Energy of Nature, Healing Power, Cultural Spirit and Good Fortune

Most westerners may already have the knowledge of “Chinese Red“. It is the most common color being used in occasion of celebration, such as traditional Chinese weddings, Chinese New Year, or birthday. Some others may learn that “White” is the color of death to Chinese. Why Chinese choose those colors? Are there any stories behind the color red with white? How about “Yellow“, “Green” or the word “Color” itself? What are the symbolic significance of those colors for Chinese?

Red: Symbol of of happiness, auspicious, flourishing and protection

First, red, yellow, blue, white, black are the five orthophoto for Ancient Chinese (Han). Red is the first of these five colors.

Red is the color of summer (the flourishing season). The ancestors of the Chinese nation is the Yan Emperor(Yan Di – 炎帝), who had two fire symbols in his name. When summer arrived, ancient Chinese use to wear red at the first day of summer in the Ceremony to welcome the prosperous of summer. Not only their costumes, but also the flags and their carriages are in red. In later dynasty, even some of the armies dressed all in color red.

Then, fire is one of the five elements and red is the color of fire. It’s considered the incarnation of the sun and the Vulcan. Chinese turn their worship of Apollo, god of fire, to the worship of color red. As the symbol of happiness and auspicious, red was not only used with environmental decoration. In addition hung a red light, put up red double happiness signs, etc. the bride should wear a red dress, red pants, red belt tied at the waist, his head red damask, and some places also have to wear red shoes. The groom must lead his bride into the bridal chamber with a red fabric. In some places, the bride and groom both must select a chicken. Cock for the groom and the hen is for the bride, but both of the cock and hen’s color must be red. It’s indicating the auspicious of their marriage. In modern wedding, the groom and bride often wear the red flowers. It’s the inheritance of this vulgar.

Chinese believe in the protection of red. It’s strong enough to keep the bad spirit away in their weak period of life such as in their “Benming Nian” (12 years old, 24 years old, 36 years old, etc.) So, many Chinese choose to wear red cloth, underwear, necklace with red thread or other talisman to avoid disaster in those years.

To be continues…

Fish – A fish served whole is a symbol of prosperity in China. In fact, at a banquet it is customary to serve the whole fish last, pointed toward the guest of honor. Fish also has symbolic significance because the Chinese word for fish, yu, sounds like the word for “Abundance and Affluence” so the fish symbolizes wealth. Fish shown with a lotus blossom symbolize “Year after Year may you live in Affluence”.A pair of fish symbolizes marriage, conjugal felicity, fertility and tenacity.
Goldfish – identical with the two words meaning “Gold and Abundance” therefore many Chinese keep goldfish at there homes or in ponds in temple gardens.Golden Fishes. The two gold fish are usually shown head to head and represent fertility as fish produce many offspring. They are one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism.
Number of the fishes – The number of fishes in Chinese painting and other crafts usually appear with the number two or nine…”Two Golden Fish” is one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism. It’s the symbol of river Ganges and Yamuna originally.  It’s represent good fortune in general, for Hindus, Jain and Buddhists. “Nine” represent forever and long life. “Nine fish” could be the symbol of stay wealthy for a long time.

As a rule in day-to-day life in China, it is customary to regard even numbers as being more auspicious than odd numbers. Since the traditionally gifts are given as a part of the celebration for all occasions, guests often give even-numbered presents.

As the number Two “Er”, usually suggests germination and harmony, at wedding celebrations, decorations are invariably set in pairs: a pair of red candles, a pair of pillows, and couplets hung on two sides of the hall. Six, pronounced as “Liu” (smooth), conveys indirectly its homophony’s meaning – Do everything smoothly. Also, many business men favor number Eight “Ba” very much in China, because “Ba” in Chinese has a similar sound to “Fa”, which means to make a fortune. However, Four is the exception to the even number rule as it sounds like “Si” (death). So when people choose car license tags, phone numbers, and room numbers, they try to avoid it.

For odd numbers, Three sounds like “San” (separate), and Seven implies anger or abandon. However, Nine “Jiu” often means longevity and eternity. Based on these notions, it is the fashion for young lovers to send one, two or nine roses. One rose represents that “you are my only love”; two, “only we two in the world”; and nine, “everlasting love”.

The Chinese zodiac is also related to lucky numbers, as well as “fengshui”, a set of principle to the layout of furniture and the structure of the house.