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Symbolic Meaning of Color Words in Chinese and Western Cultures

Abstract: Both Chinese and English have a large number of words expressing different colors. We should not only observe their basic meanings, but also pay attention to their profound symbolic meanings, because their symbolic meanings often have different characteristics in different national languages, and some characteristics even constitute people's admiration and taboo for colors after extension and escape. This difference in color symbols between different cultures is due to the differences in cultural and historical background and aesthetic psychology of their respective nationalities. It is a permanent cultural phenomenon established in the development of society and the precipitation of history. This paper attempts to analyze and discuss the influence of the development of national cultures on the symbolic meaning of color words from the perspective of comparison between Chinese and western cultures.

In human language, the unique charm of color words is impressive. In Chinese and English, there are many words that represent different colors. We should not only observe their basic meaning, but also pay attention to their profound symbolic meaning, because the symbolic meaning of color often has different characteristics in different national languages, and some characteristics even constitute people's admiration and taboo for color after extension and escape. Because China is separated from most English-speaking countries by Wan Li, there are great differences in geographical location, natural phenomena, historical background and aesthetic psychology, and people's feelings and expressions of colors are also different. In this way, the symbolic meaning of color will naturally produce great differences between Chinese and western cultures. This paper intends to compare and discuss the colors and symbolic meanings in Chinese and western cultures in order to seek advice from peers and readers.

Scientifically speaking, color is a visual phenomenon caused by the emission, reflection or transmission of a certain light wave by an object, and it is the basic feature of human vision. This definition of color generation is easily accepted by the west, which experienced a relatively short feudal society and gained rapid popularization and development in modern education and science. From the beginning of civilization, the West paid more attention to scientific rational education and the discovery of scientific methods, and adopted a scientific attitude of seeking truth from facts about the objective world and objective understanding. Therefore, the symbolic meaning of color in western culture is often relatively direct, and the specific color of objective things is generally used to symbolize some abstract cultural meanings, so it is easier to trace its semantic motivation and logical motivation. For example, red in western culture mainly refers to the color of blood, which is the "liquid of life" in the eyes of westerners. Once the blood flows, flower of life will wither. So red reminds westerners of "violence" and "danger" and creates a color taboo. Asheim, an American scholar, said in his Theory of Colors: "Colors can powerfully express emotions. ..... red is considered exciting because it reminds us of the meaning of fire, blood and revolution. " Hawkes, a famous sinologist, realized that red might remind modern English readers of "violence" and "bloodshed" when translating A Dream of Red Mansions, so he adopted the original title of the novel "The Story of the Stone" and translated it into The Story of the Stone. However, due to thousands of years of feudal society in China and the relative backwardness of education and science and technology, in China culture, the emergence of color has a strong mystery, and its development is greatly influenced by the social and cultural development in China. In the pre-Qin period, color words were already associated with the world outlook and philosophical thoughts of the ancients, and later with politics. Therefore, the connotation and symbolic meaning of color in China culture are very rich, and the symbolic meanings of color words are also varied. For example, from the perspective of cultural anthropology, the red color in China culture originates from the sun, because the scorching sun is like fire and its color is reddish. Our ancestors had an instinctive attachment and worship to the sun in the process of praying for witchcraft and dancing, and the meaning of red happiness and auspiciousness naturally came into being. The ancients also thought that "the sun is coming" ("Huainanzi Astronomical Training") felt that everything in the sun was lush, vibrant and exciting, so it had a particularly cordial feeling about the red color representing the sun. Take white as an example. In the initial stage of mankind, our ancestors were weak and powerless, unable to resist the attack of fierce beasts and exposed in broad daylight. There is always the danger of being eaten by carnivorous beasts, so there is an instinctive fear of white. In addition, our ancestors also observed that "the moon is particularly bright in the Mid-Autumn Festival", so they thought that the bright moon was connected with Xiaosha's autumn, which meant that the color of autumn was white (silver Mid-Autumn Moon). In this way, white has become a taboo in China culture. It can be seen that the symbolic meaning of color is established in the long historical process, which embodies some psychological function. Let's describe the different symbolic meanings of colors in Chinese and western cultures.

1, red

Red is the basic color of China culture, which embodies the spiritual and material pursuit of China people. It symbolizes auspiciousness and happiness. For example, people who advocate other people's beautiful marriages are called "matchmakers", and red lanterns, red couplets and red blessings are hung on festive days. When a man marries a woman, he puts the word "hi" in red, and calls it "bustling"; Describe the bustling place as "red dust"; It also symbolizes revolution and progress. For example, the original regime in China was called the "Red Regime", and the earliest armed forces were called the "Red Army". Politically, they demanded progress, while those who studied hard in business were called "Red and Specialized". It also symbolizes smoothness and success. For example, when people are in prosperity, they are called "popularity" and "smash hit"; When favored by superiors, it is called "red man"; When they share profits in a partnership, they are called "dividends"; And they give people bonuses, which is called "red envelopes". It also symbolizes beauty, such as women's "red makeup" or "red skirt", women's "tea" with heavy makeup, and the "beauty" of women's beautiful face.

In western culture, red is a derogatory term, which is the association of "fire" and "blood". It symbolizes cruelty and bloodshed, such as (1) the killing and violent rule of Otawa Claw, (2) the bloody revenge of red revenge, and (3) the bloody battle of red battle. It also symbolizes radical and violent revolution, such as (1) red-hot political movement, (2) a red revolution, (3) red activities and leftist radical activities; It also symbolizes danger and tension, such as (1) red warning air raid alarm, (2) a red adventure story, a nervous adventure story, (3) a red flag and a danger signal flag; It also symbolizes debauchery and obscenity, such as (1) a red one wasting his youth, (2) a flower street and a willow lane in the red light district, (3) is she really as coquettish as she painted? Is she really as dissolute as people describe her?

As for the praise of red, such as the festive red light festival and the grand red carpet reception, it benefits from the exchange and integration between different cultures. According to textual research, red praise spread from the Far East to the West via Persia.

2. White (last name)

In China culture, white is a basic taboo word relative to red, which reflects China people's rejection and aversion to material and spirit. According to China's ancient Five-Party Theory, the west is a white tiger, and the west is the autumn of cultivating fields and killing gods. In ancient times, people often conquered injustice and executed prisoners in autumn. So white is a sign of exhaustion, bloodless and lifeless, symbolizing death and bad omen. For example, since ancient times, after the death of a loved one, family members have to wear linen Dai Xiao (white mourning clothes) to do "white things", set up a white mourning hall, and put a white banner at the funeral; In ancient times, the white tiger was regarded as an evil spirit, so now the woman who brings bad luck to men is called "White Tiger Star". Influenced by political function, white psychological function symbolizes decay, reaction and backwardness in its development process, such as "the road to white expertise"; It also symbolizes failure, stupidity and unprofitable. For example, the defeated party in the war always holds a "white flag" to express surrender, calls the mentally retarded people "idiots", and calls the unprofitable or ineffective efforts "futile", "futile" and so on. It also symbolizes treachery and sinister risks, such as "bad COP" and "bad COP". Finally, it also symbolizes a shallow knowledge and no fame. For example, ordinary people are called "Ding Bai", "white clothes" and "white body", and scholars who lack exercise and experience are called "white-faced scholars".

The symbolic significance of white in western culture mainly focuses on its own color, such as the colors of newly fallen snow, fresh milk and lily. Westerners believe that white is elegant and pure, so it is the color advocated in western culture. It symbolizes innocence, such as (1) the pure heart of a white soul, (2) the wedding of the bride in a white dress; It also symbolizes integrity and honesty, such as (1) a white spirit, (2) a noble and educated person, (3) a clean and honest hand, and (3) a white hand. It also symbolizes good luck and good luck, such as (1) one of the white days in one's life, (2)whitemagic has the magic of an angel; It also means legal and harmless, such as (1) whitemarket legal market, (2) white list approves legal bill, and (3)awhite lie is harmless.

