3。3 Five Pure Colors and Five Binary Colors 6

4 Colors of Official Robes and Hierarchy Politics 7

4。1 Hierarchy Politics 7

4。2   Application of Colors in Ranking Officials 7

5 Colors of Official Robes and Hierarchy of Power 8

5。1 Red 8

5。2   Green 10

5。2。1   Green 10

5。2。2   Blueness 11

5。3   Purple 13

Conclusion 15

Acknowlegements 16

References 17

Appendix Objects of Five Elements 19

Appendix Colors of Official Robes and Hierarchy of Power 20

1 Introduction

1。1Research Background

Clothing, as the symbol of historical development and social vicissitude, is an important part of national culture。 There are three main functions of clothing: First, masking function--primitive people use hides, leaves, etc to cover their body, which can keep out the cold, hot and sun; after these people have consciousness of self-esteem, they use these materials as the tools of covering sham。 Second, aesthetic function--people try to wear beautiful clothes with colors, patterns, accessories, etc to show their good shapes。 Third, marking function--clothes, which people wear, can reflect their grade, status, occupation, and wealth。 As the sign of class, clothing is a symbol of status which people can not overstep (Dao, 2015)。 Thus, there is a series of rigid system of clothing in ancient China, and clothing plays a more important role at that time, than now。论文网

It is the emergence of official robe system that reflects clothing’s marking function。 In ancient China, official robes are symbols of social status and hierarchy of power。 With the development of dyeing technology, colors of official robes gradually become the effective tool to rank hierarchy of power (Hu, 2012)。 Therefore, this paper will investigate the relationship between the colors of official robes and hierarchy of power。

1。2 Significance of the Study

From slave society to feudal society, the autocratic monarchy system is fully developed in ancient China。 Since there is a rigid hierarchy of power in ancient China, the most obvious function of official robes is to rank hierarchy of power。 Many details of official robes can reflect their wearers’ power, knowledge, and social status。文献综述

This paper endeavors to analyze the relationship between colors of ancient Chinese official robes and hierarchy of power。 According to five elements theory, this paper tries to probe into the color system of ancient China and concludes the connotation and evolution of colors。 Thus, this paper attempts to sum up the change of one color in different dynasties。 By studying the topic, it is helpful to understand ancient Chinese social culture, and it is also meaningful to spread Chinese excellent culture to the world。

2 Literature Review

Studies on official robes are very integrated, including their styles, colors, accessories, hats, pattern of official robes in different dynasties。 Some of scholars such as Shen Congwen, Wang Weiti, Ma Dayong, conclude clothing in ancient China in details。 At the same time, there are many relevant studies on colors of official robes and they sum up the change of colors of official robes in different dynasties。 Previous studies have helped this paper enormously。