中国颜色

欢迎大家来到《爱我汉语》。今天的话题是：中国颜色

Today's blog is an extract from Aiwohanyu's facebook page written in English. However, I hope it is as well helpful to learn some new Chinese words!

颜色 [yánsè] means "color" in today's Chinese language. However, in ancient China, the word 颜色 actually meant "facial color" or "emotion" (often implying sexual desire). It was not until the Tang Dinasty (VII AD) that 颜色 started to refer to all colors.
If nowadays we want to express the color of sb's face/skin or facial expression, we must say: 脸色 [liǎnsè] 

In Chinese culture the standard colors are black, white, yellow, red and qing (blue/green), which correspond to the five elements of water, metal, earth, fire and wood.

If you keep reading you'll realize that we can learn not only some new words in Chinese language but also very interesting facts of Chinese culture:

黑 [hēi]

黑 meaning "black" in Chinese corresponds to water and is considered a neutral color.

The I Ching, or Book of Changes, regards black as Heaven’s color. The saying "heaven and earth of... mysterious black" was rooted in the observation that the northern sky showed a mysterious black color for a long time. Ancient people believed Tian Di, or Heavenly Emperor, resided in the North Star. Therefore, Chinese regarded black as the king of colors and honored black more consistently than any other color. That's why the roofs of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing are dark.

Lao Zi said that five colors make people blind, so the Dao School chose black as the color of the Dao.

Besides, before the Five Element's theory, according to Daoist's believe there were only two colors: opposing, yet complementary principles, black and white, Yin-Yang. 

Finally black can also be used to describe something as illegal or without justice.

 

Let's learn some Chinese words with this color:

 黑色 [hēisè] "the color black"

黑夜 [hēiyè] "night"

黑板 [hēibǎn] "blackboard"

黑猩猩 [hēixīngxing] "chimpanzee"

黑白 [hēibái] "black-and-white" as in 黑白电影 [hēibái diànyǐng] "black-and-white movie"

黑人 [hēirén] "unregistered resident"

黑市 [hēishì] "black market"

黑暗镜儿 [hēi'ànjìngr] "sunglasses"

黑白分明 [hēibáifēnmíng] "in sharp contrast"; "no ambiguity at all", "right and wrong clearly distinguished"

黑暗时代 [hēi'àn shídài] "Dark Ages"

黑暗世界 [hēi'àn shìjiè] "world without justice"

白 [bái]
 

白 (a sun 日with a point ' at the top) means "white" in Chinese.

In traditional Chinese culture the white color is the color of mourning, as it also symbolizes brightness, purity, and fulfillment.

Ancient Chinese people wore white clothes and hats only when they mourned for the dead.

Although nowadays white is also used in Chinese weddings due to Western influence, the white color is still associated with death and is used predominantly in funerals in Chinese culture.

 
According to Chinese beauty standards, white is also the ideal skin color.

White can also help us learn some words. For example:

"White" means literally "white" as in the words ...

白色 [bái sè] "the color white"

白米 [bái mǐ] "white rice"

白发 [báifà] "white hair"

黑白 [hēibái] "black and white" (for movies, photos, etc.)

But we can also find words with an extended meaning such as ...

白天 [bái tiān] "daytime"

白日 [bái rì] "daytime"

白菜 [báicài] "Chinese cabbage"

白银 [báiyín] "silver" (literally "white metal")

蛋白质 [dànbáizhì] "protein"

白富美 [báifùměi] literally "white, rich, beautiful" is the word to describe the ideal woman in China nowadays.

And we can even find some abstract meanings too in words like...

明白 [míngbai] the combination of the characters 明 [míng] "bright" and 白 [bai]"white" form the verb "to understand"

坦白 [tǎnbái] "frank". Ex: 坦白说... "frankly speaking"


Finally 白 can also mean to do something "in vain" or "for nothing" if we use the structure 白 + Verb
For example:

白学　[báixué]　"study in vain"

你白学了汉语吗？应该没有吧！

黄 [huáng]

黄 means "yellow" in Chinese.

Corresponding with earth, yellow is considered the most beautiful and prestigious color. The Chinese saying, Yellow generates Yin and Yang, implies that yellow is the center of everything, meaning neutrality and good luck. 
Yellow was also the color of Imperial China and often decorates royal palaces, altars and temples, that's why the roofs of the Forbidden City in Beijing are yellow. As yellow represents earth elements and a central position, the emperor believed that the imperial palace was in the world's center and then his reign could radiate in all directions. Hence, yellow was an emblem of imperial dignity and for the exclusive use of the emperors. 

Only the roofs of the library at the Pavilion of Literary Profundity had black tiles. As the library was meant to contain books, the Chinese emperor chose black (water) to protect the important books and texts contained in the hall from fire.

Yellow was only used in the robes and attire of the emperors, and those who dare to dress with yellow in ancient China would be strongly punished.

黄帝 [Huángdì] or the Yellow Emperor is one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes, credited with numerous inventions and innovations and regarded as the initiator of Chinese civilization.

Yellow also represents freedom and is thus esteemed in Buddhism. Monks’ garments are yellow, as are elements of Buddhist temples. Yellow is also used as a mourning color for Chinese Buddhists.