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3. Black

In ancient times, black was mysterious. Originally, there was only a heavy sense of mystery in China culture. This is a solemn and serious tone, and its symbolic meaning is complicated by the influence of western culture. On the one hand, it symbolizes seriousness and justice, such as the "black face" Bao Gong in folklore, the black faces of Zhang Fei and Li Kui jy in traditional Peking Opera; On the other hand, because of its own darkness, it gives people a feeling of sinister, sinister and horrible. It symbolizes evil and reaction. For example, the insidious and vicious people are "black hearts", the ugly inside story is "shady", the members of the reactionary group are "gangsters" and "black hands", and the list of dissidents who are listed as targets of political persecution by the rulers is called "blacklist", which means committing crimes and breaking the law. For example, it is called "going to the underworld" and killing people.

Black is a basic taboo color in western culture, which embodies the spiritual rejection and disgust of westerners. It symbolizes death, bad omen and disaster, such as (1)BlackMass requiem mass, (2) wearing black for father Dai Xiao of hcr, (3) if 3)blackwords are unlucky, (4) a black letter day is an unlucky day; It symbolizes evil and crime, such as (1) black evil devil, (2) a black de ed's extremely bad behavior, (3) black guards' villains and hooligans, (4) blackmailers' extortion; It also symbolizes shame and dishonor, such as (1) a black mark stain, (2) a black sheep is a black sheep, (3) a black eye is humiliated and has a bad reputation, and it also symbolizes depression and anger, such as (1) a black dog is depressed, (2) the future looks black, and (3) He looked at me angrily.

4. Other colors

Yellow is the development and variation of red in China culture. For example, in the old days, people called the day suitable for doing great things "auspicious days", but it represented power and majesty. This is because in the ancient five elements, five elements and five colors, the central part is khaki. Yellow symbolizes the meaning of the central government and the land, so it is exclusive to the emperors who built it in previous dynasties, and ordinary people can't use it casually. For example, the "yellow robe" is the emperor's "dragon robe", the "Huang Yue" is the emperor's ritual, the "yellow list" is the emperor's imperial edict, and the "yellow coat" is the official dress given by the Qing emperor. As for the popular concept of "yellow" related to "sex", there is a saying that it is a phenomenon of cultural exchange and integration between China and the West. It is said that Le Monde in new york, USA printed low-level comic books with yellow oil and ink to win sales, so people called this unhealthy publication "yellow publication". The New York News reported pornographic, vendetta, crime and other news in an exaggerated and exaggerated way, and people also called this news "yellow news". In fact, yellow in ancient China has always been related to "sex". At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was the Yellow Book of the Yellow Scarf Uprising. Although this book is poor, it is obvious that this book focuses on "art in the room" In addition, in the Tang Dynasty, Sun Simiao said that "the sun shines on the yellow moon" in his book "Adjusting Housing Benefits" in "Thousands of Women". On this basis, Zhang pointed out in his book Chinese Color Words: "The yellow in ancient China was related to sex. That's true. It's just that people have forgotten it for more than a thousand years. Yellow in western culture is reminiscent of the color of clothes worn by Judas who betrayed Jesus, so the yellow belt has a bad symbolic meaning. It is not only a newspaper that expresses vulgar taste, but also a book with no literary value (such as scandal sheet scandal list, yellow newspaper style of yellow news, cheap and sensational novels by y ellow back). Mainly mean and timid, such as (1) yellow dog despicable, (2) yellow street timid, (3) yellow live timid.

In the traditional culture of China, green is dual, representing both chivalrous people and wild evils. This is because in the initial era of mankind and its long life process, human beings protected themselves with the help of green and survived; But at the same time, green also protects human natural enemies and other fierce cannibals. In this way, the narrow sense of justice is justice. For example, people generally call people who gather in the mountains to rob the rich and help the poor "outlaws"; The evil field is evil, so in the old days, it also referred to the "green forest" as a bandit who occupied the mountain as king and robbed the road to disturb the people; Green also symbolizes inferiority. For example, in the Han Dynasty, servants wore green scarves. After the Yuan Dynasty, prostitutes wore green headscarves to show their low status. Because his wife had an affair and his husband was humiliated and inferior, he was called a "cuckold husband". The symbolic meaning of green in western culture is closely related to the color of green vegetation, which is the life color of plants. Asheim said: "Green evokes a refreshing idea of nature." It not only symbolizes youth and vitality, such as (1) green forest in youth, (2) green, (3) a green old age; Moreover, it means freshness, such as (1) the green recollectio n in memory, (2) keeping the green in memory forever, (3) a green wound; However, it also means naive, untested, such as (1) a novice, (2) green grass is naive, (3) green corner is a gullible idiot; It also symbolizes jealousy, such as (1) green-eyed monster jealousy, (2) green full of jealousy, and (3)agree eye jealous eyes.

