China's go-to color is red. It's symbolic meaning, derived from the element of fire, is joy and good fortune. Do you want wealth and happiness to come through your front door? Paint it red and let the feng shui do its thing. Plus, what's Communism without red? Other colors just don't pack the same power-to-the-proletariat punch. Go ahead: Try and start a global revolution in any other color. Mauve? Turquoise? Heliotrope? It won't get off the ground. Even though a good 7% of the men you'd want to mobilize are color blind and cannot even see red in its crimson glory, it's the color to go with.
Yellow, however, comes in a close second in China. Traditionally, the Chinese view yellow as the most beautiful color. It symbolizes the earth and generates both Yin and Yang. Yellow is the color once reserved for the royal family. The roof tiles of the Forbidden City and other imperial abodes are yellow.
In Buddhism, yellow represents freedom from earthly bounds and is the color of mourning in China.
Nic of Luziapimpinella gave us some photographic homework to close out the summer. She said, give me some yellow. This is some yellow I saw.
You can join in the fun, too!
You can join in the fun, too!
Yellow fire devouring incense offerings to the Buddha and releasing them from their earthly bonds.
"Yellow has the highest symbolic value in Buddhism through its link with the saffron robes of monks. This color, previously worn by criminals, was chosen by Gautam Buddha as a symbol of his humility and separation from materialist society. It thus signifies renunciation, desirelessness, and humility. Yellow is the color of earth, and thus a symbol of rootedness and the equanimity of the earth."
And a yellow backpack! And see the close-up of the matching Che Guevara polo shirts? Voted Cutest Communist Couple!
Yellow was the color reserved for the royal family and China's most legendary emperors and empresses were adorned at least partially in the most beautiful color. While visiting historic sites, it is popular for tourists to rent imperial costumes and pose for the family photo album...
...but this cheeky fellow upstaged the empress, don'tcha think?
A yellow garbage truck. I mean, garbage "trike".
Yellow joss sticks to offer to the Buddha.
A yellow man-fan.
Hello yellow Hello Kitty! Pretty girl with a yellow bag takes a pretty cell phone photo.
Yellow public telephone.
Yellow imperial roof tiles. The more critters you could have lined up at each corner of your roof, the higher your status in the Middle Kingdom.
Yellow shirt! Yellow dragon! Photographing the photographing.
Local greasy spoon (or oily wok?) set up on old yellow desk. These folks are good at improvising.
A yellow swirl of street art.
Beautiful blushing bride wears yellow.
Wait for it...
There. See it? The yellow writing? It says "Jimmy loves Suzy forever". Or close enough.
So, what yellow said hello in your world recently?
