上海师范大学

硕士学位论文

理解颜色隐喻——英汉比较研究

姓名：李丽雪

申请学位级别：硕士

专业：英语语言文学

指导教师：蔡龙权

20030401
 中文摘要

本文试图通过对英汉颜色隐喻的比较研究 探讨跨文化隐喻的相似性及差
异
文章共分为四个部分 第一部分简要回顾了主要的传统隐喻理论和当代认
知隐喻理论 并介绍了颜色隐喻研究现状及其重要意义 第二部分通过分析从
最新的英汉报纸 杂志收集的真实语料 找出英汉日常书面语中 9 个基本颜色
词常用的隐喻意义 对每个颜色词的隐喻意义进行分类比较并给出实例 第三
部分在数据分析的基础上 具体讨论了英汉颜色隐喻意义的相似性及差异 并
从文化和认知两方面探讨了导致颜色隐喻相似性和差异的可能原因 第四部分
是结论部分 通过对英汉颜色隐喻的比较研究 作者证明了由于共同的认知基
础和特定文化的差异 跨文化隐喻的相似性和差异的存在

关键词 颜色隐喻 跨文化隐喻 比较研究 基本颜色词 相似性 差异

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 Abstract

In this thesis, I have attempted to discuss the similarity and dissimilarity of

cross-culture metaphor by making a comparative study of color metaphor in English
and Chinese.
There are four parts in this thesis. Part One provides a brief introduction to the
main traditional theories and the contemporary cognitive theory of metaphor, and
presents the research background and research motives of the current color metaphor
study; Part Two gives an analysis of the data collected from the latest English and
Chinese newspapers and magazines, and summarizes the frequently used
metaphorical meanings of 9 basic color terms in daily written English and Chinese,
then categorizes the metaphorical meanings of each color term by giving examples;
based on the analysis of the collected data, Part Three looks closely into the
similarity and dissimilarity of color metaphor in English and Chinese, discusses
possible reasons for the same and different color metaphors in English and Chinese
from the perspective of cognition and culture; Part Four is the concluding part.
Through a comparative study of color metaphor in English and Chinese, the author
verifies the existence of similarity and dissimilarity of cross-culture metaphor due to
the common cognitive basis and cultural variation.

Key words: color metaphor, cross-culture metaphor, a comparative study, basic

color terms, similarity, dissimilarity.

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1. Introduction

1.1 A historical overview of metaphor study

1.1.1 Metaphor study abroad
The earliest study of metaphor in the West can be traced back to as early as
Aristotle, who defines metaphor as “consisting in giving the thing a name that
belongs to something else (Poetics 1457b)” (from Ricoeur, 1978: 13). This definition
exerts an important influence over the development regarding rhetoric and metaphor.
For more than 2000 years, metaphor has been primarily studied by philosophers,
rhetoricians, and literary critics as a matter of language or a figure of speech.
Metaphor is portrayed as a kind of decorative addition to ordinary language, a
word-focused rhetorical device to be used to gain certain effects. Meanwhile,
metaphorical terms are viewed as a kind of error in diction and logic.
In the1930s, Richards published his work The Philosophy of Rhetoric, in which
the theory of interaction was first proposed. On the basis of Richards’s view, Black
developed and improved this theory. Richards and Black hold that metaphorical
meaning is a result of an interaction between a metaphorical expression and the
context in which it is used. They break through the traditional rhetoric study of
metaphor and study metaphor as a semantic phenomenon at the level of sentence.
The traditional theories of metaphor, though divergent from each other, have
some commonly accepted features (Kovecses, 2002: preface):

(1) metaphor is a property of words; it is a linguistic phenomenon.

(2) metaphor is used for some artistic or esthetic purpose;

(3) metaphor is based on a resemblance between the two entities that are compared

and identified;

(4) metaphor is a conscious and deliberate use of words, you must have a special

talent to be able to do it and do it well;

(5) metaphor is a figure of speech that we can do without; we use it for special effects,

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 it is not an inevitable part of everyday human communication, let alone everyday

human thought and reasoning.

A new view of metaphor that challenges all these traditional theories was first
developed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in 1980 in their seminal study:
Metaphor We Live By. Their conception has become known as the cognitive view of
metaphor. In their book, Lakoff and Johnson pointed out:

Most people think they can get along perfectly well without metaphor. We have

found, on the contrary, that metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language

but in thought and action. Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both

think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature. (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980: 3)

Lakoff and Johnson further concluded:

If we are right in suggesting that our conceptual system is largely metaphorical,

then the way we think, what we experience, and what we do every day is very much a

matter of metaphor. (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980: 3)

In this view metaphor ceases to be the sole device of creative literary

imagination; it becomes a valuable cognitive tool and an inevitable part of everyday
human communication, understanding, and reasoning.
The cognitive study of metaphor initiated by Lakoff and Johnson opened a
whole new area for the contemporary study of metaphor. Many scholars from a
variety of disciplines have since contributed to this work and there seems to have
been a “Metaphorical Revolution” on a global scale. Johnson called this
“metaphormania”. The publication of the following three books is a case in point: (1)
METAPHOR: An Annotated Bibliography and History (Shibles, W, 1971), in which
over 4000 books on metaphor study are included; (2) METAPHOR: A Bibliography
of Post-1970 Publications (Van Noppen J.P. et al, 1985), 4317 books on metaphor
study from 1970-1985 are included; (3) METAPHOR : A Classified Bibliography
of Publications 1985-1990 (Van Noppen J.P. et al., 1990), is a supplement of the
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1985 edition (Li Fuyin, 2000).
Compared to emotion metaphor, color metaphor has not been much written
about. Few books discuss color metaphor systematically. In his book Woman, Fire,
and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind, Lakoff discusses
naming of color terms to show the influence of biological basis on the formation of
concept and expressions of language, but color metaphor is not mentioned (Shi
Yuzhi, 1995). Collins Cobuild English Guides, 7: Metaphor, published in 1995,
summarizes metaphorical meanings of 4 color terms black, white, gray, and green in
English, but the discussion is far from being complete.

1.1.2 Metaphor study in China

In contrast with “metaphormania” abroad in recent years, the study of metaphor
in China is still in its beginning stages.
In the three bibliographies mentioned above, no book is written in Chinese, few
use Chinese as corpus, let alone the comparative study of metaphor in English and
Chinese (Li Fuyin, 2000). In my study, Dr. Ning Yu’s The Contemporary Theory of
Metaphor: A Perspective from Chinese, though written in English, is the first
important book to do metaphor research by using Chinese corpus and making a
comparative study of metaphor in English and Chinese. But color metaphor is not
discussed in his book, either.
According to the bibliography of research papers on foreign language from
1949-1989, there are 66 articles written on figure of speech (including metaphor).
Most of these articles only briefly introduce metaphor in English or simply compare
metaphor in English and Chinese as a figure of speech (Shu Dingfang, 2000: 3).
In the1990s, book reviews of the important works in the metaphor study
appeared in the core magazines of foreign language study. A book review of
Metaphor: Its cognitive Force and Linguistic Structures written by Lin Shuwu was
published in the second issue of Foreign Language Teaching and Research in 1994;
and another book review of Metaphor We Live By by Zhao Yanfang published in the
second issue of the same magazine in 1995. At the same time, several articles on the
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history of metaphor study in the West were published in Journal of Foreign
Languages in 1995 and 1996. The theories of metaphor in the West were introduced
systematically into China.
In the recent three years, considerable progress has been made in the study of
metaphor. A large number of research papers, mainly on the cognitive basis,
mechanism, and function of metaphor, have been published. Some papers use
Chinese corpus, such as Lan Chun’s Study the spatial metaphor in Chinese from a
cognitive perspective, and some begin to pay attention to the similarities and
dissimilarities of metaphors in different cultures, such as Ma Wenqing’s The
Selection of metaphorical meaning and cultural cognition.
There are two tasks for the contemporary metaphor study. One is doing
research on languages other than English to verify the cognitive view of metaphor;
the other is concerned about the universality and cultural variation of metaphor.
These two tasks can only be fulfilled through a comparative study of cross-culture
metaphor (Lan Chun, 1999). Compared to emotion metaphor which has received
considerable attention in cross-culture study, color metaphor seems to be neglected.
In my study, I have found that there are no articles of color metaphor in the core
magazines of foreign languages in the past few decades. A few articles on this topic
in other magazines are limited to a brief list of the metaphorical meanings of certain
color terms. So it is necessary to make a systematic and comparative study of color
metaphor.

1.2 Color metaphor

Color is a universal phenomenon. We live in a colorful world, everything in our
natural environment has a color — the blue sky, the green grass, the red sun and so
on. When we use color terms in this way, we use their original meaning. When we
associate color terms with abstract concepts or unusual collocations, as in the
following two sentences, color terms are used metaphorically:

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[1-1] His mood grew blacker. (Collins Cobuild 7:Metaphor)
[1-2] 他唱戏唱红了 (现代汉语词典)

In the above sentences, black and 红 do not refer to colors, but used
metaphorically. In [1-1] black is associated with emotion and means angry and
depressed; while 红 in [1-2] indicates the state of popularity.
Even though there are no literal similarities on which these metaphors are based,
color metaphors like these are ubiquitous in our everyday language. To this, Searle
explains:

Things which are P not R, nor are they like R things, nor they believed to be R;

nonetheless it is a fact about our sensibility, whether culturally or naturally determined,

that we just do perceive a connection, so that P is associated in our minds with R

properties. (Searle, 1979: 108)

In other words, what kind of color metaphor we would use is determined either
by our color perception or by our culture.
There are a large number of color metaphors in both English and Chinese.
Some color metaphors are easily understood because they have similar metaphorical
meanings in different cultures:

[1-3a] His black heart rejoiced at their sufferings. (Collins English Dictionary)
[1-3b] 黑心的家伙 (现代汉语词典)

Here black heart portrays an evil person in both English and Chinese. Black is a
color of night and completely without light, so people always associate black with
evil, wicked people or things.
Some color metaphors are more culture-specific and difficult for the non-native
speakers to understand their meaning without proper background knowledge:

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[1-4] The new naval base has proved to be a white elephant. (Collins English
Dictionary)
[1-5] 人生一世间, 如白驹过隙 (汉英词典)

