Red

by Ming Leung, May 2011

The color of red is one of the basic colors as we know. In this paper is to try to discuss the color of red with it corresponding culture, especially the color of red is the favorite color of Chinese, and the PRC have also identify red called China Red which try to represent the Chinese in the world.

Definition of Red
Color, which our primary sense that we contact to the world. With color, our emotion and impression with be affected. For instance, when we see the photos, with one is black & white and the other is color, the color one will be provide a more realistic environment and the black and white one might provide an old style mood to us.

The color is actually wavelength signal that detected by our eyes. In our eyes, the color is sense on the retina, there is some cells called opsins, which will absorbs different wavelength from the object. Red, green and blue basic color that detected on the retina and convert to signal that transfer to the brain and let us feel the object have the color (Petru, 2010).

This is the physical operation in our human body that detects colors. As a human, we received many single from a light source and we actually cannot defined the standard red accurately, we just can defined an area from a color spectrum or focus a main point to defined these area are red in color. (Berlin, 1969)

So to interpreted color, we need much method for this. For instance, in the wavelength perspective, the wavelength of red is between 630‐740 nm, in RGB notion #FF0000 is meaning the red which have the most brightness on the mixture of light, red is (0%, 100%, 100%, 0%) in CMYK, which means you need not mixed with Cyan and Black ink when you mixed this color on the printing materials. And Pantone is just defined with color giving a number for this, and they generate this number that can reproduce with their formula.

Beside these technical methods to define the color more accurate, humans actually have defined the color using their own language long time ago. Since our language is affected with the culture activities and so the color will have connotation with the meanings with the language. In this discussion, color of Red the main focus. This color is one of the basic colors derived from the human, as described by John Gage, Red can be derived from blood, with is the basic color of white, black and yellow.

But from Berlin and Kay, there is a development of the language from human for the basic color terms. The development is divided into 7 stages:

Stage I: Black, White
Stage II: Red
Stage III: Green or Yellow
Stage IV: Green and Yellow
Stage V: Blue
Stage VI: Brown
Stage VII: Purple, Pink, Orange, Grey

As we have seen in the early stage, human can classified the color BLACK and WHITE, which actually included deep color like blue in BLACK and light color like yellow in WHITE. The third stage is RED, like the four basic color terms as I mentioned before from blood. Compare with other color, Red can provide the feeling like warm, potent, strong, and active in most of the language in the world (Adams & Osgood, 1973). Since Red have this feeling and so people can use for warm and active, so some countries will use red for their celebration, such as Chinese Luner Year, all the things are in red, which meaning lucky and happy. Besides, red also have used as the sexual maturity in Congo (Jacobson‐Widding, 1979). But if red have mixed with the meaning of active and potent, it will have different meaning like warning. For instance, the no entry sign, it is use red since red can provide a strong message to the viewer to take attention on the sign and instruct the viewer to follow the message.

Use of Red
As Red is the one of the primary color perceived by human, so human will have natural action that received red color before the others. In the age of Neolithic, human are using red as the most important color since they think red were giving the powers to them and they place the red ochre into the graves for the hunter. Besides, for the painting in the same period, they think there is a major power for their fertility. The word “magic” translates to “taufr” in Old Norse and this is related to the Anglo‐Saxon “trafor” which means “red ochre” and so their painting animals are in red ochre or iron oxide to fit this functionality.

Red also has the protective powers against evil influence in common many cultures. Animals and trees are covered in red paint, warriors are painted their weapons into red and they also believe that their spear‐catapults can have more power if they painted in red. The Neolithic hunters and Germanic warriors are even using real blood from animals for their painting materials. Roman gladiators drank blood from their dying competitors to take over their strength. Besides, for the warriors, the painting on their body which also to protect against insects, which similar to the animals to protect themselves by rolling in mud.

Apart from the warriors and hunters, red also be using in other place like for the newborn baby, they will be bath into blood for stronger and have a good looking. Red gems were used to against the evil, wearing a red ruby was think to bring extra power from god and red bed‐clothes which were believed to have a protection against from “red illnesses” like fever, rashes, etc in Germany.

Red, in terms of red rose, is the symbol of love. Red was a part of wedding in many cultures. Red wedding gown was popular in Nurnberg of the 18th century, which is the tradition goes back to roman times: the brides were wrapped in red veil that bless them to have a warrant love. Chinese also using red for the wedding, and also all celebrate activities using red such as Lunar New Year or become a master in the public examinations, etc.

There are also negative connotations of red. Red is the color of the desert and of the destructive god Seth who impersonated the Evil in the ancient Egypt. “Making red” was mean to killing someone and “Red Affairs” which is referred to doing something for evil. And for the signage on the road, red which means to forbidden something like “No entry”, or “Cannot turn left”, etc.

Red in Chinese
In China, people in past or somewhere far from city, they think red can scare the evil or bad things in natural and make them lucky, so Chinese have the mindset that red make them lucky. For the color in China, it is initially described as the color on face, which has the meaning reflected from the person physically and psychologically. If the person is red on face, he may be shy or angry, or there is green on face, he most likely in sick.

The color has used to describe as the color as we know today around 5000BC. Chinese have described the color with the Wu‐Xi (五行). As Wu‐Xi is about Gold, Wood, Water, Fire and Land which have the color of Black, Red, Green, White, Yellow, which have match the first five stages of the color language development from Berlin. Red means fire, providing warm to the people and also can protect people from the attack of animals the wild. In the history of the energy resource of human, when people used fire, they have stepped forward that using fire to cook and scare the animals in the wild to protect their family.

