The Colours of China

Between rice terraces and tea trees. A few years ago Houtouwan, a fishing village, was abandoned but nature took it back, made it green again and gave it a new beginning. Houtouwan lies in the east the cardinal direction in the first phase of wu xing. Just look at green (qing), the color of the Wood element, connected with spring. Isn't spring a wonderful time to grow and expand? Thus the color green is generally associated with health, prosperity, and harmony.

Red the color of the Fire element. It's the time of summer, the time of joy and happiness - that's the meaning of the color red in Chinese. Red is the Chinese good luck color. It also stands for celebration, vitality, and it is the bridal color. Well, in the West we associate love with the color red, in China pink or purple is the color of love and romance.

Yellow (huang) corresponds with the element Earth. Think about late summer, when everything is glowing, like that yellow-orange Indian summer. In China, yellow is considered the most beautiful and prestigious color. It signifies neutrality and good looks. It stands for wealth and riches.

White (bai) is the color of the element Metal. On one side it symbolizes brightness, purity, intuition, and fulfillment. On the other side, it is also the color of mourning and ghosts. Thus if you go to a Chinese funeral expect a lot of people wearing white clothes.

The element Water is connected to black (hei) or blue (lan). Blue is the color of healing, relaxation, trust, calmness, and immortality. Just think of the ocean, isn't that calming you already? Black is a more neutral color, it could be associated with stability, adaptability, and will. But is it also used for dark, evil, and sinister.