Without background knowledge, we have no way to know that white elephant

in [1-4] means “something that is completely useless, although it may have cost a lot
of money”, and 白驹过隙 in [1-5] refers to the fleeting of time. This tends to result
in misunderstanding in the communication of different cultures. In this sense, a
comparative study of color metaphor is very helpful in overcoming language barriers
and smoothing cross-culture communication. Since color has long been a favored
semantic domain in which to investigate issues of the relationship between language
and thought, a comparative study of color metaphors is of great importance in doing
research on the similarity and dissimilarity of cross-culture metaphor, too.
According to Berlin and Kay (1969: 4), who made a landmark study of color
and proposed basic color theory, basic color terms appear prior to other color terms.
There are 11 basic color terms in English — black, white, red, green, yellow, blue,
brown, purple, pink, orange and gray. Berlin and Kay (1969: 42) believe that there
are only 6 basic color terms in Chinese, namely black, white, red, green, yellow, and
blue. But Chinese scholars have found out that there are 10 basic color terms in the
modern Chinese, besides the 6 color terms proposed by Berlin and Kay, purple, gray,
brown and orange should also be included (Yao Xiaoping, 1988).
Compared with elaborated color terms (like mauve) derived from them, basic
color terms (like red) have a broader denotation and richer connotation in a certain
culture, thus have more colorful metaphorical meanings (Yang Yonglin, 2002).
Therefore, my study of color metaphor is limited to the metaphorical use of 9 shared
basic color terms in English and Chinese — black, white, red, green, yellow, blue,
brown, purple, and gray. Moreover, color metaphor discussed here is in its broad
sense, including metonymy and some idioms.
In this thesis, I attempt to make a comparative study of color metaphor in
English and Chinese through the analysis of data in the daily written language, focus
6
on a discussion of the possible reasons for the similarities and dissimilarities of color
metaphor in the two languages, and make an exploration into cross-culture metaphor
in its cognitive bases and cultural variation.

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2. Data collection and analysis

Data is collected for the purposes of investigating: (a) the frequency of color
metaphor in daily written language; (b) frequently used metaphorical meanings of
color terms in English and Chinese.
Most of the data in the corpus are collected from various latest English and
Chinese magazines and newspapers through the Internet. The corpus for study is
about a million words with English and Chinese each having a half. With the aid of
classmates and teachers, I have identified possible color metaphors in the corpus.

2.1 Frequency of color terms

In order to get a general idea of the frequency of color terms in daily written
language, I use the search function of Microsoft Word to search for 9 basic color
terms black, white, red, blue, yellow, green, purple, gray, and brown in the corpus
and get a total of 1465 color terms in English and 1489 color terms in Chinese.
Through a brief analysis, I find that about one-forth of these color terms are used in
proper names, mainly in the following three possibilities:
(a) Surnames. Black, white, brown and green in English and 白, 黄 and 蓝 in
Chinese can be used as surnames; 红 in Chinese is often used in given names;
(b) Races. Black, white and yellow can indicate races, Of these three colors, black is
most frequently used;
(c) Name of place such as White House, 黑龙江省 etc, to mention just a few.
Color terms used in proper names have lost their original meaning and may not
have any metaphorical meaning, so they are not included in my study of color
metaphor. After excluding color terms used in proper names, there are 1137 color
terms in English and 1158 color terms in Chinese. The frequency of 9 basic color
terms is in table 1.

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 Table 1 The frequency of 9 basic color terms in English & Chinese

English Chinese
F P(%) F P(%)
Black 261 23 249 21.6
White 201 17.7 183 15.8
Red 192 16.8 255 22
Yellow 110 9.7 181 15.6
Green 185 16.3 153 13.2
Blue 135 11.8 91 7.9
Gray 31 2.7 26 2.3
Purple 12 1.1 12 1
Brown 10 0.9 8 0.6
Total 1137 100 1158 100
(F--frequency; P-- percentage)

From table 1, we can see there is hardly any difference in the total number of
color terms between English and Chinese. The six colors — black, white, red, yellow,
green, blue make up 95.3% of the total in English and 96.1% of the total in Chinese.
Gray, purple and brown are least used colors which only make up 4.7% of the total
in English and 3.9% of the total in Chinese.

Ｇｒａｐｈ １ Ｔｈｅ ｆｒｅｑｕｅｎｃｙ ｏｆ ｃｏｌｏｒ ｔｅｒｍｓ ｉｎ Ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ ＆

Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ

３００

２５０

２００

１５０

１００

５０

０
Ｂｌａｃｋ Ｗｈｉｔｅ Ｒｅｄ Ｇｒｅｅｎ Ｙｅｌｌｏｗ Ｂｌｕｅ Ｇｒｅｙ Ｐｕｒｐｌｅ Ｂｒｏｗｎ

ｃｏｌｏｒ ｔｅｒｍｓ Ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ

Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ

The frequency of color terms is similar in English and Chinese, but it is not
identical in every way. The difference in terms of a specific color can be seen in

9
graph 1. From graph 1 we can see that black is the most frequently used color term
in English while red is the most frequently used color term in Chinese. The
frequency of red is 255 in Chinese and 192 in English. The use of red in Chinese is
24.7% more than that in English. Similarly, the frequency of yellow is 181 in
Chinese and 110 in English. Yellow is much less used in English than in Chinese, but
blue is used more frequently in English. The use of blue in English is 32.6% more
than that in Chinese.

2.2 Meaning of color terms

In this part, I’d like to give a close analysis of the meaning of each color term in
the corpus to find whether a particular color term is used in its original meaning or
its metaphorical meaning in a context. My findings are in table 2:

Table 2 Meaning of color terms in English &Chinese

English Chinese
Original meaning Metaphorical Original Metaphorical
meaning meaning meaning

F P(%) F P(%) F P(%) F P(%)

Black 105 40 156 60 105 42 144 58
White 103 51 78 49 112 61 71 39
Red 89 46 103 54 87 34 168 66
Yellow 80 59 50 41 79 43 102 57
Green 55 30 130 70 50 32 103 68
Blue 50 45 60 55 64 70 27 30
Gray 21 68 9 32 18 69 8 31
Purple 9 75 3 25 10 83 2 17
Brown 10 100 0 0 8 100 0 0

The data in table 2 give us a general idea of the metaphorical use of color terms.
It seems that the most frequently used color terms have richer metaphorical
meanings than the least frequently used color terms. Of 586 color metaphors in
English, the six colors — black, white, red, yellow, green, and blue make up 577 of

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the total, while the 3 colors — gray, purple, and brown only make up 9 of the total..
Similarly, of 625 color metaphors in Chinese, black, white, red, yellow, green, and
blue make up 615 of the total, while gray, purple, and brown only make up 10 of the
total.

Ｇｒａｐｈ ２ Ｔｈｅ ｐｅｒｃｅｎｔａｇｅ ｏｆ ｃｏｌｏｒ ｍｅｔａｐｈｏｒｓ ｉｎ Ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ ＆

Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ
Ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ
８０％ Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ
７０％

６０％

５０％

４０％

３０％

２０％

１０％

０％
Ｂｌａｃｋ Ｗｈｉｔｅ Ｒｅｄ Ｙｅｌｌｏｗ Ｇｒｅｅｎ Ｂｌｕｅ Ｇｒｅｙ Ｐｕｒｐｌｅ Ｂｒｏｗｎ
ｃｏｌｏｒ ｔｅｒｍｓ

We can see from graph 2 that the metaphorical use of black and green is
pervasive in the corpus, 60% of black and 70% of green in English are in
metaphorical use while 58% of black and 68% of green in Chinese are used as
metaphors. Gray has less metaphorical meanings, only 32% of gray in English and
31% of gray in Chinese refer to the color. Similar to gray, only 25% and 17% of
purple has non-color meanings in English and Chinese respectively. There is no
metaphorical use of brown in the corpus.
66% of red and 57% of yellow are color metaphors in Chinese. This is much
more than 54% metaphorical use of red and 41% of yellow in English. Compared
with 55% metaphorical use of blue in English, there is only 30% of blue used as
metaphors in Chinese.

2.3 Metaphorical meaning of color terms

Up till now we only have a general idea of the frequency of color metaphor in
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English and Chinese. We have no idea of whether there are any color metaphors that
can be found in both English and Chinese or just in one language. It’s necessary to
categorize the meanings of color metaphors of a certain color and find out the
similarities and dissimilarities of metaphorical meanings in English and Chinese. I
attempt to group the metaphorical meanings of each color term into two categories:
color metaphor for person and color metaphor for the condition of matter, then
calculate the frequency of each meaning. The categorization is shown in table 3 to
table 10 with examples.

Table 3 The metaphorical meaning of black

Category Meaning English Chinese Examples

F P(%) F P(%)
Person unhappy, depressed 12 7.6 0 [2-1]
evil, wicked 31 20 23 16 [2-2a,b]
disgraceful 16 10.3 7 4.9 [2-3a,b]
dark horse 0 3 2.1 [2-4]
hacker 0 6 4.2 [2-5]
obtaining advantage 9 5.8 0 [2-6]
by threatening
Matter illegal, shady 18 11.4 25 17.3 [2-7a,b]
abnormal 10 6.4 4 2.7 [2-8a,b]
unfavorable 21 13.5 10 6.9 [2-9a,b]
painful, unlucky 23 14.7 9 6.3 [2-10a,b]
clear, definite 16 10.3 7 4.9 [2-11a,b]
unlicensed, 0 50 34.7 [2-12]
unregistered
Total 156 100 144 100

[2-1] She alone could cheer him up when he was in the blackest depression.
(Collins Cobuild Metaphor)
[2-2a] … d iminishing their immune system against black magic and making
them more open to evil. (China Daily 2003/1/22)
[2-2b] 有人公然利用废弃物品加工黑心棉被 黑心床垫和黑心毡垫 (辽沈晚
报 2003/1/6)

