英语畅谈中国文化50主题 11

Yellow: China’s Favorite Color 黄，中国人崇尚的颜色

　　A：Chinese people seem to like the red and yellow colors a lot. The two colors are used for the Chinese national flag. They are also the predominant colors for the cover design of some important books, as well as in the decorations for major events, such as the flower display in Tian’anmen Square during the National Day holidays.

　　B：The color preferences of the Chinese people are influenced by the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth, in addition to geographical 1 locations and weather. China is a huge and geographically 2 diversified 3 country. It is cold in the north so people there like warm colors. But it is just the opposite in the south. Of all the warm colors, the Han people like yellow especially.

　　A：Maybe because the Hans originated in the Yellow River Plateau, a region where yellow was the prevailing 4 color.

　　B：You are probably right. As far as the five elements are concerned, the corresponding colors are white, green, black, red, and yellow. Yellow is the predominant color and is situated 5 in the center of the diagram. Yellow was also the color representing the imperial court in traditional China. It was established as the authoritative 6 color representing the Emperor during the Han Dynasty more than 2000 years ago. During the Sui Dynasty, yellow was officially designated as the exclusive color for the imperial family. It was used in the Emperor’s clothes, the paper on which the Emperor published his decrees, and the calendar that was printed by the Imperial Court.

　　A：People have a tradition of making a “longevity outfit 7” for the deceased. The inner side of the outfit is always yellow. The bottom of the coffin 8 is also lined with yellow silk.

　　B：During the 1980s and 1990s, taxis in Beijing were all painted yellow. Those taxis were very popular because of space and low fares. However, they were considered inappropriate for Beijing and were replaced with new models. The new taxis use a standard color pattern with yellow at the bottom, which acts as a reminder 9 of Beijing’s Imperial tradition.

　　A：Nowadays, people always refer to pornography as “yellow literature” and pornographic films as “yellow movies.” That reference can be traced to a newspaper from the 19th century United States, which used to print vulgar paintings in yellow.

　　B：The word “yellow” in the campaign statement of “Eradicate the yellow and fight against the illegal” refers to pornography. I guess we all need to be very careful with the yellow color since it is used to represent both the Imperial Court and bad taste. In olden times, a person could be beheaded for the misuse 10 of yellow. It can also cause trouble today if a person associates himself with the wrong yellow.

A：中国人似乎很喜欢红黄两色，你看，中国国旗就是由这两种颜色组成的。很多重大场合或重要书籍的装帧总会用到这两种颜色。国庆节天安门广场摆放的花坛，也是以这两种颜色作主调。

　　B：中国人对色彩的好恶除了受地理、气候的影响外，也受到传统五行说的影响。从地理方面说，中国是个地域广阔的国家，北方寒冷，人们喜欢暖色；南方炎热，人们喜欢冷色。在暖色中，汉民族最崇尚黄色。

　　A：这也许是因为汉民族的发源地是黄土高原，这个地域满目黄土之色。

　　B：可能是吧。从五行说来看，金、木、水、火、土所代表的五色分别是白、青、黑、赤、黄，其中黄为主色，位在中央。在中国古代社会，黄色是皇权的象征。在两千多年前的汉代，朝廷就规定“衣尚黄”，确立了黄色的权威地位。从隋朝起，黄色成为皇家专用的颜色。皇帝的龙袍称作黄袍；皇帝的文告用黄纸写成，称黄榜；皇帝颁发的历书用黄纸印刷，称为黄历。

　　A：据我所知，按照传统，死者去世后穿的衣服称作“寿衣”，它讲究双层缝制，里面那一层一定要用黄色。棺材的底部也要铺上黄绸布。

　　B：上世纪八九十年代，北京街头跑着的出租车就是黄色的面包车。它因为价廉且空间大而广受欢迎。后来这种车型被认为有碍京城市容而被新车型取代。现在的出租车采用统一的颜色，下半部为土黄，以体现北京皇家名城的传统。

　　A：现在，人们称色情文学为“黄色小说”，称色情电影为“黄色电影”。这种说法来源于19世纪美国的一家报纸，该报社以黄色印刷趣味低下的漫画。

　　B：现在的词汇“扫黄打非”中的“黄”就有色情的意思。这种有时贵为皇家专用，有时又表示低级趣味的颜色，用起来还真要小心。古时用错了黄色会杀头，今天错用了黄色会闯祸。