Download pdf
Analysis of the Cultural Significance and Social Rationale of "Red" in Chinese Culture
- 1 Hong Kong Metropolitan University
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
"Red" is arguably the most frequently used color term in Chinese. Since ancient times, the Chinese people have held a special emotional connection to the color "red", and this psychological characteristic is directly reflected in the usage of the linguistic symbol "red", forming its unique cultural significance. This paper provides a brief analysis and overview of the cultural meanings of "red" from both traditional and contemporary perspectives, including its associations with "celebration," "power and favor," "nobility," and "revolution, progress." It elucidates the rich humanistic nuances layered upon the natural attribute of "red" and explores its inherent characteristics of human creativity, symbolism, and communicability, deepening our understanding of the cultural significance of "red." Furthermore, the cultural meaning of "red" is intricately intertwined with social factors. This paper delves into the external social rationale behind the formation of the cultural meaning of "red," conducting in-depth analyses of natural superstitions, historical factors, literary arts, folk customs, language influences, and other aspects, revealing the rich and profound social causes behind the cultural essence of "red."
Keywords
Red, Cultural Significance, Social Rationale
[1]. Zhou, Y. (2005). Cultural Connotations of Vocabulary. Sanlian Bookstore.
[2]. Pan, F., & Li, L. (2009). A Preliminary Study on the Cultural Meaning of Red. Chinese Characters Culture, 5, 87-91.
[3]. Ministry of Education Higher Education Department, Zhang, D., & Fang, K. (2004). Introduction to Chinese Culture. Beijing: Beijing Normal University Press, 2.
[4]. Zhou, M. (2008). Research on the Red Color Word Family in Chinese. Yunnan Normal University.
[5]. Zhang, W. (1988). A Preliminary Discussion on the Associative Meaning of Color Words. Language Teaching and Research, 3, 112-122.
[6]. Shi, X. (Year of completion unavailable). A Comparative Study of Color Words in Chinese and Slavic Languages. Harbin Normal University.
[7]. Cao, W. (2001). Modern Chinese Semantics. Shanghai: Xuelin Publishing House, 54.
[8]. Zhang, G., & Ding, S. (2004). Course of Cultural Linguistics. Beijing: Education Science Press.
[9]. Ren, C. (1996). Chinese Folk Taboos. Beijing: Language Press, 487.
[10]. Yin, F., Ed. (1998). Ancient Chinese Cultural History (Volume Three). Kunming: Yunnan People's Publishing House, 475.
[11]. Li, C. (2003). Cultural Connotations and Causes of the Red Color Word Family in Chinese. Chinese Characters Culture, 2, 43-46.
[12]. Zhong, J. (2002). Introduction to Folk Culture Development. Beijing: Social Science Literature Press, 253.
[13]. Zhu, N. (2012). Cognitive Research on the Semantic System of the 'Red' Word Family. Bohai University.
Cite this article
Xu,M. (2024). Analysis of the Cultural Significance and Social Rationale of "Red" in Chinese Culture. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,42,69-75.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer/Publisher's Note
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
About volume
Volume title: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Social Psychology and Humanity Studies
© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who
publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this
series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published
version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial
publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and
during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See
Open access policy for details).