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[2-3a] Into the blessed pasture of learning comes a black sheep, maybe a goat:
Sedgwick Bell. (Newsweek 2002/11/22)
[2-3b] 被发现的商业企业将被记入市工商局设置的“企业不良行为警示系统”
的黑榜 在市工商局的网上予以公示 （北京晨报 2002/7/26）
[2-4] 该片被一致认定会是奥斯卡的黑马 （大公报 2003/1/14）
[2-5] 据有关报道 黑客每年给全世界电脑网络带来的损失高达 １００ 亿美元
以上 （北京晚报 2003/1/6)
[2-6] With them as hostage, the drug-cartel boss planned to blackmail the
American President into granting him immunity from extradition to the US.
(Times 2003/4/1)
[2-7a] They make U.S. dollars to buy weapons on the black markets. (Newsweek
2002/9/21)
[2-7b] 在目前的黑市 每 100 美元收购价高达 825 元人民币 (楚天都市报
2002/10/14))
[2-8a] There’s a particular kind of black humour, surrealism, in Spanish culture.
(Times 2003/4/4)
[2-8b] 美国丽人 是关于美国现代生活的黑色喜剧 获得了第 72 届奥斯卡大
奖 (环球时报 2003/2/26)
[2-9a] … but he paid the fellows who actually had written them, but who couldn’t
take the credit because they were blacklisted. (Times 2003/4/3)
[2-9b] 上海在全国试行个人信用系统 最近有 700 多人“荣”登“黑名单” 这些
人将在未来 7 年内 在申请房屋汽车贷款 办理保险 应聘工作等情况
中 都将受到制约 （解放日报 2003/1/11)
[2-10a] This is a black, black day for Welsh rugby. (Times 2003/4/2)
[2-10b] 丛林大火已造成四人死亡 一百五十人受伤和四百座房屋被烧毁 是澳
洲首都最黑暗的一天 (大公报 2003/1/20)
[2-11a] Fact of the matter is, the whole issue is not quite as black and white as it
seems. (Newsweek 2002/11/13)
[2-11b] 对于习惯驰骋于新加坡黑白分明主流文化的新加坡厂商而言 中国的违

13
 规灰色文化无形中构成人为屏障 (联合早报 2002/4/3)
[2-12] 据悉 “蓝极速”是没有办理任何网吧登记手续的黑网吧 刚开业一个月
（北京晨报 2002/6/17）

Table 4 The metaphorical meaning of white

Category Meaning English Chinese Examples

F P(%) F P(%)
Person honest, innocent 19 24.4 12 16.9 [2-13a,b]
job 17 21.8 13 18.3 [2-14a,b]
Matter blank 6 7.5 7 9.8 [2-15a,b]
legal, good 13 16.7 18 25.4 [2-16a,b]
ordinary, plain 6 7.5 2 2.7 [2-17a,b]
useless 12 15.7 0 [2-18]
polluted by 0 10 14 [2-19]
plastic
informal 0 9 12.9 [2-20]
pretending 5 6.4 0 [2-21]
Total 78 100 71 100

[2-13a] She emerges from this biography whiter than white. (Collins Cobuild
Metaphor)
[2-13b] 以布利克斯为首的核查小组经过两个多月的检查后 却得出伊拉克是
清白 的结论 （中国新闻网 2003/4/4）
[2-14a] Just as we once exported blue-collar jobs from the United States, we are on
the verge of doing the same thing to white-collar. (Newsweek 2003/4/4)
[2-14b] 金钱和健康 现在已成为高薪白领一族面临的 鱼与熊掌 的抉择 （大
公报 2003/1/18)
[2-15] 半场双方互交白卷 (大公报 2003/1/6)
[2-16a] The “White List” now comprises 94 States and one IMO Associate Member.
(Maritime Safety Committee – 74th session: 2001/6/8)
[2-16b] 刘纪鹏据此认为，白市不开，必成黑市 南方周末 2003/4/4
[2-17a] It’s time for white-breaded Americans to fight back, one ketchup bottle at a
time. (Sun 95/10/23)

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[2-17b] 我无法想象有人可以这样用白描的手法勾勒灵魂 光明书评 2003/4/9
[2-18] When Oxford University became responsible for the Dictionary of National
Biography in 1917, the University publisher called the project a white
elephant. (Oxford today)
[2-19] 事实上 白色污染 不是塑料制造的 而是人们自己造成的 （市场报
2002/10/16）
[2-20] 长期以来 由于“白条”无法兑现 严重影响了蔗农的积极性 (aweb.com
2002/11/8)
[2-21] “Colors” (1988) was a whitewash of the Los Angeles police compared to
“L.A. Confidential” in 1997. (Newsweek 2003/2/20)

Table 5 The metaphorical meaning of red

Category Meaning English Chinese Examples

F P(%) F P(%)
Person angry 16 15.5 0 [2-22]
happy 10 9.7 30 17.9 [2-23a,b]
envious 0 19 11.3 [2-24]
popular, 0 60 35.7 [2-25]
successful
favored
Matter having deficit 16 15.5 13 7.7 [2-26a,b]
red- carded 6 5.8 4 3 [2-27a,b]
popular 0 16 9.5 [2-28]
having bonus 0 5 2.9 [2-29]
flourishing 0 10 6 [2-30]
secret bribe 0 10 6 [2-31]
red herring 12 11.7 [2-32]
red tape 12 11.7 0 [2-33]
red-hot 12 11.7 0 [2-34]
red-handed 7 7.8 0 [2-35]
dangerous 12 11.7 0 [2-36]
Total 103 100 168 100

[2-22] Such talk is like a red rag to a bull at the Soil Association. (Times
1998/7/13)

15
[2-23a] University fraternities and sororities "painted the town red" this weekend in
a display of school spirit in College Park marking the beginning Greek
Week. (Diomand.online.com. 2003/4/7)
[2-23b] 每逢四时八节，每遇红白二事，便往往是送礼﹑收礼的活跃高峰期 (大
公报 2003/1/14)
[2-24] 五洋宾馆的成功 引起了同行的 眼红 hangzhou.com 2003/4/16
[2-25] 这位 东方卓别林 当时红透影坛 一部粤语片如果没有他参加 就好
像缺少些什么 (大公报 2003/1/26)
[2-26a] Low efficiency, high risks, complicated ownership and excessive local
government interference have put 86 per cent of them in the red. (China
daily 2003/1/22)
[2-26b] 穆迪投资表示 本港今年暴涨的财政赤字 不会对其评级构成即时影响
(大公报 2003/1/11)
[2-27a] A warning to listed candidates: being deliberately boring is tantamount to a
professional foul in Fantasy Politics and attracts a yellow card. If it
continues the players will be red-carded and suspended from the game.
(New Statesman 97/1/17)
[2-27b] 今后 任何工作人员和管理人员均不得在有形建筑市场内干预依法进行
的招投标活动 违规专家将红牌罚下 （生活日报 2003/4/16）
[2-28] 由著名导演张艺谋执导的武侠巨片 英雄 在台湾未映先红 (大公报
2003/1/11)
[2-29] 基金市场很可能自一九九八年以来首次陷入无分红的尴尬局面 (大公
报 2003/1/16)
[2-30] 这两天申城各大食品店纷纷推出 食补 专柜 生意十分红火 中新
社 2003/1/14
[2-31] 红包 现象影响恶劣 医生职业道德面临严峻挑战 (北京晨报
2003/1/10)
[2-32] And it is with respect to this claim that performance assessment is most
clearly a red herring. (ed.uiuc.edu)
[2-33] David McLetchie, the party leader, complained that Labour, the Scottish

16
 Nationalists and the Liberal Democrats all believed that greater government
control, higher public spending and increased taxes and red tape were the
answers to Scotland’s problems. (Times 2003/4/4)
[2-34] If no alteration to the interest rate somehow organically manages to take the
heat out of the red-hot sector of 2002. (Times 2003/4/3)
[2-35] When the hacker entered the system again on December 9, police caught
Chen "red-handed" at his apartment in the Fengze District. (China daily
2003/1/23)
［2-36] If your account balance reaches $0, you will see a red light on your
transponder and/or in the toll lane until payment is received.
(expresswayauthority.com)

Table 6 The metaphorical meaning of green

Category Meaning English Chinese Examples

F P(%) F P(%)
Person envious 5 3.8 0 [2-37]
inexperienced 10 7.7 0 [2-38]
being a cuckold 0 5 4.8 [2-39]
job 11 8.5 10 9.7 [2-40a,b]
Matter concerning with 83 64 71 69 [2-41a,b]
environment
unhindered 21 16 17 16.5 [2-42a,b]
Total 130 100 103 100

[2-37] You'll be green with envy over St. Paddy's Mac cards. (Maccentral.com
2000/3/9)
[2-38] Blue messages for green hand. (derwent.com 2000/5)
[2-39] 一名莽夫因 绿帽 疑云，怀疑已有八个月身孕的妻子腹中骨肉并非己
出，竟然挥刀斩伤妻子 (大公报 2002/12/26)
[2-40a] Green-collar jobs are those that add value without destroying natural
resources, providing a long-term economic future.
(www.spacesfornature.org 1999/6/10)

17
[2-40b] 如试验计划成功 长远可创造逾万 绿领 职位 （大公报 2002/11/26)
[2-41a] Other green elements include the super-efficient Worcester-Bosch boiler,
energy- efficient cast-aluminium radiators, and organic paint. (Times
2003/3/2)
[2-41b] 昨天 汇集上千种获得中国环境标志的绿色产品清单送交到北京奥组委
官员手中 (北京晨报 2002/11/7)
[2-42a] The Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority, the chief pensions
watchdog, has given the green light to companies which want to block
employees from taking their pension benefits early, amid concern about the
solvency of UK company schemes. (Times 2003/3/5)
[2-42b] 土耳其军方要给美军开绿灯 (中国青年报 2003/3/7)

Table 7 The metaphorical meaning of yellow

Category Meaning English Chinese Examples

F P(%) F P(%)
Person cowardly 25 50 0 [2-43]
inexperienced 0 6 5.9 [2-44]
Matter pornographic 0 73 71.6 [2-45]
golden 0 14 13.7 [2-46]
yellow cap 0 9 9.8 [2-47]
yellow ribbon 6 12 [2-48]
sensational 19 38 0 [2-49]
Total 50 100 102 100

[2-43] “It was quite a good try, a well-worked move, but I ran so fast because I
was afraid of getting clobbered. I was yellow.” (Times 2003/3/30)
[2-44] 哪一个光耀四方的企业前身不是如黄口小儿般稚嫩可笑 不饱含着不为
人知的奋斗艰辛 （新浪汽车 2003/4/7）
[2-45] 一种利用短信息传递的黄色笑话和恶作剧的内容则让人哭笑不得 （北
京晚报 2001/1/9)
[2-46] 今年春节黄金周 广州市民外出旅游的人数和花费都将创下历史新高
(大公报 2003/1/30)

18
[2-47] 至今已有 71 所小学共 4 万余名学生戴上了交通安全“小黄帽” (解放日
报 2003/4/1)
[2-48] The Government’s support for the yellow ribbon campaign chimes with its
attempt to touch the public through the new politics of victimhood and
personal emotion, rather than an old-fashioned Falklands-style appeal to
patriotism. (Times 2003/3/31)
[2-49] These days the yellow journalism comes primarily out of right-wing visions
of an overwhelmingly world-dominant America. (Indian Country today)

