오색 색채어와 중국의 복식문화 고찰

Abstract

Color in Chinese dress code is closely related to the Yin-yang five elements, and it is divided into 'jung color' and 'kan color'. In ancient traditional Chinese society, the color of dress symbolized social status and level. Jung color, used in dress for the upper class and the aristocrats, represented authenticity and nobility, while kan color, used in dress for lower level workers and subjects, represented unorthodoxy and lowness. The most common color for the emperor, king or upper class was yellow, which was designated as the exclusive color for the emperor that the public could not use. The next preferred color was red, followed by blue and green, which were worn by lower level government officials. Black and white were the most common colors for the subjects which had the lowest preference and often wereavoided. The dress code color words were different according to the time. The terms were relatively simple during the Zhou, Warring States Period, and Han Dynasty. Then, from the Sui-Tang period, the terms diversified, but the words became plainer and more natural in the Song Dynasty as thriftiness and being conservative were the major values of the time. In the Won-Ming-Qing Dynasty, as the colors diversified, the range of term diversified. This study aims to analyze the relationship between five color words and Chinese dress code, and to examine the symbolic meaning of color words in dress code to understand the cultural definition of color words more deeply, understand the characteristics of ancient Chinese dress code and their value on colors, and understand the history of the transition of colors of Chinese traditional dress.