Since China is a farming society in the past, the farmer basically have not much weapon to protect their farm, so fire is the most effective weapon for them at that moment. Besides, fire can provide warm to them and so this will produce a thought that fire will be some kind of god that can protect them. Also, Chinese have no universal God concept like Western, when they need to find way for pray and fire will naturally for them as a lucky icon and hence the red color will also provide them similar feeling for good and lucky naturally.

For instance, an idiom Red Luck From Head (紅運當頭) , red means warm, red luck from the head we can think of this is a good weather day that the sun provide warm to us and we feel good for that day. In such situation of the human it is easy to get the things done and so if the person is always doing jobs fail, to wish this as least this may also provide luck to him.

Besides use for good luck, red have used to represent the level of the society classes in the past. For the man who has power and a rich, they will paint the door to red, and also some house columns also paint in red, which we still can see in the Forbidden City at Beijing nowadays.

Other than red, yellow actually also a favorite color also. Yellow means premium, but this is the color of the king. And since yellow is only be used by the king family, the relation things have come out such as the king can issue a yellow cloth to his relative and so this relative will be assign the power from the king and hence most people need to treat this person like treat to the king.

Political Color
For Red, we know red flag as the symbol of left‐wing politics in the Western political spectrum. This red flag have used by the communism and socialism in the world. Actually this red flag have first been used in the Middle Age: the ships in combat have flew a long red streamer, which called Baucans to signify a fight of death. By the 18th century, this Baucans have modified into a red flag. This flag was raised in the cities and castles that indicate that they would not surrender.

Later in the French Revolution, the red flag used to associate with patriotism in the early state of the revolution and at last the red flag have been an unofficial national emblem. In 1871, the banner of the Paris Commune was red and which have became the symbol of communism. Then in the international labor movement later on, they have use red flag as the symbol from this and it have been widely spread during the Russian Revolution in 1917. The Soviet flag with a hammer, a sickle and a star on the red background.

For the king in China, many of them are also like red and use this as a represent for them. But red is not only the color to represent the power from king. Black and yellow also have used. Black have used in Chun Dynasty, the king have changed the color to black according to the logic of Wu‐Xi, that black is the turn of that dynasty. Yellow have been used from Han, the king adopted yellow as their power color since yellow with the same pronouncing as king, which mean power and so other than the king relatives, no people is allowed to use yellow for anything. In Ching, since China need to have contact with the Western, they also using yellow as the first country flag to represent China.

Then in Republic of China, yellow have not used and the flat have changed in to the current flag. For People Republic of China, they have used red to represent the power again.

For each change of the political power, the king or the control until will change the color. As the beginning, the king like to use red, this is naturally use for the concept of lucky, and also from the most people understanding at that moment. As Chun Dynasty, they used Black to represent its power, Black is a higher potency color then Red and which match to the king desire at that moment. Yellow, which actually is not so powerful if we only care the perception of this color, actually this is a softer and natural color compared to Black and Red. But this have changed is meaning since it is derived from the language that have speak as the same sound, and so its connotation have also changed. And now, red have use again, but this time have one more meaning other than the lucky of China, it mean the power of the control of Communist Party in China.

Why Chinese Like Red
Red is the favorite color of China people. They believe red can bring them lucky and so they like most of the things in red. But why China people seem always need so much of luck? In case if the people feel the life is bad, or need to get some extra power to help them to face the problem ahead, then need luck.

If required luck, since they are always live in the uncertainty. For instance, most of Chinese are farmers in the past, actually they just depending on the weather, which they cannot control by themselves, so luck is very important for them. Besides, even in study in college, if they want to get the high mark they also depending on luck, even they have work hard. Since the examiner can be corrupted let him not pass in the public examinations.

So before any important events in the life, they especially pray for luck with them. This actually similar to the psychology like the warriors in the past, paint all the weapons in red, red is the color that stimuli them unlike the other color and give them a short time of feeling good.

Unlike the warriors, the warriors just need to face to their competitor one time only, win or die. But for Chinese, even the farmer or the studying have run for several thousand repeatedly and have no improvement as well, they just need to pray the luck always.

People may think the China Red is just only representing the China Communist Party, this is not represent the China People. But for China people have several characteristics, for instance, red can provide luck for them, as I mentioned before. Besides, many China people think that the entire world is around him to move, they always mentioned “I”, all the people should need to put that attention to him, which red is fit for this purpose. Red is an attention color compared with the others color, and so beside Red, Yellow is a favorite color also. And for Blue, they think this is the color of dead. For course the China Communist Party have sell this color to their people in the country, but actually most of the people happy to think that red is their color, they always choose the color which is drawing attention one, like red and yellow. Red means China, actually the Communist Party, and the country can make them pound just in terms of money, construction, etc. So in simple thinking the red can represent them. But this is just the market that the people need to have something which with they pound of, and they need red for them to give them some power in their life. But under the sticky control and the power cannot be balanced, justice absent and people have no way to represent this and red can provide them warm and stimuli in the mind that everything will be right later. So Red actually is the China people required more that represent them.

As red, that Chinese want to represent them, but the red have not such meaning like France, the color of the national flag is red, white and blue, which mean liberty, equality and fraternity. Yes, you can say that red can mean friendship, enthusiastic love, passion, but this just a part of this, the red in the Chinese perspective is meaning what they need: luck, extra power to face the problem, hope all the world look at them, and for the Western culture, red mostly means danger and their bloody Apple and Nike products.

References
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