Table 8 The metaphorical meaning of blue

Category Meaning English Chinese Examples

F P(%) F P(%)
Person sad 9 15 0 [2-50]
job 15 25 8 29.6 [2-51a,b]
Matter concerned with 6 10 0 [2-52]
sex
concerned with 0 12 44 [2-53]
sea
impractical 7 11.7 0 [2-54]
plans 13 21.7 3 11.6 [2-55a,b]
unexpected 10 16.6 4 14.8 [2-56a,b]
Total 60 100 27 100

[2-50] If current events have got you blue, plan a carefree, crafty vacation for
summer. (Times 2003/3/25)
[2-51a] I would argue that talented blue-collar workers can have as prosperous and
interesting a life as talented white-collar managers. (Newsweek 2003/4/4)
[2-51b] 部分业内人士得出了高级蓝领将在今后几年抢手的结论 (环球时报
2003/2/26)
[2-52] Anyone can get a giggle by telling a blue joke, but it takes hard work and
brains to be clever on the air. (www.radioconsult.com)
[2-53] 在这个目前我国最大的冬季农副产品交易会上 来自蔚蓝大海的 客人
们引起了各地客商的广泛关注 蓝色产业 成为众多交易产品中的耀

19
 眼 明星 (新华网海南频道 2002/12）
[2-54] Bell labs and IBM are well known for blue-sky research. They have people
who are paid just to sit around and think — n ot about products. (New
Scientist 1997/8/25)
[2-55a] The supplemental spending measure is for the current fiscal year, but
Congress is also hard at work on the budget blueprint for next fiscal year
which begins on Oct 1. (Newsweek 2003/4/2)
[2-55b] 政府将会依照行政长官董建华提出的经济发展蓝图推动经济发展 (大
公报 2003/1/21)
[2-56a] Out of the blue — on a picture-perfect Texas morning, the shuttle Columbia
was heading home when tragedy struck. (Newsweek 2003/2/10)
[2-56b] 这个噩耗对于原本一个平静幸福的知识分子家庭犹如青天霹雳 （北大
新闻网 2003/4/4）

Table 9 The metaphorical meaning of gray

Category Meaning English Chinese Examples

F P(%) F P(%)
Person boring, obscure 1 11 1 12.5 [2-57a,b]
job 1 11 1 12.5 [2-58a,b]
Matter dull, gloomy 2 22.5 2 25 [2-59a,b]
gray area 3 33.5 2 25 [2-60a,b]
between legal 2 22 2 25 [2-61a,b]
and illegal
Total 9 100 8 100

[2-57a] He is little know outside the investment community because he is modest,

gray and unspectacular. (Collins Cobuild Metaphor)
[2-57b] 任何一个班里 优等生和差生往往只占少数 而介于其间的灰色儿童却
为数不少 （中国妇女报 2002/1/15）
[2-58a] The gray-collar fields are predominantly female workers at 72.4% and
27.6% are male workers. (sblga.asn.au)

20
[2-58b] 越来越多具有现代科学知识和技能的人才 灰领人才 将活跃在生
产一线的关键岗位上 (大公报 2003/1/8)
[2-59a] …a gray and soulless existence. (Collins Cobuild Metaphor)
[2-59b] 在一般港人心目中 这两天的天气大概就是当前经济环境的真实写照,
都是灰蒙蒙一片 (大公报 2003/1/10)
[2-60a] The arrest in Pakistan last weekend of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the
suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, leaves U.S.
interrogators in a gray area. (Newsweek 2003/3/4)
[2-60b] 但是该项法例仍然存在许多灰色地带和漏洞 (大公报 2003/1/10)
[2-61a] Two supermarket chains plan to sell the New England football strip at
almost £20 less than the official price after buying supplies abroad on the
“gray market”. (Times 2003/3/31)
[2-61b] 我国流通领域现金交易中税收的漏洞很大 这种不合法的 灰色经济
造成了国家税收的大量流失 （金融时报 2003/4/9）

Table 10 The metaphorical meaning of purple

Category Meaning English Chinese Examples

F P(%) F P(%)
Person brave 3 100 [2-62]
popular 2 100 [2-63]
Matter
Total 3 100 2 100

[2-62] He later received the Soldier’s Medal and a Purple Heart. (Newsweek
2002/9/9)
[2-63] 我从来不渴望大红大紫的骤然富贵 犹如平静的小溪经不起排山倒海的
激流 (大公报 2003/1/2)

21
3. Similarities and dissimilarities

3.1 Similarities
From the data in part 2, we do find there are similarities in English and Chinese
basic color terms as far as frequency and metaphorical meaning are concerned.

3.1.1 Similar frequency of color terms

It’s obvious that the frequency of color terms is similar in English and Chinese
daily written language. In the corpus, the six colors — black, white, red, yellow,
green, blue make up 95.3% of the total in English and 96.1% of the total in Chinese.
Gray, purple and brown are least used colors which only make up 4.7% and 3.9% of
the total in English and Chinese respectively. Why some colors are used so
frequently while others are seldom in use? The evolution of basic color terms
provides an explanation for this. Berlin and Kay (1969) investigated the color terms
of about 98 languages and came to the conclusion that the appearance of basic color
terms was not arbitrary, but in the strict sequence as the following:

White/black < red < green/yellow < blue < brown < purple/pink/orange/gray
(Berlin and Kay, 1969: 4).

Black and white can be found in all languages, and they appear prior to other
color terms; Black, white, red are the most common colors of which red is the
brightest natural color in the spectrum. From table 1 and graph 1, it’s clear that black,
white, and red are most often used three colors in the corpus, make up 63.5% of the
total in English and 64.3% of the total in Chinese.
Red is always followed by green or yellow. If a language had four color terms,
green or yellow should be included, but not both; green and yellow are both included
in languages with five color terms. Blue should be included in languages with six
color terms. Beyond six basic color terms, there appears to be far less order.
According to Berlin and Kay, the frequency of color terms is closely connected

22
with people’s memory. Black, white, red, yellow, green, blue are all pure colors while
gray, purple, brown are mixed colors — brown (black + yellow), purple (red + blue),
gray (white + black). Pure colors can store on the retina longer than other colors and
make a deeper impression on the mind, thus have high-codability while mixed colors
have low-codability. Colors with high-codability are most frequently used in
languages.

3.1.2 Similar metaphorical meaning

Besides this, we do find the same metaphorical meaning of certain colors in
English and Chinese.
A case in point is the metaphorical use of black and green. Table 3 shows that
54.5% of black in English and 38.1% of black in Chinese are usually associated with
negative conditions: illegal, painful, hopeless, disgraceful, abnormal, etc. 20% of
black in English and 38.1% of black in Chinese are associated with the evil thoughts
and acts of men. Similarly, from table 6, we can see that 72.5% of green in English
and 78.7% of green in Chinese are used to talk about the issues related to saving
environment, preventing pollution, and protecting plants and animals. Green light is
a frequently used metaphor in both English and Chinese.
Another example is the metaphorical use of gray. Table 9 shows that 33.5% of
gray in English and 37.5% of gray in Chinese refer to dull, gloomy things or boring,
unattractive, obscure persons. The term gray area makes up 33.5% of the total in
English and 25% of the total in Chinese. 22% of gray in English and 25% of gray in
Chinese are used to talk about the state of things between legal and illegal.
We can also find similarities in the metaphorical use of other color terms. In
contrast with black, white has positive connotation in both English and Chinese: pure,
innocent, legal, etc. 30.8% of white in English corpus and 16.9% of white in Chinese
corpus refer to someone morally beyond reproach, honest and innocent; 16.7% of
white in English corpus and 31% of white in Chinese corpus are used to indicate the
legal status of things. Red is associated with joyful occasions in both English and
Chinese. 9.7% of red in English and 17.9% of red in Chinese are used in this way.
23
3.1.3 The causes of similar color metaphors
Many examples in part 2 can verify the hypothesis that the same color metaphor
does occur in English and Chinese. These metaphors have become conventional in
daily English and Chinese after long-time use (Zhang Pei, 1998). Since English and
Chinese are completely unrelated languages and represent very different cultures,
how is it possible for different languages and cultures to use color metaphor in such
similar ways? According to Kovecses (2002: 165), there are three possibilities:

(1) It has happened by accident;

(2) One language borrowed the metaphors from another;

(3) There is some universal motivation for the metaphors to emerge in these cultures.

I will opt for the third possibility, although the first two cannot be ruled out
completely either.
By motivation, Kovecses means the experiential basis for metaphor. The
cognitive linguistic view maintains that — in addition to objective, preexisting
similarity — metaphors are based on a variety of human experience. There are three
major ways in which metaphors are grounded: perceptual, biological or cultural. Any
of these may provide sufficient motivation for the selection of source B1 over B2 or
B3 for the comprehension of target A. The motivation for the same color metaphors
can be either perceptual or cultural.
(1) Perceptual basis
It’s well-known that color vision is an important tool of human cognition (Zhao
Yanfang, 2001: 41). The similar color metaphors in English and Chinese appear to
derive from certain universal aspects of human physiology.
Let’s first have a look at the physiology of human color vision. The researches
on color and the physiology of human color vision show that the physiology of
human color vision is constant across all races. It is generally the case that regardless
of the number of color terms in a language, the focal hue, the best exemplar of a
named color is remarkably consistent across languages. This is claimed by Kay and
24
McDaniel (1978) to lie in the universal neurophysiology of color vision. All the
colors we see are a combination of six basic colors: red, yellow, green, blue, white
and black (Foley, 2001: 153).
According to the now widely accepted opponent-process theory proposed by
Hurvich and Jameson (1957), the human visual system consists of three subsystems.
The first subsystem signals differences in brightness and is achromatic. The other
two signal differences in hue; one for red-green opposition and one for yellow-blue.
This system explains the process of color perception. For example, pure blue results
when yellow-blue subsystem signals blue, but red-green subsystem is neutral. White,
black and gray result when both the yellow-blue and red-green subsystems are
neutral, and the third subsystem of brightness is operative; the neurological firing
patterns for high brightness signals white, and its relative absence signals black, with
gray in between (Foley, 2001: 151-152; Zhao Yanfang , 2001: 42).
With this background knowledge of human color vision in mind, we return to
the perceptual motivation for the same color metaphors by analyzing some examples
in the corpus.

