Chinese Featured Buildings Lasting for Thousands of Years
Each color of China in the courtyard
is a masterpiece and an episode of history
Chinese traditional colors are simply elegant
and exceedingly beautiful
According to the rule of Rites of Zhou Dynasty
Red, yellow, cyan, black and white
are five pure colors
Red
Red, “Chi” in Chinese,
is also called “Jiang” in ancient times
“Jiang” means crimson
Red symbolizes auspiciousness and propitiousness
as well as orthodoxy and nobility
You can find it on traditional-Chinese-style door heads
on the autumn maple leaves in the courtyard
and the nimble koi in the pool
...
China red boasts ineffable beauty
Yellow
Black symbolizes the sky while yellow stands for the earth
Yellow is a noble color in ancient China,
which is only for royal family
and stands for the highest standard of rites
Yellow, the color of the earth,
symbolizes the most devout awe of people for the land
Yellow is the winter jasmine blooming in spring
the ginkgo in late autumn
and the old door leading to home
...
Cyan (“qing” in Chinese)
Cyan is an oriental color
Ancients used the word “danqing (vermilion and cyan, two commonly used colors in ancient paintings)” to imply paintings and calligraphy,
proving its simpleness and elegance
The ancients regarded cyan as the sigh of beauty
It includes deep black (xuanqing), dark purple (ganqing) and bluish (daiqing)
Cyan is the tile on the roof, sheltering the warm home,
the bamboo in the courtyard, standing for nobility and integrity,
as well as the lotus leaf and the stone slate
Black
Black stands for dark and gloom
as well as intangible truth
This deep and distant color is like the darkness before the dawn
Black is the roofing tile,
a shelter that can keep you from the wind and rain,
and a kettle for making tea
...
White
White is pureness, silence, and nihility
White serves as the base of the five colors
White is the representative color of the Hui-style architecture featuring white walls and gray tiles
A touch of red shadow is hidden behind the white wall
China white embraces beauty in simplicity
Among the diverse colors in the world,
white is the most original and nature one
The colors of China in the courtyard
are intoxicating and indelible