PAGE22-ThesisforBachelor’sDegreeAContrastiveStudyonCulturalConnotationsofBasicColorTermsbetweenEnglishandChineseAbstractWeliveinacolorfulworld.Thereareagreatvarietyofcolorwords,oralargenumberofexpressionsdenotingthesensationofcolorsusedtodescribethecolorfulthingsintheworld.Althoughdifferingintheirquantitiesinthecolorinventoryofdifferentlanguages,basiccolortermsareimportantcomponentsofalmostallthehumanlanguages.Asagroupofcultural-loadedwords,basiccolortermsreflectculturaldiversitiesintheaspectssuchasminds,customaryhabitsaswellascolororientations.EnglishandChinese,aslanguageswithalonghistory,arebothabundantinbasiccolorterms,andalmostallthebasiccolortermscarrytheirownpeculiarconnotationsresultingfromdifferentsocialcultures,historicalprocessesandgeographicconditions.Withthedeepeningofthecross-culturalcommunicationbetweenChinaandthewesternworld,ithasbeenrealizedthatbasiccolortermsformanareainwhichmisunderstandingincross-culturalcommunicationseemsinevitablebecauseofthediversitiesoftheirculturalconnotations.Therefore,acontrastivestudyonculturalconnotationsofbasiccolortermsbetweenEnglishandChineseisofsignificance.Languageisthecarrierandreflectionofculture,andcolortermsisonepartoflanguage.BythecontrastivestudyofculturalconnotationsofbasiccolortermsbetweenEnglishandChinese,wecanknowmoreaboutwhatisgoingoninpeople’smind,intheirlanguageandculture.Thisthesisconsistsoffourparts.Partoneisthegeneralintroductioninwhichitpointsoutwhatisdiscussedinthethesis.Parttwodefine“basiccolorterms”andintroducetherelationshipbetweencolortermsandculture;besides,italsodiscussesthenecessityofwritingthisthesisPartthreeservesasthemainbodyofthisthesis,inwhichitgivessomeexamplesaboutcolor.Partfouristheconclusionofthewholethesis.Keywords:contrastivestudy,culturalconnotations,basiccolorterms

摘要在人類生活的這個(gè)神奇的彩色世界里，顏色滲透著我們生活的各個(gè)領(lǐng)域。用來(lái)表示這些顏色的顏色詞數(shù)不勝數(shù)，基本顏色詞是本篇論文探討的重點(diǎn)。雖然不同語(yǔ)言中基本顏色詞的數(shù)量不同，但他們幾乎是所有語(yǔ)言的詞匯組成部分。作為具有文化伴隨意義的詞匯，基本顏色詞反映著社會(huì)心理、風(fēng)俗習(xí)慣、顏色取向等文化因素方面的差異。英語(yǔ)和漢語(yǔ)同為源遠(yuǎn)流長(zhǎng)的語(yǔ)言，都有豐富的基本顏色詞。但是，由于不同的社會(huì)、歷史、地理等原因，英語(yǔ)和漢語(yǔ)的許多基本顏色詞都反映了各自民族的文化特點(diǎn)。隨著中西文化交流的不斷深入，人們已經(jīng)認(rèn)識(shí)到具有深刻文化內(nèi)涵的基本顏色詞不可避免地成為跨文化交際中的一個(gè)障礙。因此研究英語(yǔ)和漢語(yǔ)基本顏色詞的文化內(nèi)涵具有一定的現(xiàn)實(shí)意義。語(yǔ)言是文化的載體與映射。顏色詞是語(yǔ)言中的一部分。通過(guò)對(duì)比英語(yǔ)和漢語(yǔ)基本顏色詞的文化內(nèi)涵，我們可以了解到民族的社會(huì)價(jià)值觀、道德觀以及文化的民族性和共同性。本文共分四部分。第一部分對(duì)全文進(jìn)行了簡(jiǎn)要介紹，它指出了本篇論文所討論的重點(diǎn)。第二部分對(duì)基本顏色詞進(jìn)行了定義以及介紹了顏色詞和文化之間的關(guān)系，并且討論了寫(xiě)這篇論文的和必要性。第三章是本文的主體，其中列出了一些顏色詞的例子。第四章是整篇論文的結(jié)論。關(guān)鍵詞：對(duì)比研究,文化內(nèi)涵,基本顏色詞ContentsAbstractinEnglishAbstractinChinesePreface 11.Introduction 22.BasicColorTermsandCulture 32.1DefinitionofBasicColorTerms 32.2ColorTermsandCulture 32.3NecessityoftheContrastiveStudyonCultureConnotationsofBasicColorTerms 43.AContrastiveStudyonCultureConnotationsofBasicColorTermsbetweenEnglishandChinese 43.1Red 53.2White 73.3Yellow 93.4Blue 113.5Black 133.6Green 144.Conclusion 17References 19Acknowledgements 