Red may be regarded as the national color of China, symbolizing auspiciousness and celebration. For a long time in ancient times, from emperors and generals to the common people, red was regarded as a precious auspicious color. However, it was not easy for ancient Chinese people to obtain a bright and intense red color. In order to master more red dyeing secrets, dyers constantly develop new dyes and explore new technologies. Water red, silver red, and alum red have undergone changes and inheritance. The color words for red have evolved from single words to compound words, and the hue has expanded from yellow red to magenta. The definition has also changed from the initial red white color to referring to the main colors of red, magenta, and vermilion. The vigorous vitality of the Red Tour cannot be separated from the nourishment of Silk Road commerce. The red flowers introduced from the land Silk Road for cultivation, and the Su Mu introduced from the sea Silk Road to the Central Plains, flow into the ocean of traditional colors like streams, ultimately turning into a bright Chinese red in the hands of dyeing masters. Four Stains for Zhu: Red in the Pre Qin Period The five emperors of China, Qing Emperor, Yan Emperor, Huang Emperor, Bai Emperor, and Hei Emperor, were named after color, indicating that as early as ancient times, the ancestors of China had already mastered the secret of obtaining color from nature. Afterwards, color rose from the dyeing level of "applying five colors with five colors" to the ritual level of "Xuan Yi Xiu Chang". Skills and etiquette have become a double chain of genes in Chinese color culture, supporting and inheriting each other. In the color words of pre Qin literature, red refers to the color between red and white, which is now known as light red; In the modern sense, red was called red or vermilion at that time. From ancient times to the present, the important position of red in the color world has never been shaken, which is closely related to the ancient ancestors' worship of fire, sun, and blood. The earliest official system code in China, "Zhou Li," recorded the red robe system of kings and queens. The earliest poetry collection in China, "Shi Jing," recorded lines such as "Zhu Fusi Huang, the king of the imperial family." The earliest etiquette classic in China, "Yi Li," recorded rituals such as "noble robes and robes." These documents all indicate that red was an important color of ceremonial attire for emperors, princes, and literati in the pre Qin period. In order to ensure the perfect presentation of colors, official positions related to colors had already appeared as early as the Zhou Dynasty. According to the Book of Rites, the "Dian Fu Gong" in the imperial court was responsible for the silk and linen raw materials and fabrics for the king and queen, while the "Nei Si Fu" was in charge of the production of formal dresses for the queen and her consort; The "palm dyeing grass" in the local government is responsible for harvesting the dyed grass; The "Si Fu" position in the Spring Palace is responsible for the auspicious and inauspicious attire of the king; The "coloring workers" in winter officials are responsible for fabric picking, feather dyeing, and silk production. Red, Zhu, Dan, Jiang, Tong, Xi, Ti, Xi, Xi, Xi, and Hong, the red color words in the pre Qin period were very rich, and the dyes used to dye these colors all came from the same ancient red dyeing herb - madder. Rubia is a perennial vine with roots rich in red pigment, which can produce a warm yellow red color tone. For a long period of time before the introduction of other red dyes, madder was the main source of red dyes in China. It is not easy to obtain pure crimson color, and it must undergo multiple dyeing processes to obtain a strong yellow red color. In the pre Qin period, the color of one dye was called "縓", the color of two dyes was called "赪", the color of three dyes was called "纁", and the color of four dyes was called "Zhu", which is the true red color. True Red is Present: Red after the Han Dynasty After Qin unified the country, the clothing system was changed to prioritize black as the preferred color. After the Han Dynasty conquered the Qin Dynasty, they basically adopted the ceremonial system of the Qin Dynasty. The details of clothing regulations during the Qin and Han dynasties, spanning over two hundred years, are currently unknown for verification. 《 According to historical records such as the Book of Later Han, in the second year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty (59 AD), Emperor Ming of Han restored the Xiandian and re established the system of coronation and dress based on the Zhou official ritual system. Red once again appeared, and the black robe became the standard form of the emperor's coronation attire, lasting for thousands of years. Red and black, which have undergone historical sedimentation, have become the most solemn color combinations in traditional Chinese colors. Starting from this period, ancient characters such as "縓" and "赪" gradually disappeared from literature, and the character "red" replaced them, becoming the official color term for red and white tones. In the pre Qin period, the system of training clothes based on the color of the tassel was also inherited in the Han Dynasty, known as Da Hong and Xiao Hong. "By changing the sun and moon, gradually becoming auspicious," the auspicious meaning of red was used to announce the end of the funeral. This may be the earliest compound color term for "degree+color", but at this time, the terms "big red" and "small red" did not refer to the intensity of the red color, but rather to clothing titles, referring to the sewing of red silk collars on high and low skill hemp clothes, respectively. But there is no dispute about one thing: once the red color entered the clothing system, it represented auspiciousness. In the Han Dynasty, "red" not only replaced "縓" and "赪" in meaning, but also underwent changes in dyes. The appearance of red began to shift from a yellow red color tone to a more vibrant peach red color tone, a process vividly described by ancient people as "true red". The appearance of true red is attributed