1.7 Affair with Colours

 

Long before the red color became associated in China at first with the Communist Party’s banner and then with the national flag, the red has being the most beloved color of the Kingdom of Heaven. Over centuries the Chinese associated this color with joy, happiness and everything good. It was widely believed to be auspicious and hence brides became wives dressed in red, New Year was symbolized by chun lian wishes written on red bands… Even traditional envelopes with money gifts for weddings and New Year – all envelopes were red! Yes, China has a long and happy affair with the red color. And this affair goes on and on. Nowadays gift envelopes are of the same red color and every New Year is greeted by plenty of red lanterns. At any day of the year every restaurant has red lanterns at its entrance. Every commodity in red package has more chances to be sold out than the very same item wrapped in any other color.

 

 

Thereupon I am very lucky as the red color is my favorite since childhood. In my home country Belarus it is not easy to understand for many people my thirst for this bright flaming tint. Dressed in red from head to toe in China I look something common – many people here wear dresses of the same color. Indeed, this country is home for the red.

Don’t forget – in China nothing is in usual manner, everything has its explanation and deep-laid meaning often not recognizable from the first (especially foreigner’s) sight. Therefore red and other colors loved by the Chinese didn’t become such all of a sudden; every one has its history and particular sense. 

A bird’s eye view of Beijing offers a gaily colorful scene: magnificent imperial palaces with yellow-golden roofs, captivating flower gardens dotted with green roofs and grey quarters nearby – plenty of one-storied buildings with grey walls and the same grey tiles…

In ancient China the color red meant solemnity, wealth and honor. Primitive human beings lived near Beijing 10,000-20,000 years ago have left rock paintings in their caves. Guess, what is the dominant color of those paintings? Right you are – indeed, it is red. Red painted palaces appeared in China more than 2,000 years ago. Look at the Forbidden City with its red walls and yellow roofs – through them you can understand China better.

Looking at the imperial palaces it is easy to observe that the second important color is the yellow. After the red it is the second most important color of the Middle Kingdom, it means power and emperor. It is the predominant color of the Forbidden City, magnificent residence which was the house of the Chinese emperors for around 500 years. Almost all its houses and other buildings roofed with yellow glazed tiles. Why? For better understanding we have to go back to the notion of five elements. As we all remember, the ancient Chinese believed that the Universe was made up of five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water.

The most important element among the five was the earth which represents the centre. Yellow has long been considered the purest among all colors, the color of earth. It symbolizes dignity and ritual. Very likely because of these reasons this color was loved by emperors – they were widely believed to be the world’s supreme rulers.

The Tang (618 – 907) emperors and their family members adopted the practice of the previous Sui (581 – 618) Dynasty, and wore robes made from yellow silk of special “imperial” tint. Other were not allowed to wear yellow dresses. It was how yellow became symbolic imperial color. People of the country regarded this color as a symbol of power.

By the way, in the remarkable Bernardo Bertolucci film “The Last Emperor” there is a scene directly connected to the importance of the color yellow. Young Pu Yi, already dethroned but not yet aware of this fact and still living in the Forbidden City, noticed that his play-mate wears dress of that tint of the yellow reserved exclusively for the emperors. Only after this shocking discovery Pu Yi became aware that he is not the emperor any more, China is a republic and yellow is available for everybody to use and wear.

Yellow glazed-tile roofs were used in the Imperial Palace in the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279). It was stipulated in the Ming and Qing dynasties that the yellow glazed-tiles could be used exclusively by the emperors – on their palaces and tombs, or on temples built under the direct orders of the “sons of Heaven”.

Any other person – official or his family members, let alone commoners – was forbidden to wear yellow or to use the color as decoration of interior or to live in a house decorated with a golden yellow roof. The price of transgression could be high: execution.

For surprise of many, there is a building in the Forbidden City with black, not yellow roof – namely, Wenyuange, the Imperial Library. But actually only those uninitiated are surprised. Contrary to them readers of this book already know the Five Elements theory. So, we know that the black color represents water, and water destroys fire. Thus the black roof of the library which contained a great many of highly inflammable books was a fengshui protection against fire.

The Forbidden City aside there is another construction in Beijing with the same colors – red walls and yellow roofs: Yonghegong Temple (Palace of Harmony). The Younghe Lamasery was the official mansion of emperor Yongzheng (r. 1723 – 1735) from the Qing Dynasty – before he ascended the throne. After Yongzheng became the emperor, the complex stood empty because in accordance with the Chinese tradition, nobody even members of the emperor’s family could live in the very same buildings which the the emperor-to-be had once lived in. Yongzheng himself returned here only after his death – his corpse was carried to the mansion for mourning. In order to show respect towards the deceased monarch, the green glazed tiles were replaced with gold yellow ones within 15 days. Though the Yonghegong turned into lamasery only in 1744, its gold yellow glazed tiles demonstrate its affiliation to the imperial family for nearly 300 years.

Buildings in which royal princes lived were roofed with green glazed tiles. At the order of ancient emperors, ordinary people, craftsmen, chefs and all others’ houses had to be build in grey – both walls and roofs. It was the color of subjection, of those inferior.

Blue is the color of heaven and thus main buildings of the Temple of Heaven – by the way, it is the symbol of Beijing – roofed with blue glazed tiles.

Nowadays yellow and red are still the symbolic colors of China. They are the colors of the national flag, Chinese athletes are often dressed in red and yellow in international sport competitions.

China’s affair with colors goes on.

 

Book “Chinese Customs and Wisdoms” (translated into English by the author) was published in Beijing in 2007 by the Foreign Language Press