20PrefaceIthasbeenrealizedthatbasiccolorterms,asagroupofcultural-loadedwords,formanareawithfrequentoccurrenceofcommunicativemisunderstanding,therootofwhichliesinculturaldifferences.Torealizethetruevalueofcommunication,decodingthemessageonlyinitsliteralmeaningisfarfrombeingenough.Miscommunicationandmisunderstandingresultfromthefactthattheconnotativemeaningreflectsthesubjectiveattitudeofthespeakersandvariesfromonepersontoanother.Asaresult,thedecodingandproperappraisalofwhatissaidisbasednotonlyonthehearer’slinguisticknowledgeaboutthelanguage,butmoreimportantly,onhisknowledgeabouttheculturalbackgroundembodiedinthelanguage.Itmaybeanextremestandthatthemisuseoflanguageisamajorcauseofhumanconflicts,butitisthecase,toacertainextent,thatsomeclashesincommunicationresultfromsemanticandpragmaticfailure,sopeopleareoftensuggestedtochooserightwordstomeanwhattheysay.Thechoiceoftherightwordsisalsobasedupontheirunderstandingoftheconnotativemeaningsofthewordstheyareusing.ThestudiesonconnotationsofcolortermscannotonlyhelptolearnEnglish,butalsoenlightenEnglishlanguagelearningandteaching.Inaddition,theyalsoplayimportantrolesinthefieldoftranslationandcross-culturalcommunication.1.Introduction“Mr.Brownisaverywhiteman.Hewaslookingrathergreentheotherday.Hehasbeenfeelingbluelately.WhenIsawhim,hewasinabrownmood.Ihopehe’llsoonbeinthepinkagain.”Whenreadingthissentence,peoplemightbeataloss.Thestructureandvocabularyarequitesimple,butthemeaningofthecolortermsmaypuzzlepeople.Ithasbeenrealizedthatbasiccolorterms,asagroupofcultural-loadedwords,formanareawithfrequentoccurrenceofcommunicativemisunderstanding,therootofwhichliesinculturaldifferences.Manyascholarhascarriedoutresearchesoncolorperceptionandcolortermfromdifferentangles.Generallyspeaking,therehavebeenroughlythreeapproachesinthestudyofcolorlexicon:oneislanguage-systemrelated,asecondispsychologicallyoriented,andathirdisculturallyorsociolinguisticallydriven.TheschoolofresearchinitiatedbyBerlinandKay(1969)belongstothefirstapproach.Itismoreinterestedinestablishinguniversalrulesandevolutionarystagesofcolorlexiconacrosslanguages.Theypaidtoomuchattentiontothelanguagesystemattheexpenseoflanguageuse,andthebasicorrestrictedcolorlexiconhasbecometheprimaryfocusoftheiracademicinterestwiththe“fancy”(Lakoff1973)orelaboratedcolorlexiconbeingcompletelyignored.ThesecondapproachisdevelopedbyHeider(1971),whoindicatesanacademicinfluencefromcognitivepsychology.Thisschooltriestorevealthementalrepresentationofcolorlexicon,throughthecategorizationorprototypemechanismsofhumanbeings.Whathasbeenignoredinthisschoolissimilartotheuniversalandevolutionarystudyofcolorlexicon:colorwordsotherthanbasiconesandtheusageofcolorlexiconhavebecomeasecondaryconcern.Thethirdschoolcanbedividedintotwocategories:macro-sociolinguisticalandmicro-sociolinguistical.Theformerstudiesthespecificusageofcolortermsininterculturalcommunication,thatis,theculturalcontrastofcolorterms.Thelatterresearchesthedifferencesincolorcodabilityinadefinitecommunitywithrelationtoage,genderandothersocial-relatedfactors.Manyaresearchhasbeengiventothemicro-sociolinguisticalresearchbothhomeandabroad.Thediscussionofthisthesisfallsintothefirstcategory,tostudytheculturalconnotationsofcolortermsbetweenEnglishandChinese.Thisthesisconsistsoffourparts.Partoneisthegeneralintroductioninwhichitpointsoutwhatisdiscussedinthethesis.Parttwodefine“basiccolorterms”andintroducetherelationshipbetweencolortermsandculture;besides,italsodiscussesthenecessityofwritingthisthesisPartthreeservesasthemainbodyofthisthesis,inwhichitgivessomeexamplesaboutcolor;includingred,white,yellow,blue,blackandgreen.Partfouristheconclusionofthewholethesis.2.BasicColorTermsandCulture2.1DefinitionofBasicColorTermsWeliveinacolorfulworld.Tosatisfyourdailynecessities,peopleuseagreatnumberofcolortermstorepresentcolors.Forinstance,itisestimatedthatthereareoverthreethousandcolorwordsinEnglish.Morerevealingly,oureyesarecapableofdistinguishingsevenmilliondifferentcolors,formostofwhichwedonothaveanylinguisticexpressionsavailableatall.What’smore,duetothecontinuousnatureofspectrumit’sdifficulttocategorizethecolors,thusthecategoriesofcolortermsarevague.Generallyspeaking,thecolorwordsinEnglishcanbedividedintotwocategories:basiccolortermsandobjectcolorterms,thecounterpartsofwhichcanalsobefoundinChinese.TherearesomanycolortermsinEnglishandChinesethatwecannotdiscussallofthem,thusinthisthesis,thediscussionwillfocusonthefieldofbasiccolorterms.Beforethediscussion,weshouldhaveaclearconceptofbasiccolorterms.However,it’sdifficulttogiveadefiniteandaccuratedefinitiontobasiccolorterms.Therearemanyversionsofdefinitiontobasiccolorterms,amongwhichthemostacceptableisgivenbyBerlinandKay.IntheirBasicColorTerms:TheirUniversalityandEvolution,BerlinandKaylayoutfourbasiccriteriatojudgewhetheracolorwordisbasicornot(cf.3.1.2.).Accordingtothiscriterion,theelevenbasiccolorcategoriesarewhite,black,red,green,yellow,blue,brown,purple,pink,orangeandgray,Iwilldiscusssixoftheminthethesis.2.2ColorTermsandCultureIndifferentcultures,therearedifferentperceptionsofcolorterms.SapirandWhorfhadmadecross-culturalcomparisonsofcolortermsasevidence.Whenpeopleperceivecolorwiththeireyes,forinstance,theyaresensingthatportionofelectromagneticradiationthatisvisiblelight.Thespectrumofvisiblelightisacontinuumoflightwaveswithfrequenciesthatincreaseatacontinuousratefromoneendtotheother.Inotherwords,therearenodistinctcolorslike“red”and“green”innature.Culture,throughlanguage,guidespeopleinseeingthespectrumintermsofthearbitraryestablishedcategoriesthattheycallcolors.Differentculturesmaydivideupthespectrumindifferentways.Inotherwords,thecolorstheyseearepredeterminedbywhattheirculturepreparesthemtosee(ChangZonglin,2004).Humanbeingssharesimilarsenseperceptionsofcolordespitedifferencesincolorterminologyfromonelanguagetoanother.Thephysiologyofhumaneyesisessentiallythesame.Peopleallovertheworldcanseesubtlegradationsofcolorandcancomprehendotherwaysofdividingupthespectrumofvisiblelight.However,asasociety’s,economyandtechnologyincreaseincomplexity,thenumberofcolortermsusuallyalsoincreases.Thatistosaythespectrumofvisiblelightgetssubdividedintomorecategories.Astheenvironmentchanges,cultureandlanguagetypicallyrespondbycreatingnewterminologytodescribeit.Itisnowclearthattheterminologyusedbyaculturereflectsthatculture’sinterestsandconcerns,suchasinEnglishbasiccolortermsareeleven(BerlinandKay,1969),inChinesebasiccolortermsaresix(Saeed,2000),whileinRussianbasiccolortermsaretwelve(Goddard,1998).2.3NecessityoftheContrastiveStudyonCultureConnotationsofBasicColorTermsTorealizethetruevalueofcommunication,decodingthemessageonlyinitsliteralmeaningisfarfrombeingenough.Miscommunicationandmisunderstandingresultfromthefactthattheconnotativemeaningreflectsthesubjectiveattitudeofthespeakersandvariesfromonepersontoanother.Asaresult,thedecodingandproperappraisalofwhatissaidisbasednotonlyonthehearer’slinguisticknowledgeaboutthelanguage,butmoreimportantly,onhisknowledgeabouttheculturalbackgroundembodiedinthelanguage.Itmaybeanextremestandthatthemisuseoflanguageisamajorcauseofhumanconflicts,butitisthecase,toacertainextent,thatsomeclashesincommunicationresultfromsemanticandpragmaticfailure,sopeopleareoftensuggestedtochooserightwordstomeanwhattheysay.Thechoiceoftherightwordsisalsobasedupontheirunderstandingoftheconnotativemeaningsofthewordstheyareusing.3.AContrastiveStudyonCultureConnotationsofBasicColorTermsbetweenEnglishandChineseAllcultureshavegeneralitiesandspecialties,colorwordsasapartoflanguage,whichasacarrierofculture,alsohavetheirowncharacters.InChineseculture,red,orange,yellow,greengreenishblack,blue,purple,thesevencolortermsintherainbow,arethoughttobethebasiccolors.However,inEnglishculture,itisusuallyconsideredtheelevenbasiccolorsarewhite,black,grey,brown,yellow,blue,purple,orange,pink,redandgreen.AlthoughtherearesomesimilaritiesontheapplicationsofcolorwordsbetweenChineseandEnglishculture,therearealsolotsofdifferences,becauseofthedifferentwaysofthinking,culturalbackground,historicalbackground,geographicreasonsandtraditionalcustomsbetweenthetwocultures.Peoplecannothavemoreperfectcommandofthetwolanguagesandmakebetterculturalcommunicationunlesstellthedifferencesbetweenthem.InChina,lotsofpeoplelikedrinking“紅茶”,butinEnglish,theycallthem“blacktea”;brownsugaris“紅糖”.Fromourviews,weobservethemfromthecolorofwater,butfromtheirviews,theypaymoreattentiontothecolorofteaandthesugar.(張安德,2003:74)InEnglishculture,blackmeans“death”and“condolence”.InthefuneralofEnglish-speakingcountries,peoplewearblackclothesduetothecustom.Forexample:“wearblackforone’sfather”.WhileinChineseculture,people’smourningapparelisalwayswhite.AsinChinesecustom,whiteisoftenconnectedwithfuneralarrangements.3.1RedRedistheearliestcolorusedbypeoplesintheworld.Itisthecolorofblood,aswellasthesunandfire.Intheearlyperiodofhumanhistory,itisthesunandfirethatmadelifeeasier.Thus,inbothEnglishandChinese,“red”and“紅”areassociatedwith“dignity”,“l(fā)ove”,“beauty”,“happiness”,andsoon.SoinEnglishonemayfind,forexample,“red-letterdays”,whichreferstoholidayssuchasChristmasandotherspecialdays.Suchdaysareprintedinredoncalendars,ratherthaninblackforordinarydays.Anotherexampleis“topaintthetownred”,meaningtocelebrate,gooutfordrinkingandhaveagoodtime.“Rollouttheredcarpetforsomeone”or“givetheredcarpettreatment”meansgivingalavishwelcome.AstherepresentativecolorofChina,“紅”isthefavoritecolortomostChinese.Itisoftenusedinapositivesense.ThepositivemeaningsoftheChinesecolorterm“紅”mayoriginatefromitsassociationbyancientChinesepeoplewiththesunandfire.AccordingtoancientChineselegendsandmythologies,therewasnotsuchapowerfuldominatoroftheuniverseastheChristianGod,soitmaybethattheancientChinesepeoplehadbeeninclinedtothinkofthemselvesastheproductofthenature,inwhichtheygotdirectbenefitsfromthewarmthofthesunandfire.Sotheyassociatedthesunwithwarmthandbrightnessandthenassociatedthecolorofthesunwithanythinghappy,luckyandprosperous.Nowadays,ithasbecometherepresentativecolorofChina;theChinesehasaspecialfeelingtoit.Intheinternationalgames,theChineseteamisusuallydressedinred.RedisthebasiccolorintheOlympicbadge—“dancingBeijing”in2008,implyingthatitwillbeheldinBeijing,China.InChina,“紅”isthemostfrequentcolorincelebrationsandjoyfuloccasions.InsuchtraditionalfestivalsasNewYear’sDayandSpringFestival,redantitheticalcoupletsarestuckonbothsidesofthedoor,redcharacter“?！眕astedup,redlanternshungup,redpaper-cutsattachedontothewindows,redfireworkssetoff,andNewYearmoneygifttochildrenisenvelopedinredpaperpackages.Weddingandbirtharecalled“紅事”.Thereisalsoalegendexplainingthecloserelationbetweenweddingandthecolorterm“紅”.Somepeopleholdtheopinionthatthecolorterm“紅”originatesfrom“虹”,therainbowinthesky.Ancientpeoplecannotexplainthereasonforappearanceofrainbowbecauseoftheunderdevelopedscience.“虹”wasimaginedasagianttwo-headworminthesky,combiningafemaleoneandamaleone.Marriageisalsoacombinationoffemaleandmale,thusitisassociatedwiththeanimal“虹”.Otherpeopleregardedrainbowasaredrope,connectingamanandawomanwhowouldgetmarried.ThustheredcolorisconnectedcloselywiththeChineseweddings.InthetraditionalChineseweddings,thebride,whoworereddress,redshoes,andaredveil,satinared-paintedpalanquin,greetedbythebridegroomwhorodeahorsewithabigredsilk-madefloweronthechest.Aftertheceremony,theywouldenterintothebridalchamberdecoratedwithredcandles.Thebedwascoveredwithredbedspreads,redquilts,andredpillows.What’smore,thegiftssentbyguestswerealsowrappedinredpackages.Althoughsomecustomofweddinghaschangedundertheinfluenceofwesterncultures,redisstillthemaincolorinChineseweddings.Thepositiveuseof“red”inEnglishisverymuchlimited.Instead,itisoftenusedinaderogativesense,connectedwith“sanguineness”,“danger”and“violence”inthemindsofnativespeakersofEnglish.UndertheinfluenceofChristianity,nativespeakersofEnglisharenotworshippersofthesunandothernaturalphenomenabecauseGodhasbeentheonlyLordforthemtoworship.Sotheybecamelesslikelytoassociatethecolorredwiththesunandfire.AccordingtoBible,whenAdamandEve,theallegedancestorsofhumanbeings,committedtheoriginalsin,GodsaidtoEve:“Iwillgreatlyincreaseyourpainsinchildbearing;inpainyoushallbringforthchildren.”Thegreatpainthatawomansuffersingivingbirthtoachildisbleedingfreely,andthatmaybethereasonwhybloodbecameasymbolofmiseryand“red”becameassociatedwithdangersforEnglish-speakingpeople.Therearequiteafewexpressionswith“red”usedtomeandangerandwarning.“RedCross”isaninternationalorganizationthathelpspeoplewhoaresufferingasaresultofwar,floodsanddisease.“RedNoseDay”isadayonwhichanappealismadeforresearchintosuddeninfantdeathsyndrome,markedbythedistributionofplasticrednosestodonors.“Redlining”referstotheareathatislinedbytheAmericanfinancialinstitutionasasignofnohousingloans.Furthermore,“red”and“紅”isassociatedwithcertainemotions.InEnglish,“tobecomered-faced”orher“faceturnedred”showsembarrassment,asitdoesinChinese“臉紅”.ButsomeEnglishexpressionsinvolvingthecolorredmaynotbesoeasilyunderstoodbytheChinese.ItisdifficultforChinesepeopletounderstandthemeaningof“toseered”and“wavingaredflag.”Bothofthemarerelatedwithanger.Theformermeanstobemadeangryortobecomeangrysuddenly,whilethelattermeansdoingsomethingthatcouldcausequickangerinotherpeople.3.2WhiteThecolorofwhiteandblackarethetwoendsinthespectrum,sotheysignifybrightnessanddarknesscontrastively.InBible,blackisthesymbolofwickednessandevilspirit,whilewhiterepresentsJesus,truthandvirtue.Thus,blackandwhiteareusuallyusedtogetherinsomephrasesandexpressions.