[3-1a] Shaped by the Yale of the ’60s and by his own father’s career … the
president’s stark, black-and-white outlook stems from many sources.
(Newsweek 2003/2/19)
[3-1b] 这与新加坡循规蹈矩的黑白分明主流文化形成鲜明的对比 (联合早报
2002/4/3)

Black is a color of lowest brightness while white is a color of highest brightness,

so to the human eye, the difference of black and white is easy to distinguish since
they are in such sharp contrast. When people use black and white to talk about
situation, decision, question, and issue, the metaphorical meaning is that there are
clear differences between two choices, or between right and wrong just as the
difference of black and white. In [3-1a] black and white means a clear distinction
between right and wrong while in [3-1b] means the main concept of right and wrong
25
in a given culture. In both English and Chinese, there are terms call black white and
颠倒黑白 which mean to confuse what cannot be confused.
Gray is a color between black and white. Since it is a mixed color, to the human
eye, the color is somewhat unclear. So the color is often used to talk about things
between black and white — things that cannot be dealt with in a definite way.

[3-2a] But legally and morally, single women's rights to reproduce is still in a gray
area. (China Daily 2002/11/29)
[3-2b] 或在法律灰色边缘地带擦边球的违规事件 更是屡见不鲜 (联合早报
2002/4/3)

Gray area in [3-2a] means that there is no clear rules; 灰色 in [3-2b] here
means the loopholes of the law.
Red is a so-called “hot color” — a color can make a person excited. So in the
western countries, there are red-light districts where commercialized sexual
activities are concentrated. The term is from the use of a red light to signify a brothel
(Hu Wenzhong, 1995). In Chinese, we have 灯红酒绿 (red lanterns and green wine)
to describe the public place of entertainment. From the perspective of physiology,
Sahlins explains this association with red:

Red is to the human eye the most salient of color experiences. At normal light

levels, red stands out in relation to all other hues by virtue of a reciprocal, heightening

effect between saturation and brightness … Red, simply, has the most color…

(Sahlins, 1976: 4-5) (from Foley, 2001: 163)

In both English and Chinese, red is associated with happy events. In [3-3a],
paint the town red is an informal way to talk about going out and having an
extremely good time, usually to celebrate something, while in [3-3b], red in 开门红
is a symbol of good fortune.

26
[3-3a] They heard this morning that they’ve passed their examinations, so they’ve
gone out to paint the town red. (Longman Idiom)
[3-3b] 纽约股市在今年第一个交易日赢得开门红 （北京晨报 2002/1/4）

(2) Cultural basis

In addition to the perceptual basis, color metaphors are deeply rooted in their
cultural basis. This is well summarized by Lakoff and Johnson:

In other words, what we call “direct physical experience” is never merely a matter

of having a body of a certain sort; rather, every experience takes place within a vast

background of cultural presuppositions … Cultural assumptions, values, and attitudes

are not a conceptual overlay which we may or may not place upon experience as we

choose. It would be more correct to say that all experience is cultural through and

through, that we experience our “world” in such a way that our culture is already

present in the very experience itself (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980: 57).

So the importance of culture to human cognition cannot be over emphasized.

This can be illustrated by color metaphor in English and Chinese.
The metaphorical meaning of a color term is closely connected with the things
of that color. In their experience of cognition, people perceive non-objective
similarities between color and some abstract domain. Black as a color of night can
arouse a feeling of fear. The negative association with black can be traced back to
the primitive age when human beings knew very little about the world in which they
lived. As darkness closed in, men had an intrinsic fear to the unknown natural world,
they felt depressed and helpless in pitch black. With the ages went by, this fear has
become a kind of sub-consciousness in the mind of human beings, and language is
just a manifestation of this sub-consciousness (Gu Jiazu, 2002: 134):

[3-4a] Australia braced itself on Friday for a second black weekend as officials
warned high winds and extreme heat could fan widespread bushfires that
27
 have so far killed four people and destroyed up to 540 homes. (China daily
2003/1/21)
[3-4b] 赞臣接受球会官方网页访问时吐露心曲 在黑暗的日子里 我承认自
己确实出了很大的问题 （大公报 2003/1/7）

At a certain period when something very sad or terrible upsetting happens, we

often use black to talk about the painful situation as in [3-4a] and [3-4b].
In Western and Chinese legend and myth, demons and ghosts all do evil deeds
at night, so black is also regarded as a color of evil, some terror groups are often
preceded by black. Black thoughts and acts are very evil or wicked thoughts and
acts.

[3-5a] I think their crime is a blacker one than mere exploitation. (Collins Cobuild
Metaphor)
[3-5b] 长期以来 制假者把大中专院校 幼儿园 医院 宾馆等大宗购买单位
作为销售“黑心棉”的“摇钱树” （北京晨报 2002/12/14）

In [3-5a], here black indicates the cruelty and wickedness of the crime; While in
[3-5b], 黑心棉 refers to the materials used as cotton and actually made from wastes
which are of great harm to people’s health. The term not only derives from the color
of the material, but also refers to the wicked act of the people who make this kind of
materials for money.
The metaphorical meaning further extends to mean the underground trades
which are not declared for tax purposes, etc. as in the term black market:

[3-6a] Intelligence officials think Al Qaeda has already obtained black-market

cesium-137 and cobalt-60 and may be experimenting with RDDs in
Afghanistan. (Newsweek 2001/10/8)
[3-6b] 目前黑市中的 845P 芯片组报价已经比 Intel 的官方报价便宜 5 美元
(pc.online.com.cn 2002/5/17)
28
 White is the color of snow and clouds in the sunny sky, which can arouse the
feeling of purity and brightness (Zhu Wenjun, 2000:303).

[3-7a] There was no point in inventing a whiter than white character. (M)
[3-7b] 希望有关传媒不要再随心所欲地奉送三陪女美称 还小姐们以纯洁和清
白 （大公报 2003/1/26）

In [3-7a], whiter than white means extremely white in the literal meaning, when
referred to a person it means someone morally beyond reproach, honest. 清白
means innocence in Chinese.
It is universal that black symbolizes for wrong while white symbolizes for right.
Since black refers to the illegal things, white is always used to talk about legal
things:

[3-8a] A flag State Party that is on the White List may, as a matter of policy, elect
not to accept seafarers with certificates issued by non White List countries
for service on its ships. (Maritime Safety Committee – 74th session:
2001/6/8)
[3-8b] 黑市 能否变 白市 南方周末 2003/4/4

To Chinese and Westerners, especially Chinese, red is often associated with

joyful occasions. From the perspective of human cognition, red is the color of the
sun, fire and blood. These things are of great importance in the primitive society. So
red was a favorable color to men in ancient times. And archaeological studies also
confirm that red was the most easily gotten natural pigments in ancient times (Yao
Xiaoping, 1988).

[3-9a] Forget the tasteless off-season crop you can buy all year round, and instead
lay out the red carpet to welcome the real deal back into the kitchen. (The
Guardian.co.uk 2002/7/6)
29
[3-9b] 黑龙江 彩票超市 掀起红盖头 首家问世牡丹江 (黑龙江体育彩票
网 2002/2/14）

In Western countries as well as in China, when holding a special ceremonial

welcome to someone important, red carpet is often rolled out to give the important
guest a special treatment as in [3-9a]. In China, a piece of red headkerchief is used to
cover the head of the bride at a traditional wedding. When the bridegroom takes the
headkerchief off, their marriage life begins. In [3-9b], 掀起红盖头 means the
joyful occasion of opening a business.
Green is the color of grass or leaves in spring and summer. Because many
plants or part of plants are green, so green has a century-old association with the
nature and the living things grown on the earth. The whole association of the color
green with the environmental protection goes back to the West German ecological
movements of the early seventies (Tulloch, 1991: 139). In recent years, men have
attached great importance to environmental protection, green has become a key word
to talk about all environmental issues in both English and Chinese.
As green became one of the most popular adjectives in the media in the late
1980’s, it’s use was extended to parties or governments supporting the environmental
protection or polices designed to stop the destruction of the environment as in [3-10a]
and [3-10b]:

[3-10a] Now he is holding a belief that, as he reiterated in a keynote speech at a big

environmental conference last weekend, will ensure “the next Labour
government is the first green government Britain has ever seen.” (New
Statesman 97/1/31)
[3-10b] 然而 新年伊始 德国生效的强制性容器押金法规 却引发了巨大争议,
环保积极分子为此雀跃 但也有人认为 绿色押金 是一项扰民政策
(北京青年报 2003/1/14）

The use of green also extended to products and activities considered from the
30
viewpoint of their impact on the environment. Green activities and products refer to
activities and products that are not harmful to the environment, environment-
friendly. For instance,

[3-11a] For all the overwrought talk of an SUV backlash and the rise of “green
cars” like the Toyota Prius, Americans are actually pumping up the juice in
all kinds of cars. (Newsweek 2003/2/24)
[3-11b] 不久的将来这种技术应用到冰箱和空调制造行业后将可以生产出绿色
家电 使得人们的家居生活更加注重环保 (北京青年报 2003/1/7）

Green light is a frequently used metaphor in both English and Chinese. The
metaphor is from the green light in traffic signals indicating that traffic is free to
move forward.

[3-12a] … as it did recently when Prime Minister Leszek Miller gave the green light
to Poland’s $3.5 billion purchase of American F-16 fighter jets. (Newsweek
2003/3/3)
[3-12b] 浙江向投资者建渔港当老板开绿灯 （大公报 2003/1/7）

Gray is a color of ash, smoke and rain clouds. Many people believe that gray is
a dull color, so gray metaphorically refers to dull, gloomy things or boring,
unattractive, obscure persons.

[3-13a] Life seems gray and joyless. (Longman Dictionary)

[3-13b] 在我们心情欠佳的灰暗日子里 只要把他的作品播放出来 空气中便充
满阳光 （大公报 2003/1/7）

The metaphorical meaning is further extended to refer to things between legal

and illegal. The term gray market can be traced back to post-war America, where it
described the unscrupulous selling of scarce or rationed goods at inflated prices
31
(Tulloch, 1991: 142). In [3-14b], 灰色收入 means the income that not declared
taxes.

[3-14a] It’s all part of the products we have been sourcing from the gray market for
the last five years. (Times 2003/3/31)
[3-14b] 逢年过节是 灰色收入 进账的黄金时段 （合肥晚报 2003/4/1）

From the above analysis, a conclusion can be drawn that the cross-culture color
metaphors are similar in one way or another, this is verified at least in English and
Chinese; the similarity is based on the same physiology of human color vision and
the similar experience of cognition in different cultures.
In my study, I do find that some Chinese metaphors are borrowed from English.
In recent years, with the increase of international cultural exchange, many new
words and expressions from other languages have been introduced into Chinese. A
good case in point is color metaphors associated with occupation — white-collar (白
领), blue-collar (蓝领), gray-collar (灰领), and green-collar (绿领). We all know
that white-collar workers are those office workers in offices, banks, etc while
blue-collar workers are those who mainly do physical work in factories, mines, etc.
The terms like gray-collar and green-collar seem less familiar to us. Gray-collar
workers refer to those carrying out maintenance work, their status is between
white-collar workers and blue-collar workers; Green-collar workers are those who
do value-added, low-impact jobs in industries such as high tech, health care, tourism,
environmental technologies, software, and other services.
Besides these, color metaphors like 红灯区 (red-light district), 黑色幽默
(black humor), 赤字 (in the red), 蓝图 (blueprint) are also translations from their
English equivalents.
It should be noted that some color metaphors occur in both English and Chinese,
but mean quite differently. This kind of color metaphors tends to cause
misunderstanding. Here is a story about the experiences of an American professor
who came to China on a short lecture tour. One of his topics was Cross-Cultural
32
Understanding in International Relations. The lecture was interesting and full of
cross-cultural bits of information, but he kept using the expression cultural red flags,
a term which he had coined. He used the term to denote things that one should avoid
or handle carefully in a certain culture. One can imagine his embarrassment when it
was pointed out to him that red flag in China and in any other socialist country has
very positive associations (Deng Yanchang, 1989:70).
This is not an exception. Yellow appears in such Chinese expressions as 黄色
电影, 黄色书刊, 黄色音乐 meaning pornographic, obscene, or vulgar. Such
expressions are pervasive in the daily written Chinese. And yellow does appear in
the English phrase yellow journalism or yellow press, but it refers to a kind of
newspapers with heavy emphasis on scandals, or presenting ordinary news in a
sensational manner, sometimes even distorting the facts to create a sensational effect.
In 1895, New York World enjoyed fleeting fame by its sensational news. In its front
page, there was always a man dressing in yellow, so this newspaper was called
yellow paper at that time (Zhu Wenjun, 2000:314). The name was soon got around
and became synonym of newspapers featuring sensational items or ordinary news
sensationally distorted.
In recent years, the term 蓝色革命 (blue revolution), named after the color of
the sea — blue, has appeared in the Chinese newspapers. It refers to the replacement
of traditional fishing by fish farming. In English blue revolution is a radical change
towards sexual permissiveness in Western countries or sudden prevalence of
pornography. Blue is no longer the color of the seawater, but associated with sex.

3.2 Dissimilarities
From the data analysis in part 2, we do find dissimilarities in terms of frequency
and metaphorical meaning.

3.2.1 Different frequency of color terms

Although the frequency of color terms is similar in English and Chinese, the

33
difference does exist with regards of a certain color term. From table 1 and graph 1,
we can see that black is the most frequently used color term in English while red is
the most frequently used color term in Chinese. The frequency of red is 255 in
Chinese and 192 in English. The use of red in Chinese is 24.7% more than that in
English. Similarly, the frequency of yellow is 181 in Chinese and 110 in English.
Yellow is much less used in English than in Chinese, but blue is used more
frequently in English. The use of blue in English is 32.6% more than that in Chinese.

3.2.2 Different metaphorical meaning of color terms

In addition to different frequency in daily language, a color term may have
different meanings in different cultures. A case in point is the metaphorical uses of
red. Red is not only used more often in Chinese than in English, but also with richer
meanings. Purple and brown have very few metaphorical meaning both in English
and Chinese, so it is not surprising that I cannot find similar metaphorical use of the
two colors in the corpus. But yellow and blue, which are in frequent use in everyday
language, have quite different metaphorical meanings in English and Chinese. This
is something contrary to my expectation. I will attempt to discuss the reason for this
later.
Even for the color terms which have similar metaphorical meanings in most
cases, their metaphorical uses are not identical in every way. For example, black in
English has many unique meanings as in blackmail, black sheep, etc. While in
Chinese, we also have expressions like 黑客, 黑车, 黑社会,etc which have no
counterparts in English.
It seems that color terms is more often used to describe a person’s emotion in
English. For example, black stands for depressed, green for envious, red for anger
and happiness, blue for sad. But in Chinese, except for red, the other colors cannot
be used in the same way.
It is very interesting that the same meaning may be expressed by different color
metaphors in English and Chinese. The most interesting example of this kind is color
metaphors describing envy or jealousy in English and Chinese. Besides green with
34
envy, English has the term green-eyed monster or just green- eyed — both meaning
jealous or envious. However, in Chinese, an expression often used to describe the
same feeling is 眼红 or 害了红眼病 — literally red-eyed. When describing things
connected with sex, English has the terms blue movie or blue joke. The Chinese
counterparts of blue movie or blue joke should be 黄色电影, 黄色笑话, a meaning
derived from yellow journalism in English.

3.2.3 The causes of different color metaphors

Berlin and Kay (1969) and their associates regard a particular color as a label
given in response to a controlled stimulus, a Munsell color chip, an act of naming an
objective sensible difference. The relativists in color study argue that culture must be
the crucial autonomous intermediary between any innate and hence universal
neurological perception of color stimuli and the cognitive understanding of these.
The point is echoed linguistically by Wierzbicka (1990) who notes that the meaning
of a color term in a language cannot possibly be a neural response to a color chip,
but rather the cognitive understanding the native speaker of the language has of that
term: “language reflects what happens in the mind, not what happens in the
brain.”(Wierzbicka, 1990: 163) (from Foley, 2001: 160)
It is now recognized that the meaning of a color term is its cognitive
understanding, the culturally defined relations it engages in and activates, not its
mere recognition and labeling. The rich cultural information about the meanings of
the basic color terms cannot be bracketed out in the color metaphor study. We can set
up a hypothesis that cultural variation results in dissimilarities of color metaphors in
English and Chinese.
According to Kovecses (2002: 185), there appear to be two large categories of
causes that bring about cultural variation in metaphor. One is the natural and
physical environment in which a culture is located. The other is the broader cultural
context. It is true to color metaphors.
(1) Natural and physical environment
The natural and physical environment shapes a language, primarily its
35
vocabulary, in an obvious way; consequently, it will shape the metaphors as well.
Given a certain kind of habitat, speakers living there will be attuned (most
subconsciously) to things and phenomena that are characteristic of that habitat; and
they will make use of these things and phenomena for the metaphorical
comprehension and creation of their conceptual universe (Kovecses, 2002: 187).
This suggestion can explain the quite different metaphorical uses of yellow and
blue in English and Chinese.
Yellow has rich metaphorical meanings in Chinese. 说文 explains “黄, 地之
色也” (Yellow is the color of soil). This explanation can be found in various Chinese
dictionaries. Yellow soil (geographical term loess) is widely distributed over the
north and northwest regions in China, a region from which ancient Chinese culture
originated. To ancient Chinese people who mainly engaged in farming, it’s
self-evident that soil is of great importance. Two thousand years ago, Han nationality
used 5 color terms to symbolize 五行 (the five elements — metal, wood, water, fire
and earth) and 五方 (the five directions — the four cardinal points and the center).
Yellow is the color of earth in the five elements and the center of the five directions.
So yellow is chosen as the color of emperor and the imperial family because it’s a
symbol of territory and power, and common people were forbidden to be dressed in
yellow since the beginning of Tang dynasty (Chang Jingyu, 1995: 166).
Yellow is not only a color characteristic of their natural habitat, it is also the
skin color of Chinese people. Yellow is pervasive in the expressions of everyday life.
For example, the ancestor of the Chinese nation is 黄帝 (Huang Di or the Yellow
Emperor), the Chinese nation is 炎黄子孙 (descendants of Yan Di and Huang Di —
two legendary rulers of remote antiquity); the river nurturing the Chinese culture is
called 黄河 (Huang He or the Yellow River);When a person was born, he is a 黄口
小儿 (baby); when he has grown up, he chooses 黄道吉日 (a propitious date — a
lucky day ) for the important events in his life like wedding, etc; He eats 黄米
(yellow rice), and drinks 黄 酒 (yellow rice or millet wine); He uses 黄 历
(almanac of Huang Di); He may 飞黄腾达 (make rapid advances in one’s career),

36
sometimes it’s just a 黄粱美梦 (Golden Millet Dream — daydreaming), his life is
as bitter as 黄连 ( a kind of Chinese herb with bitter taste). But whenever he is
successful or not, when he dies, he goes to 黄泉 (the Yellow Springs — the world
of the dead).
To the British who live in an island country, they cannot have the same
association with yellow. Their lives are closely connected with the sea. The color of
sea — blue is a familiar and favorite color to them. So in English, blue is often used
metaphorically. A person may try till he (or she) is blue in the face to win his (her)
blue or to become blue stocking; if he (or she) fails, he may sing the blues and at
least be in the blues. A person cannot choose to be blue-blooded, but he can choose
to be one’s blue-eyed boy or a true blue to his party and country. And when he is
between the devil and the deep blue sea, he is in a difficult situation in which he has
to choose between two unpleasant things (The unpleasant association with blue sea
may be because the sea is changeable and difficult to conquer in the ancient times).
Some events may come out of the blue, while some may happen once in a blue
moon.
It is confirmed that blue appeared much later than black, white, yellow and red
in Chinese. This is due to the natural surroundings. Ancient Chinese culture was
originated from the in-land area, the only thing with natural blue color is the clear
sky. The sea is too remote to be acquainted with (Yao Xiaoping, 1988). Although
yellow is a color term in common use in English language, it is not a color
characteristic of that habitat, thus has less metaphorical associations.
(2) Broader cultural context
By broader cultural context, I simply mean — history, traditions and customs,
living habit, religion of different cultures that may result in the differences of color
metaphor in English and Chinese. In the following part, I will consider each of these
possibilities.
(a) Traditions and customs
Different traditions and customs tend to result in different metaphorical
meanings of a certain color term. The Russian artist Kandinsky holds the opinion
37
that the inner content of the nation is a decisive factor to make people understand
cultural meaning of color terms differently (Yang Yonglin, 2002). A case in point is
the metaphorical use of red in Chinese. Red has long been a favorite color for
Chinese people. In ancient Chinese history, it was said that 周人尚赤 (The people
in Zhou Dynasty love red color). As the color of sun and fire, red is used to
symbolize happiness, good luck, success, popularity in Chinese culture.
Red is a traditional color for festivals and wedding ceremonies in China. In
Spring Festival, every household pastes red Spring Festival couplets on the gateposts
or door panels conveying one’s best wishes for the year; and hangs up the red
lanterns. The older generations give 红包 (a red paper envelope containing money
as a gift) to younger generations; The following sentence illustrates this tradition:

[3-15] 在街头记者发觉 家家户户不一定“三红”齐备 但如细一观察 相较于

传统的对联 灯笼 挂国旗的最多 最引人注目 （北京晨报 2002/2/14）

红双喜 (double happiness written in red) is a traditional symbol for a wedding.

