The Bad Guy Wore White
Posted: Monday, July 27, 2009
by Dianne Lehmann
Artisan Jewelry from SyZyGy
When I was younger, my husband and I studied Kung Fu for a few years. We, and a bunch of others from our club, would go on a Saturday night to China Town in Los Angeles to see Chinese produced Kung Fu movies. Many of them had English subtitles, quite a few did not.
At first there was some confusion about who the good guys were and who the bad guys were. In those old Western movies produced here in the States and also in Italy and Germany , the bad guy always wore a black hat so you could be certain of his status. His horse was frequently tricked out in black tack as well to help get the point across. But in the Kung Fu movies we watched it seemed that the bad guys always wore white. I realized then that our uniforms were black for the most part and that we were, to my thinking, the good guys.
A lot of attention has been given in recent years to considerations of different social customs in the effort to promote better relations between different cultures. Just how far do you bow when meeting a Japanese person who is a little higher than you in the pecking order? When is it proper for a woman within a Muslim country to uncover her head and face? How much do these rules apply to foreign women visiting Muslim countries?
I think it is just as important to understand how the various cultures use color. The use of color can also tell you a lot about an individual person, as long as you take their culture into consideration.
Two of my most favorite colors are green and purple I love to look at those two colors although orange can get a lot of my attention as well. But I wear more green than purple and a lot more purple than orange. In most Western cultures, green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness and fertility (which also equates to creativity). It has a strong emotional correspondence with safety. Dark green in also commonly associated with money.
In China Town during Chinese New Year celebrations, Lion Dancers would dance outside of retail establishments that had hung lettuce (green) and something red (sometimes tomatoes) outside of their doors. Frequently, the "lion" would pull down the offering and "eat" it. Sometimes actual cash was offered instead of lettuce. Fire crackers would be set off to chase away evil spirits. The green represented money and the red was for good luck. The ritual was one of promoting prosperity in the forthcoming year. Despite everything that is different about Western and Chinese culture, they agree on at least one of the meanings of the color green.
As stated previously, purple is associated with royalty and so it has come to symbolize power, nobility, luxury and ambition. It is also associated with wisdom (only the wealthy could afford to be well educated), dignity and independence, creativity, mystery and magic. Picture the wizard in his purple robe studded with runes. But in Thailand , widows wear purple. Whereas in Chinese Feng Shui, purple symbolizes yin (the feminine aspect of chi), spiritual awareness, and physical and mental healing. No mention is made of royalty. Also where Westerners will wear black for death and mourning, the Chinese will wear white. And a Chinese bride wears red!
The colors you wear don't necessarily define you in any definitive manner. Sometimes the colors a person wears are out of necessity or convenience. Still, some attention should always be given to the affect that color has upon our psyches. These effects are usually below the threshold of consciousness and therefore "color" our thoughts without our direct knowledge. So if you are a Westerner with a Chinese friend who comes to the funeral of your mother and the friend is dressed in white, stifle that niggling sense of offense you might be feeling. Your Chinese friend is merely being their version of respectful.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Dianne,How interesting! I knew a little about purple and that Asian women wore red wedding gowns but your information on all the colors was fascinating. Some very good advice as well.Thank you for sharing,NancyHi Nancy.I wasn't sure if I should include more colors. I didn't want it to get too long or boring, so I decided to just talk a bit about my favorites.I'm glad that you found it interesting. Thanks for reading and commenting.Respectfully,Dianne
Hi Dianne,
I agree with Nancy, very interesting article. I enjoy learning when I read something and you made it interesting. I'm a big fan of red. I'm working on something now that's using purple and green. I like that color combination, too.
I think it's a good idea to show respect across cultural lines and this article helped me to know more than I did. I knew about red at a Chinese wedding but only because of pictures.
Thanks for an informative article that was richly enjoyed!
Hugs,
AvisHi Avis.Personally, I'm not a fan of red, although I do use it in my jewelry designs from time to time. The color is too much of a "warning" color for me. It's also been shown that looking at red increases blood pressure and respiration rate. Because I really like to be calm most of the time, I think that is why I avoid reds in my personal life. But hey! It's all our differences that make the world a more interesting place.I'm glad that you enjoyed the article.Hugs and love,Dianne
Nicely done, Dianne, a fascinating read!Hi Ken.Thanks! That's high praise. So, did you go to your closet and have a look at what colors predominate?Mine has a lot of black in it (what woman's doesn't) and a whole lot of green. Very little blue unless you count jeans. Purple of course with some yellow and orange and very little red. But on the whole black and green predominate. What does that say about me?Statistics say that the majority of American males, when asked, will say that their favorite color is blue. Secretly, I suspect that they say that because it is the first thing that comes to mind and they can't really be bothered with answering silly questions like that one. Blue symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth and heaven. Blue produces a calming affect. Whether you wanted that or not, there you are. :)Thanks for reading and commenting!Dianne
Hi Dianne, what an interesting read. Thanks for all the information and reminders. We can easily get caught up in our own cultural traditions and take offense to others. I onced heard that the Japanese considered it rude to shake with the right hand - do you know if there is any truth to this? My favorite color is black -- who knows why :-) I remember those old Kung Fu Movies - Go Bruce Lee!Blessings and hugs to you. I enjoyed this cultural and colorful article. TeresaHi Teresa.I'd never heard that about the Japanese. So I did a quick search on line and couldn't find anything about right vs. left handed shaking. In most instances, I did read that they do prefer to bow, but will allow a handshake in respect of Western practices. At no time should you touch another part of a Japanese person's body, however, while shaking hands.As for liking black ... what's not to like about black? According to one source, black denotes strength and authority. It is considered to be very formal, elegant and prestigious. Some say it suggests sophistication.I'm glad that you found it interesting. I love sharing my interests with others.Thanks for stopping by.Hugs,Dianne
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