of thinking, religious beliefs and nationalities, color words are inevitably endowed with their differences in symbolism. This paper aims to present the differences of color symbolic meanings between China and western countries and explore the reasons that lead to the differences. We will write a custom essay sample on The Symbolic Meanings of Colors Between China or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Conclusion 14 References 15 Introduction From a scientific definition, color is a visual phenomenon caused by transmission, reflection or light waves of objects. It is a basic human visual characteristic. Color is a perception of human beings to the objective world, and whether in nature or in social life, there are a variety of colors. The so-called beautiful world, colorful life can xplain that peoples real life is closely related to colors and people are living in a world filled with various colors. The founder of modern abstract art, Wassily Kandinsky, pointed out that the color directly had an impact on the spirit (Wassily, 2001: 213). In human language, there exist a large number of records of symbols of colors † the color words. These words are often used in the language, so it has rich emotional and cultural connotations, and their unique charms are very We must not only observe the basic meaning of the color words, impressive. but also pay more attention to their deeper symbolic meanings. In art and anthropology, color symbolism refers to the use of colors as symbols throughout a culture. In cross-cultural communication, because of different nationalities, different cultural backgrounds or different religions and beliefs, even among the same people of the same culture but belonging to different social groups, different social classes or different educational levels, the perception of various colors is not always the same. Color symbolism in different cultures owns different characteristics and some of the characteristics even have been extended and transferred to specific respects nd taboos. China lies thousands of miles far away from the Western countries, and the geographic location, natural phenomenon, historical background, national values, religion, and traditional custom enhance the difference between China and Western countries in color symbolism. This paper aims at introducing the similarities and differences of colors in Chinese and Western cultures, exploring the reasons for different color symbolism, with a purpose to avoid international communicative failures caused by this factor. The thesis falls into six parts. nformation and the generation and aim of the paper. Chapter two shows the similar symbolic meaning of color words in China and Western cultures from some basic color terms, including red, green, black, etc. Chapter three illustrates the different symbolic meanings of color words in China and Western cultures on the different colors, such as red, yellow, white, etc. Chapter four analyses the reasons for different symbolic meanings of color words in C hina and western cultures through three aspects: different values, different religions and different customs. Chapter five lists some communicative failures caused by misunderstanding of symbolic meanings of color words. Chapter six finally come to a conclusion that the study on the symbolic meaning of colors between China and western countries can help enhance cross-culture communication, promote and strengthen cultural exchanges and integration between people. The Similar Symbolic Meanings of Color Words in China and Western Culture Since human being are derived from the same species, thus to some extent, except the different conditions, all the humans are born with the same perception of objects. Accordingly, similar symbolic meaning of color words exists in both Chinese and Western cultures. 2. 1 Red Red is the strongest one of all kinds of colors to peoples eyes and brains. Red is the favorite and the most important color for Chinese people. It stands for Chinese basic cultural color and represents the Chinese material and spiritual pursuit. It is said that the positive symbolic meaning of red was spread far from east Persia to the western cultures. Now, red is related to festive days and celebrations to express a warm, cheerful, enthusiastic, passionate and enthusiastic spirit in both China and the west. Chinese matchmaker who manages to arrange a good marriage is called *1iR. Chinese people always cut red couplets, stick the red on the walls or doors and hang red lanterns to celebrate the New Year. In the west, red-letter has been applied to be an adjective word in the early 1 5th century. At that time, important Christian festivals and other days related to saints were marked in red on the calendar. In the 18th century, the non-religious also employed red-letter days as significant moments, such as the day of birth, the day of promotion, and the day of wedding anniversary. (Zhang, 2007: 69) Also, to roll out the red carpet for somebody is to welcome a person in high station with courtesy and deference. painting the town red refers to carnival and festivals. From the emotional point of view, the red color, both in the East and the West, can be extended to express the excitement, emotion, shyness, anger and other emotional states. For example, in Chinese, we have and fiÐ’Â ±1â₠¬Å¾fi which refers to anger and anguish. And in English there are also phrases see red and like a red rag to a bull used when a person becomes angry or annoyed. 