Chinese Mandarin Colours Introduction

All Mandarin Chinese colours have sè after them (pronounced ser). Even the word colour (yánsè) has this suffix. 

Here are some basic colour cultural foundations of China.

Red - hóngsè pronounced hong-ser.

Red is the colour of the Chinese national flag. 

Red is the national colour and is prevalently used on flags, lanterns and traditional clothing. 

Red is an extremely auspicious colour in China and indicates happiness. It should not be worn at funerals as it would be deemed inappropriate. 

Red symbolises luck, joy and happiness in China.

White

White is the traditional colour of mourning in China. At Chinese funerals, you are supposed to wear white, not black. Wearing white to festive, happy occasions is considered taboo.

Yellow

For the last 350 years, yellow has become associated with royal Chinese emperors. Yellow is considered the most beautiful colour because it's near to the colour gold. 

Green

A green hat worn by someone symbolises that their partner has been unfaithful. Wearing a green hat otherwise is extremely humiliating and a huge cultural taboo. 

An old anecdote says that there was once a couple living in a village. The husband travelled a lot for business and the wife was having an affair. She sewed a hat out of green fabric for her husband to wear any time he travelled and told her lover that it was safe to come over any time he saw her husband leaving in a green hat. Thus, the tradition of not wearing green hats has been passed down through Chinese generations.