to Zhang Qian, who brought back a plant seed called saffron from the Western Regions via the Silk Road. Its petals can be dyed with vibrant red colors such as crimson, crimson, lotus red, peach red, silver red, and water red. Compared with madder, the dyeing process of safflower is more complex, but the dye production is large and the dyed colors are bright. Therefore, safflower was widely planted throughout the country during the Han Dynasty, and even drifted across the sea to Japan and Korea. Southern people dyed red: the red color after the Wei and Jin dynasties During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Han and Hu dynasties blended together, and a diversified clothing system emerged in the world. In the changes of dynasties, the colors of soap and red robes and red robes have always been important ceremonial attire for emperors and officials. During the Tang and Song dynasties, although purple was elevated to the highest level of official attire color through the system of selecting official attire colors, it was still revered in major occasions such as sacrificial ceremonies, in addition to the "Manchu Dynasty's vermilion and purple nobility". The imperial black robe and the courtiers' green robe are still the highest ceremonial attire of the country; The emperor's heavenly robe, the crown prince's vermilion robe, and the courtiers' travel robes were all made of red gauze robes. During the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties, ethnic costumes coexisted with Han ethnic costumes, and red, as the auspicious color of Han clothing, was well preserved in the clothing system. During the Ming Dynasty, the emphasis was on fire and virtue, with red being the preferred color. As a result, crimson replaced purple in the color hierarchy of official attire during the Tang and Song dynasties. This debate, which began in the Sui Dynasty, ended with red emerging victorious. Since the Tang Dynasty, common people have been allowed to wear "fake red official attire" during weddings. Red is no longer limited to the powerful, but has officially entered the public as a auspicious color, becoming the most important color for the people's attire. The explosive demand for red greatly promoted the dye trade, and the red dye Sumu in the south began to move northward along the ancient Maritime Silk Road. In the Tang Dynasty, Sumu had become a hot commodity for foreign trade, as the saying goes, 'The red of the Soviet Union lies in the Hu's ships, and its benefits are abundant.'. Sumu originated in Southeast Asia and was first recorded in Ji Han's "Southern Plants and Trees" during the Jin Dynasty. Sumu can only grow in the south and cannot be widely planted in the Central Plains like safflower. Extract and exchange rewards for buying and selling. For over a thousand years, Sumu was continuously sold from the south to the Central Plains through commercial transportation. The staining site of Su Mu is the branches, and compared with the roots of madder and petals of safflower, the raw material volume is larger; The dyeing process of Sumu is simple, and a thick red color can be obtained through decoction and mordant dyeing. With the advantages of large production and easy dyeing, Su Mu quickly occupied the market. The addition of small red, Danfan red, Muhong, Wuhong, and Su Mu dyes further expands the red color gamut. With the dual support of the system and dyes, red underwent a magnificent transformation and eventually completely replaced the meaning of red as the primary color during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, and has been used ever since. As described in the Qing Dynasty's "Embroidery Manual", "Zhu and Hong are different, but now they are all called red, so we will not judge them as one color. Western Red Cloth: The End Journey of Natural Red Dyes The Qing Dynasty carried out a revolutionary change in the clothing system. Except for yellow, which is exclusively for the royal family, most other colors have begun to break free from hierarchical constraints and show a trend of free development. The trend of fashionable colors has quietly emerged, with trendy red hues such as jujube red, lucky color, sauce color, and faded red constantly emerging. At this time, Europe across the ocean is also undergoing a huge transformation regarding the color red. The navigators who arrived in the New World discovered a perfect red dye in Central and South America - cochineal worms. It is a white scale insect that grows on cacti and appears blood red when pinched by hand. It is easy and firm to dye, and can quickly fill the huge gap in Europe for red dyes. In order to keep this shocking trade secret, they dried and ground cochineal worms and brought them back to Europe, describing them as a plant dye powder. The rouge color dyed by cochineal worms is bright and rich, with a hint of purple in the red. It is not only popular in Europe, but also traveled across the ocean to China with trade. This Western red cloth, with its mysterious aura, quickly became a new fashion favorite and became popular among the officials and people of the Qing Dynasty. Perhaps cochineal worms should have become a part of Chinese red, just like safflower and Sumu, but the strict confidentiality of cochineal worms' identities has kept their prices high and unable to dominate the mainstream market; The rise of chemical dyes in the latter half of the 19th century led to a great victory in the game against natural dyes. In the end, cochineal worms, accompanied by the decline of natural dyes, became a symbol of the end of an era. The yellow red color dyed by madder, the true red color dyed by saffron, and the Danfan red color dyed by Sumu blend together to form a rich and brilliant Chinese red. Red is not only an auspicious color in ancient China, but also highly valued by ancient European nobles. Therefore, the red dye that came all the way along the coastal Silk Road was transformed into red silk by the hands of dyers and sold overseas again along the Silk Road, becoming a luxury item worldwide. The ancient commercial circulation of dye introduction and silk export continues to thrive in the inclusive Chinese color wisdom. (New Society)