2. Green In China, green is also a favored color after red. It reminds people of the start of spring with sunny days, luxuriant vegetation and vigorous signs of life. It is color of ood in ancient five Chinese elements, metal, wood, water, fire and earth. (Han negative meaning both in China and in the western countries. Green gives people the sense of natures harmony and tranquility and stands for wish and hope. The great Chinese poet of Tang Dynasty Li Bai used in his poem gog ¶% to symbolize spring. From that, the most dynamic stage of life is called  ¤ the youth, and this period of time is the adolescence. The scholars earned a lot of respect from people in China, so they were addressed respectfully as  ¤i9 and  ¤Ã‚ ¤ (Xie Haihong Zhang Liping, 2006: 96). In English, in the green eans one is in his vitality and green old age for one is old but vigorous. Green in keep the memory green and the green wound both express the newness in color symbolism. The green traffic light indicates permission of moving forward. Whats more, because green is the color of grass and trees, it is the best cover color of the ground troops; it represents army. Nevertheless, the negative meanings of green are as many as the positive ones. With the social changes in ancient China, feudal hierarchy brings negative sense to green. It was once color of poverty. and are symbols of officials who were too Junior (Chen Weibin, 2005: 36). We have a saying which describes a husband or a wife find his or her another half betray him or her. It is an expression of envy. Correspondingly, green also has bad meaning in English. It has connotations such as being Jealous, childish and ill- trained. For example, a green hand means a novelty who lacks experience; as green as grass indicates someone is naive and childish; a green eye is the Jealous eyes. . 3 Black At the beginning of primitive time, human beings were afraid of nights, because there was no light, and people were surrounded by darkness. Therefore, people naturally have a fear of black. As a consequence, color affects peoples physiology and life, and moreover the culture. In Chinese and western cultures, black symbolizes death, suffering and grief. Generally in the Chinese t raditional psychology people relate black to bad things, which are dark, evil and treacherous. And also black was conferred with illegal and ominous meaning. In the west, black is the dead color. It is the basic taboo in western culture. The symbolic meaning of black in Chinese culture is closely related to Chinese traditional five elements theory. Green in the east is for spring, red in the south for summer, white in the west for fall, and black in he north for winter. For example, *iF, refers to bandits, the behavior they act and the language they speak. And also *E reminds people of hostels robbery which often happens (Collier, 1973: 246) . The symbolic meaning of black in western culture is affected by western traditional painting art. Painters in ancient Rome and Greek applied their religions to the colors of works. Black is the embodiment of hell, sin, death and disaster. After 911, people call that day black letter day and black 911. In English, some phrases have completely equivalent meaning and form with Chinese sayings, such as black market *fi, lack hand black sheep Ifi+ and so on. 2. 4 Other Colors There are many other colors which share the same meaning between Chinese culture and western culture. Purple in ancient China is the symbol of imperial family. The forbidden city in Chinese is and is a propitious omen. In the west, purple is beloved by royal family. In ancient Rome, the purple clothes is a color without characteristics. A grey day, grey prospect of success and grey list are not good phrases. They all express the dooming and unclear meaning. Grey area means an area of a subject or situation that is not clear or does not fit into a articular group and is therefore difficult to define or deal with (Berlin, Kay, 1969: Pink is a color of woman. Chinese poet Cui Hu wrote the poem 204). e† I. He compared girls to peach blossoms, because girls liked to adorn themselves with pink rouge. In English, Pink-collar workers are connected to women who take govern, nurse or secretary for work. The Different Symbolic Meanings of Color Words Color symbols are culturally constructed linkages that vary with time, place, and history. Therefore, one color may perform very different symbolic functions in different cultures. 3. 1 Red Red in China and in the west presents different symbolic meaning, which is the most significant one among the color words. In English history, red is not a very good word. It is the association of the fire, blood, and it symbolizes cruelty, war, violence, revolution. Some Westerners take red as an evil omen or a sign for danger. The red flag that bullfghters use to provoke bulls is considered annoying. Red is used as a symbol of guilty, sin and anger. It is often connected with blood or sex. A Biblical example is found in Isaiah: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Also, The Scarlet Letter, an American novel of 1850s written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, features a woman in a Puritan New England community who is punished for adultery with ostracism. Her sin is represented by a red letter A sewn into her clothes. (Han, 2003: 137) This all comes from a general Hebrew view inherited by Christianity which associates red with the blood of murder, as well as with guilty in general. Often, red means to fear or scare. Another popular example of this is in the phrase caught red-handed, meaning either caught in an act of crime or caught with the blood of murder still on ones hands. Red is also associated with prostitutes, or now, with re d-light districts which we called 41XJX. 3. 2 White Contrast to red, white is a taboo word in Chinese culture, reflecting Chinese peoples material and spiritual rejection and disgust. (Heider, 1971 : 450) White is a pale and lifeless color with a symbol of death and ominousness. From the ancient time, after the death of a family members, g* is need to be done. Later, it is added with the meaning of failure in military. For example, the lost party in the war hold †° bR. And, it symbolizes illiteracy in education, such as the uneducated people are alled Weibin, 2005: 39). It is added with the meaning of corruption, reactionary and degeneration in politics, like what so-called But in English culture, symbolic meaning of white is like its literally meaning of this word. In the eyes of westerners, white is a pure and elegant color. So, what the color of white to English is what the color of red to Chinese. This taboo word in Chinese is popular in foreign wedding ceremony. White indicates purity and innocence, such as a white soul (pure), white wedding. It also means integrity and honesty, such as a white spirit as one of the white days of somebodys life. 3. 3 Yellow In ancient China, yellow is a color of holiness, nobleness and power. It is a variation from the color of red. In ancient time, people named the good days as *E. In politics, yellow used to indicate the power of central government and the majesty of king so that the color of yellow was exclusive to the feudal emperors with the expressions as embodying a kind of superiority and dignity of Royalty (Wang Yiyin, 2006: 168). However, with the change of social customs, the original meaning of yellow varies a lot. Unlike Chinese culture, the word of yellow in English reminds us the color of Judas clothes, who betrayed Jesus. (Yu Ting, 2008: 120) As a result, yellow is not such a good word in English. It usually means being melancholy, morbid, nasty and timid, such as yellow-dog refers to mean people, and yellow-belly to coward. New York Journal uses yellow ink to print gutter comics to earn circulation. So people call these unhealthy publications yellow press. 3. 4 Other Colors Blue is the color of the sea and the sky. In China, it is used to symbolize the peaceful mood. But in the western culture, blue usually gives people a sense of doom and depression. That he is in a blue mood means he is depressed and in a low mood. The blues is a kind of music of the dark, slow and sad, which is full of emotion. Besides, blue refers toa noble man and a noble birth, like blue blood. The blue ribbon is the highest award for the winner of competition. The blue room is not the room which is painted blue, but the guest-room in the White house, in which the president meets his close relations and friends. Also blue possesses negative meaning of being dirty and pornography. The blue film and the blue talk both embodies the meaning of yellow in Chinese culture. The blue revolution is regarded as the openness of sex (Zhao Chaoyong, 2010: 147). The Reasons for Different Symbolic Meanings of Color Words in China and Western Countries Color is a main aspect of our lives, so it is important for us to understand color terms truly and thoroughly. The difference between Chinese and Western worlds may confuse us in distinguishing the symbolic meanings of colors, but to keep the reasons that cause the differences in mind, we can not only interpret the terms themselves, but also the roots. 4. 1 Different Values People Judge others or things, such as beauty and ugliness, firstly by vision. Color of vision plays a critical role in criteria. But in the different culture background, the values of colors vary so much. 4. 1. 1 From Aesthetics Aspect Different nations have different aesthetics standards. The ethnic minority in the west of Vietnam has the custom of black dyed teeth, and the more black the teeth are, the more beautiful they are. Similarly, women in Mali, Africa people regard black as a lucky color. They use something called henna leaves to dye their feet and gums, and also the palms. Boys will take the girls skill of dyeing into consideration when they find their Ms. Right. But in Mozambique, also located in Africa, people prefer white as the beauty. Girls put flour on the faces which is made from a bread tree to make their skin white. For women, Chinese has the tradition aesthetic fond of dark their skin by sunbathing or other means Oiang, 2002: 60). 4. 1. 2 From Taboo Aspect The differences of perception of colors are shown by taboo. People from varied cultures have diverse taboos. Japanese, because of their religion of Buddhism, take green as a color of evil. Green is the symbol of courage and fght, the way of Asura which is abandoned by Buddhism. (Zhang Zhenhua, 2007: 81) In Belgium, blue reminds people of bad fortune, and blue is the color of Satan. Red is not favored, because after people die, the words about the funeral is written in red. Egypt, Ethiopia, and Brazil dislike yellow, and yellow is a bad omen to people. In France, the yellow flower is a symbol of unloyalty. The Irish can not accept blue-white things, for the reason that the national flag of Britain is blue and white. The Spanish hate brown for its bad symbolic meaning of disaster. In western countries, black is a color of funerals, so it is not applied to decorate bedrooms. Similar to the tradition of western countries, black and white are colors of funerals in China. nd †°% ¤ are he representatives of hell, so black and white somehow are taboo colors for Chinese. 