Zodiacrune

Brown

ColorsElement: Earth 土

Overview

Brown sits below the five principal colours in attention: it is the colour of things as they are found rather than as they are prepared.

Meaning

Brown is the colour of the ordinary and the aged — of undyed cloth, worked wood and tilled ground.

Traditional Interpretation

Sources treat brown as the colour of the monastic robe in some contexts and of plain dress generally.

Related Concepts

Ochre
Ochre is the earth pigment — the colour of ground used as paint, and of walls and of the plain.
Yellow
Yellow is the colour of Earth and of the centre — and historically the colour reserved for the imperial house.
Soil
Soil is read as ground that will take what is put into it — Earth in its productive rather than its fixed sense.
Earth
The middle, and what holds everything else up.

FAQ

What does brown symbolize in Chinese tradition?

Brown is the colour of the ordinary and the aged — of undyed cloth, worked wood and tilled ground. Brown sits below the five principal colours in attention: it is the colour of things as they are found rather than as they are prepared.

Is brown an auspicious color?

It depends on the setting rather than on the color alone. Brown is the colour of the ordinary and the aged — of undyed cloth, worked wood and tilled ground. The association with plainness is the operative one — brown is what things are when no colour has been applied.

How is brown read in Chinese tradition?

Sources treat brown as the colour of the monastic robe in some contexts and of plain dress generally. It is grouped under Earth (土) in the five-element system.

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