“Blackandwhite”refersto“白紙黑字”,“黑白影片”or“是非分明”;“knowblackfromwhite”meanswiseandcorrectjudge;ifwesaysomebodycallswhiteblack,wemeanthepersonconfoundsrightandwrong,correspondingtotheChineseidiom“顛倒黑白”.Mostpeoplesintheworld,includingEnglishandChinese,regardwhiteasthecolorofbotheastandwest,symbolizingbothsunriseandsunset,thuswhitehastwooppositemeanings:brightnessanddarkness.InChinese,themeaningofbrightnessisrelatedtothephilosophicalideaofduality,alsocalledyinandyangopposites,whichstatesthattheworldconsistsoftwoopposites:yinandyang,whichisrepresentedbyblackandwhiterespectively.TomostChineseandWesterners,whitehascertainsimilarconnotations:brightness,purity,andinnocence.WhiteistheholiestcolorinChristianism,whichismanifestedinthebeliefthatJesusandhisangelswearwhitedress.Thiscommendativemeaningcanalsobereflectedintheritualofwedding.IntheWesterncountries,theweddingiscalled“whitewedding”,becausethebridesaredressedinwhite,wearingwhiteglovesandshoes;thecarriageofweddingisdrivenbywhitehorses,thedriverofwhichwearsawhitehat;andwhat’smore,theinvitationcardiswrittenwithsilverletters.Theconnotationofpuritycanbeshowninsomeexpressions.“Awhitewitch”isasorceresswith“whitespirit”,whodoesgooddeedstoothers.“Awhitehat”referstoakindperson.“Awhitesheep”isusuallyusedasametaphorindicatingagoodpersonamongagangofevilones.“Awhitemagic”isusedforgoodpurposes.InChinese,therearealsomanyphrasesof“white”connectedwiththeconnotationofpurity,suchas“潔白”,and“白璧無(wú)瑕”.Nursesarecalled“白衣戰(zhàn)士”or“白衣天使”,becausetheywearwhiteuniform,lookinglikeangelsbringinglifeandbrightnesstopatients.“White”and“白”havealsotheconnotationofinnocence.Ifsomebodyissaidtobe“white-handed”,heorsheishonestorinnocent.“Markone’snamewhiteagain”meansmakingsomebodyinnocentandregainingthegoodfame.Meanwhile,“白”in“不白之冤”,and“清白無(wú)辜”containsthesamemeaning.Incontrasttoa“blacklie”,a“whitelie”issupposedtobeaharmlessone.Forexample,anoldersistermightsaytoayoungersisterandherboyfriend:“Youtwogoaheadtothemovie.I’vegotalotofworktonight.Thanksanyway.”Sheknowsthatthetwowanttogooutaloneandthatshewasinvitedjustforthesakeofpoliteness.Soshemakesuptheexcusethatshehasalotofworktodo.Thisisawhiteliewithoutintentionofharmordeceit.“白”inChinesehasalsosomeassociationwithdeath,whichoriginatesfromthetraditionalideaof“fiveelements”,statingthatwhiteisthecolorofthewest.Thebirthanddeathofapersonarelikethesunriseandsunset.Thus,whiteasthesymbolofwestalsobecomesasignofdeath.Moreover,Chinesepeoplebelievethatthewestisdefendedbyawhitetiger.Whenapersondied,theghostwouldcometothedoorofthehell.Onlywhentheghostwaseatenbythewhitetigercoulditgointothenetherworld.AswhiteisthecolorofmourningdressinChina,thecolorterm“白”isassociatedwiththingsofillomensuchasdeathormisfortune.SotheChineseexpression“白事”isusedtomean“funeralaffairs”.InChinesefuneral,peoplewearwhitehats,whitemourningapparelsandwhiteshoes,withawhiteropetiedinthewaists.Bamboopolesboundwithwhiteclothononeendandwhitemourningmoneyarealsousedinthefunerals.Inancienttimes,iftheparentswerestillalive,theirchildrenwerenotallowedtowearwhiteclothes.UndertheinfluenceofwesternculturesincetheOpeningup,Chinesepeoplehavechangedtheirideaaboutwhiteclothes.Moreandmorepeopledon’tmindwearingwhiteclothes,andbridesbegintowearwhitedressintheweddings.