4. 2 Different Religions It is universally known that most Chinese are either Buddhist or Taoist, while most of the western countries are Christian. Different religions exert influences on most part of the culture. 4. 2. 1 From Buddhism Aspect There are six realms of samsara in Buddhism. Accordin g to the legend, six realms of samsara is the way of reincarnation of living beings. Six realms of samsara can be divided into three good paths and three evil paths. The three good paths include gods, men and asuras. And the three evil paths embody animals, hungry ghosts and the hell. In six realms of samsara, white represents anatta, the way of heaven; yellow stands for love, good kind and the way of human; red is on behalf of greed, the way of evil; blue symbolizes the erotic keenness of sex, the way of animal. Green is the symbol of courage and fight, the way of asura; black is the color of sin and wrath, the way of sinking hell (Luo Shiping, 2007: 96-102). Another important color in Buddhism is yellow. Yellow is the color among five strict colors in Buddhism: blue, yellow, red, white and black. Yellow is the color of Buddhism. Buddhism is originated in India. People from the lowest class wear yellow clothes in the age of Sakyamuni. Therefore, the Buddhas choice to wear yellow clothes is the expression of simplicity. Future generations worship the Buddha, so yellow becomes the most distinguished color. People from Buddhist countries now look yellow as the color of the super world free from vulgarity and symbolizing unlimited power of Buddha. 4. 2. 2 From Christianity Aspect Christianity in the west is a religion of symbolism. Color is applied as an object. Most of the color meanings are affected by Christian comprehension. White symbolizes God, pure, soul, innocence, and life; gold possesses the meaning of sovereign, and confessor, while the same meaning of sun, love, wisdom and dignity; red, on one hand, represents the love of God and the blood of Jesus, and on the other hand, it embodies the meaning of sin in the world. The red clothes are the symbol of clergy, martyr and saint; green is the color of earth, hope, and birth, the color of clothes in transfguration; blue is employed to be on behalf of paradise, faith, infinite, color of king and pope (Yu Ting, 2008: 120). From those colors, the colors of Christianity and church have strict and special symbolic meaning. The church colors extend to the external world. The extension not only influences the modern art of Christianity, but also common peoples life. In the Christian society, yellow is one of the taboo colors, contrary to that in China. This kind of understanding is originated in legend that Judas who betrayed Jesus wore yellow clothes. Although there is no final conclusion about the legend, the abandon of yellow in clothes and painting illustrates the huge influence of it. The most obvious influence of color use in Christian countries is black. In Medieval age, many theologians held opposed attitude to bright colors. They believed that these colors present dangerous and ambiguous sides of things. Too rich colors can transfer attention of Christians. Bright colors were forbidden in the church. The main colors were white, black and grey. In the 1460s, a popularity of black clothes took the way in the western countries. Today, black suits, white shirts and grey coat are the traditional and plain color legacy. 4. Different Customs Every country has its own customs due to its unique history backgrounds, location, religion and culture. Customs significantly affect peoples understanding of colors. 4. 3. 1 In China The color of red has the meaning of Joy and celebration in Chinese culture. Such connotation may be derived from the legend of the Nian beast. It was said that there was a monster called Nian in ancient China. Nian lived in the depth of the sea and went ashore on New Years Eve. He liked to prey on livestock and hunt for human beings, and thus people escaped into mountains. But one year, in the Eve evening, while people were preparing for going up to the mountains, an elderly beggar came to the village. It was a scene of a panic rush and only one old lady gave ome food to the beggar, and she advised him to escape too. Instead of running, the beggar smiled to tell her that he had the means to drive away Nian. When Nian came into the village, it found red paper in the ladys door and the house was busting with light. At the same time, a sudden bang flap sound of bombing came to its ears. Suddenly, an old man appeared in red clothes. Nian was greatly frightened and fled helter-skelter. From then on, every household posted red couplets on the door, set off fireworks and suspended red lanterns to get rid of monster Nian. 4. 3. 