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International Color Guide - China

The Chinese Have a Classic Love of Color and Have Used It Abundantly Throughout Their Cultural History

The flag of the People's Republic of China incorporates a large gold star and four smaller stars placed in the canton. The large star represents the party, and the four smaller stars represent the four economic classes of the new state: workers, peasants, petty bourgeoisie, and "patriotic" capitalists.

Red, the primary color of the flag, is also one of the most important colors in China, not only representing the country symbolically, but also representing good fortune and happiness.

China has its own alchemical tradition linked to color: yellow for earth, white for metal, blue-green for wood, red for fire, and black for water. Each color also corresponds to an animal, a part of the body, a season, a planet, and compass point.

Historically, each of China's Dynasties was associated with a specific color: brown for the Sung dynasty, green for the Ming, and yellow for the Ching. Color coding continued in the first flag of the Chinese Republic where it represented various ethnic groups.

Red has been an especially significant color in China. It has been used in wedding ceremonies, during revolutions, and in everyday life to promote good luck and joy.

For the Chinese, white represents the west, autumn, metal, and mourning. White gifts are associated with funerals, and a woman never wears white unless she is in deep mourning. On the Chinese stage a dignified person wears a white face, while a comedian usually has a white nose.

Black signifies the North, yin, winter, water, and the Tortoise — one of four spiritually endowed animals in the country. Black jade is traditionally used in burial to pay respects to the north. Black colored gifts are associated with funerals. Black clothes are not worn when visiting during New Year.

For the Chinese, red represents the sun, the phoenix, fire, summer, the south, joy, good fortune and happiness. It is the luckiest of all colors. Bright red envelopes are used to present gifts of money in China. On the Chinese stage, a character with a red face is a sacred person.

Yellow is the symbol of earth and was emblematic of the Yin principle. Tradition says that if clouds are yellow, prosperity will follow.

In China, blue represents the heavens, the east, clouds, the Azure Dragon of the East, spring, and wood. Blue-colored gifts are associated with funerals in China. Blue has been emblematic for centuries of workers' uniforms; Chinese peasants universally dressed in blue. Blue is also the accepted clothing color for adult men and middle-aged women.

For the Chinese, green takes the same symbolism as blue, with which it is interchangeable. It represents the blue or green dragon, spring, the east, wood, and also water. Green is the color of the Ming Dynasty, and of jade, which is considered lucky. For the Chinese, brown was the color of the Sung dynasty.