In China's folklore, Emperor Tiandi lives in the "Wei Zi Palace" (constellation) in the sky, so both human emperors (emperors) with Emperor Tiandi as their father and Taoism with Emperor Tiandi as their belief are proud of purple. As a symbol of auspiciousness and nobility, purple was adopted by feudal emperors and Taoists. For example, Jirui's gas is called "Purple Gas" and "Purple Electricity", and the Palace is called "Forbidden Palace" and "Forbidden City". In order to win people's hearts, emperors of past dynasties often gave "purple robes" to low-ranking officials, and "wearing purple" became the Rong Lu pursued by feudal literati; People also call Taoist books "purple books" and immortals' residences "purple platforms". Coincidentally, the symbolic meaning of purple in English is also related to emperors, princes and religions, which is an interesting cultural coincidence, such as (1)t the purple's throne and kingship, (2) being born in purple's family, (3)marryin the purple's family, and (4) be rai.

Blue has little symbolic meaning in China culture, but it has a little more symbolic meaning in western culture. Achim commented on blue and said, "Blue is as cool as water." It is a "negative or negative color". It can symbolize nobility, sublimity, profundity and strictness, such as (1) blue blood family, (2) the symbol of the highest honor of blue ribbon, (3) the strict observance of religious rules by blue nose; (4) Strict regulations of blue law; It also symbolizes melancholy and depression, such as (1) feeling blue and unhappy, and (2)a blueoutlook's pessimistic outlook on life. Things look terrible. Things are not satisfactory. (4) Blue Monday is an unhappy Monday, which also symbolizes obscenity and indecency, such as (1) bluemovie pornographic movies, (2) blue revolution "sexual liberation" and (3)blue talk obscene remarks. It also means sudden and rapid, such as (1) surprise, (2) blue sky, and (3) blue stripes are fleeting.

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Methods and measures to cultivate students' English reading comprehension ability

Part two: On the intellectual development of English classes in senior high schools.

Pink is a variant of red, which can be regarded as a coincidence or return of red. In China culture, pink is also called peach color. Cui Hu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem "Peach blossoms set each other off in red". Comparing peach blossoms with women, the fundamental reason is that women decorate themselves with pink rouge, and their faces are white and red, which can be compared with beautiful peach blossoms. Pink (peach color) can symbolize women. For example, in Bai Juyi's Song of Eternal Sorrow, "If she just turns her head and smiles, there are hundreds of spells, and the makeup in the sixth house will disappear." Young men call their beloved woman a "confidante." Call improper sexual relations between men and women "peach affair". In western culture, pink symbolizes essence and perfection, such as (1) perfect pink, (2) polite pink is very polite; It also symbolizes the upper class, such as (1) pink girl high-style cocktail, (2) pink tea high-level social activities, and (3) apink-collarwoman senior female secretary.

The symbolic meaning of color words varies greatly in different national cultures. Fundamentally speaking, in China culture, the symbol of color is based on China's feudal rule, superstition and primitive and backward science and education, so the symbolic meaning of color has a strong tendency of politicization and mystification. The color symbols in western culture benefit more from the opening of western countries and the popularization of science education. Its symbolic meaning is less mysterious and more rational, which makes its semantics and semantic motivation easier to trace back. The symbolic meaning of color between different cultures is established in the development of society and the precipitation of history, which is a permanent cultural phenomenon. They can make language more vivid, interesting, humorous and friendly, so we should pay enough attention to them.