2 In Western Countries White has a favorable meaning in the Western world. This symbolism is direct and traceable as elegance and innocence. The meaning originates from the color of snow, milk and white lily. In the Bible, white stands for gods and angels. It is the traditional custom in western countries that in the wedding, white is the main color of decoration. The wedding is also called the white wedding. The bride wears white wedding dress. There was no such tradition since the 19th century; Queen Victoria ordered a white elegant wedding dress in the wedding ceremony. From then, white wedding dress became the formal one in the wedding. (Han, 2003: 141) Until now, the wedding dress must be white, while only the remarriage woman can choose other colors of wedding dress to show the difference. Christmas is the most important said that white Christmas is the highest level of Christmas. White Christmas is that during the day before Christmas, 24th December, it snows heavily, and when 25th comes, the land is full of white snow. White Christmas is auspicious symbolism to westerners. Communicative Failures Caused by Misunderstanding of Symbolic Meanings of Color Words The reasons that have caused communicative failures on color symbolism can be xplored into two aspects: from idioms aspect and from pragmatics aspect. Some failure cases are given below in order to enhance readers comprehension. 5. 1 From Idioms Aspect It is universally known that there are many idioms in English, originated from many fields. Idioms are very important to help people to make better understanding of western culture. What is more, in the international communication, idioms are the obstacles leading to communicative failures. Here are some examples. One day, Tom, from England, and Wu Xin, from China, went to an auction of arts. The third piece of art is sculpture of gold tiger. The starting price is 200 million. It is really a sky-high price. Tom is surprised by many peoples interest in it. He says, It is really a white elephant. Wu does not understand. White elephant? It is a gold tiger! In this case, Wu misunderstands white elephant. What does Tom mean by white elephant? Its original meaning is truly the literal meaning. However, as an idiom, it has nothing to do with color. The meaning is derived. In ancient Thailand, if the king is not satisfied with a minister, he will give him a white elephant. White elephant in Thailand is sacred, and can not be killed or slaved. Because it is a gift from the king, it can not be given to others, only raised at home. Over time, the cost will lead the minister to bankruptcy. White elephant refers to something expensive and useless. Another example is black sheep. Once, some students from America and China hung out together, talking about English idioms and Chinese old sayings. One student from China said evil horse. It confused those from America. Later, they found out that he wanted to express the meaning of black sheep. There is an old saying in Chinese, and once it is translated to evil horse. Here is a big mistake. In English, black sheep corresponds to what Chinese mean It can not be translated into The explanation in Webster Dictionary of black sheep is a recessive black-fleeced individual in a flock of normally white-fleeced sheep. Why are people so interested in black sheep that there exists such an idiom? In western countries, people think black sheeps wool is less valuable than white sheeps. Meanwhile, the black sheep fears the white ones. Also, black is an evil color in western countries, so this idiom was produced. 5. 2 From Pragmatics Aspect The wide application of color words in language is always the hot topic in linguistics. Pragmatic meaning of color words differs from various cultural backgrounds, history and values. Some failures caused by pragmatic meaning of colors are given below to help the readers with better understanding. One instance is the translation of one of Chinese four classics. The recognized translators Yang Xianyi and Dai Naidie. But some people, especially foreigners, think it is inappropriate by using the word red. Great British Sinologist David Hawkes realized that the word red may cause misunderstanding like blood, violence, and fght to foreign readers. To avoid this possibility, David chose the other name of the ovel 62k, and translated it into The Story of The Stone, and unconventionally translated tÃ' $l* to Green Delights for green symbolizes the hopeful and vigorous meaning. This helps foreign readers better understand the content of the novel. The other one for pragmatics misunderstanding is about the city flower of Beijing, yellow chrysanthemum. Foreigners are surprised to see yellow chrysanthemum everywhere in Beijing, not only for the reason that chrysanthemum is the symbol of funeral, but that the color of the flower has pejorative connotation. In the eyes of French, yellow flower stands for disloyalty between couple. It came from the tale that Judas dressed yellow when he betrayed Jesus. Traditionally, British take yellow roses as parting between relatives. Conclusion In summary, although theres something in common between Chinese and western cultures, the symbolic meanings of color words in Chinese culture and western culture have a lot of differences. They faithfully record the history of Chinese and Western nations, as well as the social perspective of a specific period. Consequently, the color symbolism bears the distinctive marks of a specific culture. In cross-cultural communication, the color words in English and Chinese as a ymbol system in the two languages possess different uses and cultural implications owning to their distinctive cultural values. This requires us truly understand the differences of different countries cultural traditions, customs and values, which generate the different symbolic meanings of color words through the constant comparative studies. In this way, we can take a closer look at the meaning of words, including many subtle, specific symbolic meanings and cultural information carried by them. Thus, it can help enhance cross-cultural communication, promote and strengthen cultural exchanges and integration between peoples.