It’s no doubt that the bride should wear red dresses. If a bride wore white dress at a
wedding in the past, it would be really shocking to the guests. Although some young
couple prefer to a Western wedding, nowadays brides are still dressed in red at a
traditional wedding.
On the happy occasion of the birth of a child, 红蛋 (red eggs) — eggs dyed
red are given as gifts to friends and relatives. On a festival occasion or as a token of
honor, a band of red silk will be draped over one’s shoulder or a big red flower
pinned on one’s breast.
Chinese people love red so much that red is pervasive in daily language with
the meaning of popularity and success such as 满堂红 (all-around victory; success
in every field), 红火 (flourishing, prosperous), 红得发紫 ( extremely popular), 走
红 (being popular), 红运 (good luck), 红榜 (honor roll or board), 红人 (a
favorite with somebody in power; fair-haired boy) and so on. Here are some
examples from the corpus:
38
[3-16] 新疆“红色产业”全线飘红 作为中国最大的番茄制品生产基地 今年新
疆的番茄酱生产和销售行情看好 （新疆日报 2002/11/3）
[3-17] 深沪掀起红色风暴 昨天成交金额近 ９００ 亿元 （北京晨报 2002/6/25）
[3-18] 今 年 借 贺 岁 之 际 推 出 黄 金 生 肖 饰 品 没想到一炮走红 (大公报
2003/1/31)
[3-19] 津门节日前的海货市场和海鲜餐馆生意红红火火 新华社 2003/1/25
[3-20] 雀巢咖啡祝您羊年行红运 广告
[3-21] 发售门票才十天 就卖个满堂红 (大公报 2003/1/6)

Ｓｏ in Chinese, an expression often used to describe jealousy is 眼红 or 害了

红眼病 — literally red-eyed just because a popular or successful person is said to be
红了, then a lot of people around him will be envious.

[3-22] 广医心理咨询中心的培训费用是 ２４００－２６００ 元 人 一些心理咨询机构

看了很眼红 南方都市报 2003/4/15

Red is a symbol of danger in English due to the bull-fighting tradition in which

a piece of red rag is used to irritate the bull. So red rag in English means doing
something that could cause quick anger in other people, and see red means to be very
angry.
In the Western world, black is a color for funeral whereas in China white is
used. The connotation of white in the Chinese expression 红白喜事 would be
confusing to most Westerners. This is because a traditional wedding in Britain is
white wedding, at which the bride wears a long white dress. To have white at
funerals would be offensive; to have funerals described as happy occasions (喜事)
would be absolutely shocking to Westerners, although the expression reflects a
certain philosophic attitude towards death of the Chinese.
In English there are many metaphors with black closely connected with funeral:
black tiding (sad news of the death of a beloved person);
black memory (the memory of the dead);
39
black flag (a flag once used at prisons as a signal that a murderer had been
executed by hanging.);
black knot (a fast knot),
black mass (mass for the dead) (Zhu Wenjun, 2000: 309-310)
(b) History
It is difficult to understand some color metaphors without tracing back to its
historical origins:
An interesting example in English is blackmail which originates in Scotland.
Life was unfair for 17th century Scottish farmers. Not only did they have to struggle
to cultivate their land and produce good crops, but they also had to contend with
corrupt chiefs who forced them to pay for protection of their land. If a farmer didn’t
pay the protection fee, these same extortionists would destroy his crops. It is this
corrupt practice, not the post office, that has given us the word blackmail. The mail
in blackmail comes from a Scottish word meaning “rent”. The black in blackmail
probably derives from an age-old association between the color black and evil or
“dirty deeds”. It could also have something to do with the fact that the tribute paid
by the farmers was in the form of cattle rather than in silver coins, known as “white
money”. Eventually, the term came to describe the practice of obtaining money or
advantage by threatening or extorting (Mish, 1989: 47-48). Nowadays, blackmail
can be very subtle. We even hear from time to time of blackmail that acts upon
personal feelings and actions, as in the following sentence:

[3-23] “What incensed me was Alibhai-Brown’s assertion that she knew what life
was like in Baghdad, and that I was using ‘emotional blackmail’ by telling
what I knew. (Times 2003/3/29)

In [3-23], emotional blackmail means the influencing of someone’s actions by

causing anxiety.
Blacklist originated for no more ominous reason than that early official books
were usually bound in black. In early British universities, black books were used to
40
record cases of student misconduct. The term came to refer to any list of names,
especially of persons to be given some kind of special treatment — for example, no
further credit (Gorrell, 2001: 176).

[3-24] He used blacklisted writers on both Kwai and Lawrence. (Times 2003/4/3)

Another term with similar origin is red tape. In former times, lawyers,
government officials, etc; kept their papers and records in bundles tied with red tape.
Later, its meaning extended to mean the excessive bureaucracy, especially in public
business and prevent things from being done quickly and easily (Zhu Wenjun, 2000:
304; Oxford Idioms, 1999: 382).

[3-25] Other economic policies include a reduction in red tape and spending £100
million on roads and public transport. (Times 2003/4/3)

Some color metaphors originated from the color of clothes people worn in a
certain historical period. When describing things connected with sex, English has the
terms blue movie or blue joke, a meaning that may go back to the fact that blue was
associated with the dress of harlots (Gorrell, 2001: 178). For instance,

[3-26] Family woman saw red over blue movie. (Yang Yonglin, 2002)

In Chinese, putting on 绿帽子 or 绿头巾 means being a cuckold. This term

originated in ancient China. In Tang Dynasty, the feudal officials whose rank was
below seven were dressed in green garment or blue garment; and people of the
lowest rung wore clothes in green in Song and Yuan Dynasties. In the Yuan and
Ming Dynasties, green scarf wore by panders or procurers as decreed. In Qing
Dynasty, Chinese troops were called green camp and identified by green banners, as
distinguished from Manchu troops identified by yellow, white, blue and red banners.
So green is a humble and degrading color in ancient China (Zhu Wenjun, 2000: 316;
41
Chang Jingyu, 1995: 169-170).

[3-27] 在 绿帽盖顶 疑云下与妻子发生激烈争执 (大公报 2002/12/26)

Terms such as 乌纱帽 (black gauze cap) and 白丁 (a commoner) originated

in a similar way. Once a black cap worn by feudal officials , 乌纱帽 now refers to
the official post as in 丢乌纱帽 which means to be dismissed from office. 白丁
was a person without an academic title or official rank in feudal times. At that time
the common people wore white clothes while officials and the riches wore colored
clothes (Chang Jingyu, 1995: 171).
In ancient times, especially in ancient China, textile and dyeing industries
were well developed. The metaphors like 青出于蓝而胜于蓝 (Indigo comes from
blue, but it surpasses blue) may come from the experience of dyeing. Now 青出于
蓝 has become a set phrase with the metaphorical meaning of “The student excels
his teacher or the younger generation surpasses the older generation” (Rohsenow,
2002: 135).

[3-28] 青出于蓝胜于蓝的巨大精神挑战激励着王涛 须知 不唯微软是瞻 不

是盲目自大 而是对其经验的积极扬弃 （２１ 世纪经济报道 2003/4/9）

This is also a source to one English metaphor. When talking about loyalty, in
English, people will say She’s a true blue. This symbolic meaning had been in use
since 1500 in many European countries. The blue color in the national flag of Great
Britain, France and the United States all has this symbolic meaning (Zhu Wenjun,
2000: 308). The saying true blue will never stain derives from an observation to the
effect that a good, permanent blue dye was difficult to obtain but that Coventry was
particularly associated with the production of such a dye: true blue became a proverb
to signify one that was always the same and like himself in the 17th century, the color
blue was adopted by the Scottish Presbyterian party, but more recently it has been
the color favored by the Tory party — hence the expression a true blue Tory to mean
42
staunch Conservative supporter (Oxford Idioms,1999: 38).

[3-29] Holding the business tenet "True blue will never stain", believing in "Dream,
Trust, and Innovation ", Nintaus attaches high importance to product quality.
(qtd.com.au)

Color metaphors may originate from the historical allusions. White elephant is
frequently used in the daily English. The term is from Siam (now Thailand). White
elephant was much prized in former times by the king of Siam. As it was the object
of special veneration, its upkeep was very costly, so it was likely to ruin any courtier
to whom the king gave it as a gift (Zhu Wenjun, 2000: 303; Oxford Idioms, 1999:
382). Now a white elephant is something which will cost a lot of money perhaps an
increasing amount of money over time and in the end it will have no value. A white
elephant could be a car a coat a house or even a business which demands more and
more money without bringing in enough profit in return.

[3-30] The project could thus result in "very substantial stranded costs", the Panel
warns. In other words, it could turn into a white elephant. (Observer
2002/6/23)

There are many color metaphors connected with particular historical and social
period. It should be noted that black as a way to express unlicensed business, vehicle
or unregistered household makes up 34.7% of the total in Chinese corpus:

[3-31] 对扰乱旅游市场的 黑社 ﹑ 黑导 ﹑ 黑车 等不良现象进行整顿

(大公报 2003/1/30)

It is not surprising that we cannot find the same expressions in English corpus.
These metaphors are closely connected with the particular period during which
economic restructuring is underway in China and economic environment is to be

43
further improved.
In addition to this, 白 条 and 红 包 are also new terms in economic
restructuring period. 白条 refers to informal vouchers — a kind of promissory note
which an official with insufficient funds gives in recognition of debt to someone.
While 红包 refers to the bonus given to the staff by the company as in [3-32] or
secret bribes as in [3-33].

[3-32] 拿了红包作 跳蚤 (大公报 2003/1/28)

[3-33] 重点纠正接受工作对象宴请 以及接受 红包 礼金 礼品 等行
为 (大公报 2003/1/8)

白卷 (a blank examination paper ) is a term from the Cultural Revolution. The

Gang of Four advocated an absurd view that knowledge was useless, which had a
bad influence on the young people at that time. A student named Zhang Tiesheng
who handed in a blank examination paper in an examination, was made a hero by the
Gang of Four. Now we use 交 白 卷 to talk about the complete failure in
accomplishing a task. Example [3-34] illustrates this.

