我写的是关于颜色在中西方文化中的象征意义
The Symbol of Colors in Chinese and Western Culture
Abstract: Colors are embodied with different meanings and symbols in different cultural background. This paper, based on the Chinese and western culture, approaches the symbols of colors represented in the two different cultures through analyzing the different understandings of colors.
Keywords: color; symbol, Chinese and western culture
Both Chinese and western culture have a long history, in which there are many colors bearing various meanings. Due to the influence of the factors such as the cultural background, the historical background and aesthetic psychology, the emotional expression with colors vary from person to person. Therein, this paper aims to demonstrate the different meanings of common colors in Chinese and western cultures.
1. Red
In Chinese culture, red, symbolizing warmness, bless, delight and prosperity, is a dominant color that attracts many people. Examples are demonstrated as follow: Chinese are inclined to dress in red, put up red couplet and give gift money wrapped in red paper during Chinese lunar New Year’s Day; In a Chinese traditional marital festivity, big red character “喜喜” is to be plastered in the couple’s room in a wish of happiness and harmony. Apart from the meanings mentioned above, red also symbolizes revolution or progress: red is used to describe those people who are hardworking in their business and progressive in politics, and “ red person” refer to those people who are hot and popular with the crowd, to name just a few.
In western culture, red is usually associated with “fire” or “passion”. It represents brutality and bloodiness. For example, the English phrase “a red battle” means a battle in which there are bitter fights. Another meaning embodied in red is radical ness or violent revolution, and the word red in the expressions like “a red revolution” and “red activities” is of this kind.
2. White
White, which means death and bad luck, is basically a taboo in Chinese culture. In a funeral, the family members and the relatives of the death are supposed to dress in white, and other things related to the funeral are mentioned with the word “white”. Still, white symbolizes failure and nil: White flag is often used as a signal of giving in, and Chinese expressions like “白忙” or “白费力” are use to described a hard work without any result or effect.
However, white bears different meanings in western culture from that in Chinese: purity and innocence. In a wedding, the bride is in white, and “a white soul” is used to describe a pure man. Besides, white also symbolizes straightness and honesty. For example, the expression “a white spirit” refers to a justice spirit one has.
3. Green
Green symbolizes peace, friendliness, hope and vitality in both Chinese and western cultures. A well-known example all round the world is that the symbol of peace is a pigeon with a green olive branch in its mouth.
Green represents vitality and conveys a feeling of clearness and peacefulness, so in ancient China, the poets and prose writer tended to use the “green” to describe those young and beautiful girls, such as “红男绿女” and “绿窗”.
Whereas in western culture, apart from bearing the same meaning of green in vitality and prosperity with Chinese culture, green also have another two common meanings, “inexperienced” and “jealous”. Expressions like “a green hand” and “as green as grass” are used to describe those people who lack of experience in doing something, and others like “the green-eyed monster” and “a green eye” refer to those who are jealous of somebody else.
4. Purple
Purple is often used to symbolizes bless and nobility in ancient China that it was frequently adopted by the feudal empires and Taoists throughout Chinese history, thereby Chinese expressions “紫气” and “紫电” are used to symbolize propitious sign that will bring fortune. And one of Chinese famous scenic spots is the Forbidden City, the Chinese name of which is “紫禁城”, with the word purple in it.
Likewise, purple also bears on empire and religion, and we call it “a cultural coincidence” in both Chinese and western cultures. For example, English expression “marry in the purple” means a lady marries to a man of a rich and noble family, and “be raised to the purple” means a man is promoted to Pope.
5. Blue
Blue is a word scarcely representing figurative meaning except its denotation in Chinese culture. While in western culture, blue symbolizes nobility, such as the expressions “blue blood” representing noble families and “blue laws” meaning strict laws. And another connotation of blue is sadness, which is often seen in the expressions like “a blue outlook” and “blue Monday” to describe unhappy things.
In intercultural communication, colors, as a semiotic system, play different roles and have different cultural value and cultural meanings in Chinese and western cultures, which entail our exact understanding and usage of two cultures so as to communicate in a effective way.
Reference:
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