Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Almanac inquiry - What are the meanings of red and yellow in China traditional culture?

What are the meanings of red and yellow in China traditional culture?

Red is a bright color and symbolizes happiness. Since ancient times, in holidays and weddings, red has been used to show the elegance of happy events from decorations, costumes and accessories, which not only expresses congratulations on the holidays, but also exudes inner joy from the red celebrations. This symbolizes auspicious red, and it also conveys a lasting festive atmosphere.

In ancient times, yellow was advocated, and yellow was often regarded as a symbol of the monarch. This first stems from the ancient agricultural people's thought of "respecting the soil". According to China's theory of Yin and Yang, yellow is soil in the five elements, which is the "central soil" in the center of the universe and is placed in the five elements.

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The Significance of Black in China Traditional Culture;

In the cultural symbolic significance of the Han nationality, black, like red, yellow and white, has dual cultural significance: both positive and negative.

Because black is similar to iron color, people often use black to symbolize "honest and frank, perseverance, solemnity and selflessness" since ancient times. For example, in China traditional opera facial makeup art, black is often used to symbolize the noble qualities of historical figures, such as honest and frank and selflessness. For example, the stage images of historical figures such as Weichi Gong in the Tang Dynasty and Bao Zheng in the Song Dynasty are all black faces.

According to China's ancient theory of five elements, space between heaven and earth is divided into five elements, namely, wood, gold, fire, water and earth, and the five elements are blue, white, red, black and yellow respectively. The north belongs to water and is black. Therefore, people also use black to symbolize "deep". Black is similar to night, so it symbolizes "mystery and majesty".

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