[3-34] 经此一役,希斯基已有三个月没进球 奥云则在近十场赛事 交白卷

(大公报 2003/1/10)

(c) Everyday life

In English, some color metaphors are closely connected with people’s daily life.
The metaphorical meaning of white-breaded is ordinary and traditional in the
opinion and way of life, such metaphorical meaning derives from the habit of eating
white bread in most families. So a white bread family is a very common and ordinary
family and usually refers to the white middle class in the U.S.
To have green fingers or green thumb means to be good at making plants grow
while green power has nothing to do with the plants, it means the power of money,
because the color of U.S. dollars is green.
44
 In the red means running a business at a loss, not making profit. This came
from the color of the ink used in keeping accounts. Red ink was traditionally used to
indicate debt items and balances in accounts.
The metaphorical use of red herring is from hunting. The color of a red herring
is imparted to it in the process of curing by smoking. Smoked herrings were
formerly an important product of English fishing ports such as Yarmouth. Because of
the strong smell of a smoked herring it was formerly recommended as an aid to
teaching hounds to follow a trail; hence the idea of a red herring’s being drawn
across a trail as a distraction. Now red herring is used to refer to something that
diverts attention from the main business or argument (Oxford Idiom, 1999: 291).

[3-35] It is not drugs that fund the terrorism. That is a red herring. (abcnews
2002/6/5)

Similarly, daily life is an indispensable source for color metaphors in Chinese.

黑锅 (a black pot) is a metaphor of injustice, so 背黑锅 (carry a black pot on one’s
back) means to be the victim of injustice. This metaphor may come from the fact that
the color of pot was always black in the past.
(d) Religion
Because of the widespread of Christianity in the Western world, moreover the
early Christian are all white, this religious tradition exerts great influence on the
metaphorical meaning of black and white in the English culture. For example, Satan
and other angels were all white in the paradise. When Satan was driven out of the
heaven and sent into exile in the hell, he was burned into a black devil. In the Bible,
the most frequently used metaphor is the flock of sheep, and all the sheep in the
flock are white. So this is why a black sheep is used to refer to someone who is
regarded by other members of their family or group as a failure or embarrassment
(Gu Jiazu, 1989: 134-135).
Another metaphor red-letter day is also of religious origin. It is from calendars
that have saint’s days and holidays printed in red and other dates printed in black.
45
Now it refers to a day specially looked forward to, or remembered, when something
remarkable and pleasurable will happen or happened (Oxford Idioms, 1999: 210).

[3-36] We did just that on March 26, 1999 - our own "red-letter day". It marked the
40th anniversary of one of Canada's best educational success stories. (York
university magazine 1999/5)

Buddhism was introduced into China in Han dynasty and reached its period of
great prosperity in Sui and Tang dynasties. For over two thousand years, Buddhist
philosophy has exerted great influence on Chinese culture. Many expressions from
Buddhist Scripture have become common words in Chinese. For example, 红尘
(the world of mortals) originally was a word of Buddhism, now we use 看破红尘
to mean seeing through the vanity of the world or being disillusioned with the moral
world. We often use 白璧无瑕 (flawless white jade) to describe a person with
impeccable moral integrity. This idiom is also from Buddhist Scripture (Chang
Jingyu, 1995: 70-71).

[3-37] 生于红尘当中 谁身上没有几处短﹑若干错 （大公报 2003/1/11）

(e) Different perspective of observation

People’s way of thinking is greatly influenced by culture. People in different
cultures tend to use different perspective to observe things. In English, green is often
used to describe an inexperienced or immature persons, we can find many examples
in everyday language as in the sentence The young man is still green at his job.
Similar in meaning is greenhorn — a person lacking experience, or a newcomer who
is not familiar with local customs.
This metaphorical use of green is associated with green plant. When grass and
leaves are green in color, they are freshly grown. It’s from the perspective of sight to
observe the plant.

46
 In Chinese, we use metaphor 嫩 (tender, delicate)to express the same meaning.
As in the sentence 他做这项工作还太嫩 (He is still green at this job).
This metaphorical use is associated with plant, too. When plants are young,
they are tender and delicate, it’s from the perspective of touch to observe the plant.
When talking about catching somebody in the act of committing a crime, catch
somebody red-handed is used in English , its counterpart in Chinese is 当场抓住.
Red here refers to the color of blood. When doing a crime, the hands of criminal
always stained with the blood of the victim. So somebody with red-handed means he
is committing a crime because the blood has not been wiped out. The metaphor
emphasizes on the condition of crime. The Chinese expression puts more emphasis
on catching the criminal in time or on the spot.
To beat someone black and blue is to hit someone so severely that he is covered
in bruises. Here black and blue refers to the color of fresh bruises. But the
equivalence of black and blue in Chinese is 青一块, 紫一块. In Chinese we often
use 青 and 紫 to describe the color of bruises (青 in Chinese can be color black,
blue or green). American linguists P. Kay and C. K. McDaniel (1978) point out that
there are at least 15 basic color categories in human language. The first one is the
primary category including black, white, red, yellow, green, and blue; the second is
comprehensive category, dark cool colors (black or green or blue), bright warm
colors (white or red or yellow), warm colors (red or yellow), cool colors (green or
blue); The third one is derived category, brown (black + yellow), purple (red + blue),
gray (white + black). In English, people select two colors — black and blue — of
primary category, while in Chinese, people use 青 in comprehensive category and
purple in derived category. Different colors are used due to the different perspective
of observation (Shao Zhihong, 1996: 217-218).

47
4. Conclusion

In this thesis, I have attempted to make a comparative study of color metaphor

in English and Chinese. Traditionally, metaphor is viewed as a linguistic
phenomenon. It’s Lakoff and Johnson’s pioneering book Metaphor We Live By that
has unfolded a new chapter for the study of metaphor. Inspired by the cognitive view
of metaphor, metaphor has received considerable attention in cross-culture studies.
Compared to emotion metaphor, there are few researches done on color metaphor.
Since color has long been a favorite domain for cross-culture study, it will be
reasonable to investigate the similarity and dissimilarity of cross-culture metaphor
from the perspective of color metaphor.
According Berlin and Kay’s basic color theory, I choose 9 shared basic color
terms in English and Chinese for study and collect about one-million-word corpus
from the latest English and Chinese magazines. If we find that the same color
metaphor does occur in English and Chinese, we can set up a hypothesis that it may
be universal. In addition to universality, it is also to be expected that there are
different color metaphors in English and Chinese. If we find any, we can set up a
hypothesis concerning cultural variation.
Based on the analysis of the collected data, I find that the same color metaphors
do exist in English and Chinese, especially for certain colors such as black, white,
red, green and gray. Some color metaphors can be said to be universal at least in
English and Chinese. In both English and Chinese, the metaphorical use of black is
usually associated with negative qualities while white is usually associated with
positive qualities. Red can be associated with joyful occasions. Green, an active
color term in recent years, often talks about issues concerning environment. Gray is
often used to refer to unclear situation and things between legal and illegal. How is it
possible for different languages and cultures to use color metaphor in such similar
ways? The cognitive linguistic view of metaphor maintains that there is some
universal motivation for the metaphors to emerge. The motivation for the same color

48
metaphors can be either perceptual or cultural.
Some color metaphors appear to derive from universal aspect of physiology of
human color vision, such as using black and white to indicate clear differences;
However, not all color metaphors have such clear motivation in the sense of
physiology. It can be suggested that similar cultural experiences motivate other color
metaphors. The metaphorical meaning of a certain color term is always connected
with the things of that color, but this does not make them similar — at least not in
the sense of objective, preexisting similarity. People perceive some nonobjective
similarities between color and abstract target domain in their experience of cognition.
Similarities of this kind provide an important source of motivation for some color
metaphors. Kovecses (2002: 165) points out that “The suggestion that some
metaphors are characterized by perceived similarities has an interesting implication.
It implies that some metaphors are not based on similarity but generate similarities.”
In addition to universality, I do find differences in the metaphorical use of color
terms due to cultural variation. From the collected data, red is more frequently used
in Chinese than in English. Many metaphorical meanings of red are unique in
Chinese culture, such as 走红, 红运, 红眼病, 红人 and 红利. Yellow is a
favorite color in Chinese which has rich metaphorical meanings. While yellow is
used in a quite different way in English, and seldom used as metaphors. We cannot
find any similarities in metaphorical uses of yellow in the two languages. Contrary to
yellow, blue is used more frequently as metaphors in English than in Chinese. Even
colors like black and green which seem to have similar metaphorical uses vary from
English to Chinese. For example, there is a pervasive use of 黑车, 黑户,etc in daily
written Chinese. But we cannot find the same expressions in English corpus. Color
metaphors are not as often used to talk about people’s emotions in Chinese as in
English, black in English means depressed, blue means sad, green means envious,
red means happy and angry. Except for red, other color terms in Chinese seldom or
never refer to people’s emotions. Why different cultures use so different color
metaphors? In his book, Kovecses (2002: 185) gives two possible causes that bring
about cultural variation: one is the natural and physical environment in which a
49
culture is located; the other is the broader cultural context. The differences between
the metaphorical uses of yellow and blue in English and Chinese are due to the
different natural and physical environment; the different red metaphors are a result of
broader cultural context of English and Chinese culture. Here by broader cultural
context I simply mean every aspect of a given culture — history, living habit,
traditions and customs, religion, particular social and economic period — that may
bring about cultural variation in the metaphorical use of certain color terms. It
appears that the broader cultural context accounts for the differences of many
culture-specific color metaphors.
In short, like emotion metaphor and spatial metaphor, color metaphor also
demonstrates the similarity and dissimilarity of cross-culture metaphor. The
similarity of color metaphor in English and Chinese verifies the cognitive view of
metaphor through the perspective of color terms; the dissimilarity of color metaphor
in English and Chinese provides an important evidence for the effect of cultural
variation on metaphor and is useful in overcoming language barrier in cross-culture
communication.

50
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53
 Acknowledgements

I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Professor Cai

Longquan, for his help to work out the outline, go over the initial drafts, and offer
kind encouragement and enlightening advice in my preparation of the present thesis.
I would also like to give my gratitude to my family members for their consistent
encouragement and support.

i
理解颜色隐喻——英汉比较研究
作者： 李丽雪
学位授予单位： 上海师范大学

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引用本文格式：李丽雪 理解颜色隐喻——英汉比较研究[学位论文]硕士 2003