Yellow is also the color that gives name to the river that saw the birth of the Chinese culture, the Yellow River or 黄河［Huáng Hé］in Chinese.

Let's learn some words with this color.

黄色 [huángsè] "yellow color"

黄昏 [huánghūn] "dusk"

黄土 [huángtǔ] literally "yellow earth" refers to "loess"


黄豆 [huángdòu] "soybean"
 
黄瓜 [huánggua] "cucumber"
 
黄酒 [huángjiǔ] "rice wine"
 
黄牛 [huángniú] "ox"
 
黄油 [huángyóu] "butter"

However, nowadays yellow color is also used to mean that something is "decadent" or "pornographic". For instance:
 
黄色新闻 [huángsè xīnwén] "sex news"
 
黄色音乐 [huángsè yīnyuè] "decadent music"
 



红 [hóng]

From 纟(糸）[sī] “silk”and 工 [gōng] phonetic，红 [hóng] is the red color in Chinese language.

Red corresponds to fire in the five element's theory, and at the same time "fire" represents "life" and "hope" so red is a lucky color, representing prosperity, goodness, and happiness. That's why red is the color that decorates Chinese houses and streets during holidays, specially during the Spring Festival or the Chinese New Year.
If cash is given as a present, it is placed in a red envelope 红包 [hóngbāo].

We can also find red as one of the most representative colors in the Forbidden City in Beijing. While yellow color decorates the roofs of the Forbidden City, red was chosen for the pillars, windows, doors and walls to symbolize auspicious events, happiness and celebrations. 

  

Red is also the color of wedding parties in traditional Chinese culture. Nowadays, however, because of Western culture's influence, most people get married in white, which is traditionally the mourning color, as we explained before.

Widely known red is also the color of Communism and therefore of the Chinese Communist Party.

Finally, red is also the color that describes angryness.

Therefore, there are maaaany many words we can learn with this color. Let's check some of them:


红色 [hóngsè] "the color red"

红茶 [hóngchá] black tea. Attention, black tea is not 黑茶, but 红茶.

红叶 [hóngyè] red autumnal leaves

红豆 [hóngdòu] red bean

红薯 [hóngshǔ] sweet potato

西红柿 [xīhóngshì] tomato

红烧 [hóngshāo] braise in soy sauce. For instance: 红烧鱼
[hóngshāoyú ] red-cooked fish (simmered in soy sauce).

红灯笼 [hóng dēnglong] red lantern

红绿灯 [hóng-lǜdēng] literally "red, green light" refers to "traffic light"

红了 [hóngle] became popular

红人 [hóngrén] celebrity. We can also say “他很红” and it means "he is famous/popular".

红歌星 [hónggēxīng] star singer at night clubs

红火 [hónghuo] flourishing,prosperous,lively. 红红火火

发红 [fāhóng] become red, blush

红脸 [hóngliǎn] blush, get angry

面红耳赤 [miànhóng'ěrchì] be flushed with anger

分红 [fēnhóng] share a bonus, share benefits

红旗 [hóngqí] red flag

红票 [hóngpiào] discount ticket/coupon during Communist times.

红小兵 [Hóngxiǎobīng] Little Red Guard(s) (1966-1976)

红心 [hóngxīn] heart loyal to the cause of the proletarian revolution

红场 [Hóngchǎng] Red Square (in Moscow)

红白事 [hóngbáishì] weddings and funerals

红十字 [Hóngshízì] Red Cross

红楼梦 [Hónglóu Mèng]《Dream of the Red Chamber》it's one of the four classics in Chinese literature.
 


青 [qīng]

青 is a special color, I think. It is the "color of nature" and it can represent whether "dark green" or "light blue". Although Chinese has nowadays a separate word for both "green" 绿...[lǜ] and "blue" 蓝 [lán], it traditionally grouped most shades of blue and green under the name 青.

According to the theory of the five elements (fire, water, wood, metal and earth) 青 is the one corresponding to the Chinese element of wood, representing nature, renewal, spring and youth.

Finally 青 is also associated with health, prosperity and harmony. 

 

Taking this in mind, we can easily remember words that contain this character such as:

青色 [qīngsè] "blue/green color"

青天 [qīngtiān] "blue sky"

青草 [qīngcǎo] "green grass"

青菜 [qīngcài] "green vegetables", "Chinese cabbage"

青田 [qīngtián] "green rice field"

青铜 [qīngtóng] "bronze"

青蛙 [qīngwā] "frog"


青春 [qīngchūn] "one's youth"

青年 [qīngnián] "youth", "young people"

半青半黄 [bànqīngbànhuáng] literally "half green, half yellow" actually means "not quite mature"

青天白日 [qīngtiānbáirì] litreally "blue sky, white sun" means "broad daylight"

By the way! don't get confused with the characters 情 [qíng] or 清 [qīng], where the right side, or 青, only tells us the phonetic! These two different characters actually get their meanings from the radical:

In 情 [qíng] we have the radical 忄(心) [xīn] "heart" on the left, so this character means "feeling", "emotion".

In 清 [qīng] we can distinguish the three drops of water on the left 氵(水) [shuǐ], so this character means "clear", "pure", "clean"

Hope it was 清楚!