“White”and“白”alsomeans“failure”.Inawar,theyieldingpartywillhang“白旗”ora“whiteflag”asasignofacceptingitsfailure.Someexpressionswith“white”inEnglishhavetheirspecificmeanings.Forinstance,“white”means“uselessness”in“whiteelephant”.InancientRome,akingwouldsendabigwhiteelephanttothecourtiershedidn’tlikeasapunishment,becausetheelephanthadsuchagoodappetiteandatesomuchthatitsmastercouldnotaffordit.Theexpression“whiteelephant”isstillusedinmoderntimes,indicatingthecompletelyuselessthings,althoughtheymaycostalotofmoney.“Whitegoods”isawordusedespeciallyinbusinessmeaninglargepiecesofequipmentusedinthehouse,suchaswashingmachines,refrigerators,andsoon,becausemostofthemarewhiteinappearance.Oppositely,“browngoods”arebrownshellelectronicequipmentssuchasTVset,radio,andstereoaswell.“White”inEnglishalsomeanscoward.A“white-livered”personwill“showthewhitefeather”indangeranddifficulty.3.3Yellow“Yellow”and“黃”havebothpositivemeaningsandnegativemeanings.Asthecolorofgoldandthesun,“yellow”isthesymbolofwealth,honorandpower.It’saholycolorinChristianity.TheFatherwearsgoldencrucifix,andtheholycupusedbyJesusinhislastsupperisalsoyellow.TheyellowcolorisalsoaholycolorinTaoismandBuddhism.SomemonksandTaoistpriestsworeyellowdress.Yellowpaperwithmagicincantationsisregardedbysuperstitiouspeopleasameanstoexpelevilspirits.“黃道吉日”isadaysuitablefordoingsomeimportantthings,suchasholdingweddingandopeningceremonies.Bornwithyellowskin,cultivatedintheyellowsoil,andtakingtheYellowRiverastheirplaceoforigin,theChinesepeopletakeprideintheirbelongingtotheyellowrace,wecallourselvesproudlyas“炎黃子孫”.Accordingtothefive-elementtheory,thecolor“黃”isthesymboliccolorof“earth”,standingforthecenteroftheuniverseandisregardedasacolorofnobility.IthasbeensaidthatXuanyuan,alegendaryrulerandoneoftheearliestancestorsoftheHanNationality,wascalled“黃帝”(YellowEmperor)becauseheoftenworeyellowdressandyellowhats.What’smore,inChinese,“黃”isthesameinpronunciationas“皇”,sotheyellowcolorhasbeenthecolorofemperorsandthecolorterm“黃”hasbeenusedtosymbolizeimperialpower.(EmperorsinQinDynastyweredressedinblackasasymbolofsolemnity.Later,EmperorWudiinHanDynastychangedtheimperialdressintoyellowasarespecttotheearth.)Therearequiteafewexpressionswith“黃”relatedtotheemperor.Theimperialdressiscalled“黃袍”;thepalaceemperorslivedinis“黃宮”;Huakai,acanopyusedspeciallyfortheemperorsiscalled“黃蓋”,animperialedictiscalled“黃榜”.Intheexpressionsmentionedabove,“黃”canbereplacedby“皇”.Theidiom“黃袍加身”comesfromahistoricalstory,sayingthatinthelateperiodoftheFiveDynasties,ZhaoKuangyin,anarmycommanderofZhou,graspedthemilitarypowerandlaunchedthemutiny.Hissubordinatesdressedhimupinimperialdressandsupportedhimastheiremperor.Later,themeaningofthisidiomisextendedtoseizingpowers.Anotheridiomis“飛黃騰達(dá)”,whichcomesfromalegendsayingthatahorsecalled“飛黃”intheheavencouldflyintothe