Yellow

Yellow is considered the color of elemental earth in the I Ching. Similarly, Daoist philosophy uses yellow to represents the concept of the center, from which the cardinal directions originate. In addition, the Yellow River is often considered the origin of Chinese civilization, and the mythological Yellow Emperor or Huangdi is often considered the creator of the Chinese state. For thousands of years, the color yellow has been an important color with Chinese culture to signify stability.

China and Japan shared some cultural similarities in the early first millennium CE, but their histories and cultures separated after that. By the time of the Chinese Tang dynasty in the 7th century, the emperors prioritized complete control over their territories and began to use yellow as the main color of their robes. Along with dragon motifs that symbolized divine rulership, the yellow robes symbolized the emperor’s control over the land. Zhu Xi, an influential Chinese poet, scholar, and politician during the Song dynasty, popularized this political symbolism as an aesthetic choice, leading to it rarely used by ordinary citizens or even lower-ranking governmental officials in ancient society. This tradition was passed along through the following dynasties until the end of the Qing dynasty in the 20th century. Yellow has now become more common and widespread, though it is still associated with authority.

In Japan, yellow is rarely connected to the earth. Instead, yellow often has similar associations to green as a color of plants and nature. Yellow is also associated with the sun, which connects back to the idea of growth. Yellow clothing has positive associations in both traditional Chinese and Japanese culture, but differences in what they actually represent.

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Explore the other colors in this exhibit: