Comparative Study of Cultural Connotations of Chinese Color Terms

付晓霞

The present is to study four Chinese basic color terms. This thesis adopts comparative method to study the cultural connotations of basic color terms to eliminate misunderstanding of communication.

1. 白 and 黑

1.1 Synonymy of白and 黑

Mourning

Black is a color of mourning dress in western countries， so people will wear clothes in black at funerals. Chinese will tie a black band around the shoulders to show the sad feeling and fidelity. When a family member dies， the relatives should put on white clothes， which are called “mourning clothes”. The mourning hall is also covered up with white decorations.

1.2 Polysemy of 黑

（1） Office-workers

“Black coats” are for “white collar workers” but not for “blue-collar workers”. The higher management in hotels and restaurant wear black suit.

（2） Darkness

The color of “black” is often associated with “黑” in “heigu longdong” （黑咕隆咚）， “hei-yaya” （黑压压）， “heideng-xiahuo” （黑灯瞎火） all mean darkness.

1.3 Polysemy of 白

（1） Death or Mourning and Ill Omen

When a family member dies， the relatives should put on white clothes， which are called “mourning clothes”. The mourning hall is also covered up with white decorations.

（2） Failure or Surrender

White in Chinese also means failure. In a war， the yielding party will hang baiqi （白旗）， “white flag” as a sign of accepting its failure.

2. 白and 红

2.1 Synonymy of白 and 红

Beauty and Cleanness

“白” can refer to white-skimmed people. “baixi” （白皙）， used to indicate the clean， but charming face. The Chinese color terms “hongyan ” （紅颜） and “hongfenjiaren” （红粉佳人） are used to imply a beautiful or young woman.

2.2 Polysemy of 红

（1） Female or Beauty

The Chinese color terms “hongyan ” （红颜） and “hongfenjiaren” （红粉佳人） are used to imply a beautiful or young woman.

（2） Health

Color of “red” can express psychology states， such as “manmianhongguang” （满面红光 “radiant with happiness”），“miansehongrun” （面色红润 “in very good health”） and so on.

2.3 Polysemy of 白

（1） Death or Mourning

When a family member dies， the relatives should put on white clothes， which are called “mourning clothes”. The mourning hall is also covered up with white decorations.

（2） Impoverishment， Innocence and Ill Illiteracy

In Chinese feudal society， the common people were forbidden to dress in any other colors except white， so they are called “白衣” or “布衣”. The person with no position are called “白丁” or “白身”， their houses are “白屋”.

3. 黑 and 绿

3.1 Synonymy of 黑 and 绿

Black

“Lübin” （绿鬓） has been used to describe a girl who has dark， thick and shiny hair.黑 is simply “黑” in “heigu longdong” （黑咕隆咚）， “hei-yaya” （黑压压）， “heideng-xiahuo” （黑灯瞎火） all mean darkness.

3.2 Polysemy of黑

（1） Office-workers

“Black coats” are for “white collar workers” but not for “blue-collar workers”. The higher management in hotels and restaurant wear black suit.

（2） Darkness

The color of “black” is often associated with negative qualities. In Chinese， as the hell in Christianity， the neither world in the mythologies is a dark place without any light and is said to be homes for all the wicked people to return to after their death. Another form is simply “黑” in “heigu longdong” （黑咕隆咚）， “hei-yaya” （黑压压）， “heideng-xiahuo” （黑灯瞎火） all mean darkness.

3.3 Polysemy of绿

（1） Black

“Lübin” （绿鬓） has been used to describe a girl who has dark， thick and shiny hair.

（2） Humble Born and Degradation

In Chinese， “green” can be used to mean humble， degrading or bad reputation， the origin of which may be dated back to ancient China when the color term was regarded as impure， so green dress was the uniform worn by officials of lower ranks， or even the dress was worn by prostitutes.

4. Discussion

4.1 Within Chinese： Synonymy

（1） Beauty

“紅”and“白”typically refer to the beauty of young girl.

（2） Mourning

“黑”and“白”are the two colors used to show the feeling of sadness and missing the dead.

（3） black or dark

“黑” and “绿” both refer to black or darkness

References

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[4]姚小平. 基本颜色词理论兼述—兼论汉语基本颜色词的演变史[J]. 外语教学与研究， 1988.

（作者单位：甘肃省定西市安定区思源实验学校）