A Cultural History of “Redness” in Chinese Civilisation

Abstract

This article examines the cultural history of the colour red in pre-imperial China by investigating the interrelationship between the materiality of the colour environment and the symbolism of colour language. Linguistically, it studies the two major words for “red” – the old Chinese label chi and the modern Chinese label hong – found in representative texts datable before 221 BCE. Archeologically, it addresses the range of use and ritual implications of different red hues in artefacts unearthed in Neolithic cultures in both northern and southern China as well as in the Bronze Age Shang and Zhou dynasties. Juxtaposing textual with material sources, it shows that pure red in saturation served as a symbol for high status and immortality, and fuelled by its cosmic and gender associations, the character denoting saturated red in ancient Chinese chi became a cardinal colour due to its ceremonial significance rather than its rarity.