Yellow is the
color of gold, butter, and ripe lemons. In the spectrum of
visible light, and in the traditional color wheel used by
painters, yellow is found between green and orange. Yellow is
commonly associated with gold, wealth, sunshine, reason,
happiness, optimism, and pleasure, but also with envy, jealousy
and betrayal. It plays an important part in Asian culture,
particularly in China, where it is the color of happiness,
glory, and wisdom. In China, there are five directions of the
compass; north, south, east, west, and the middle, each with a
symbolic color. Yellow signifies the middle. China is called the
Middle Kingdom; the palace of the Emperor was considered to be
in the exact center of the world.
In Egypt and Burma, yellow signifies mourning.
In Spain, executioners once wore yellow.
In India, yellow is the symbol for a merchant or farmer.
In tenth-century France, the doors of traitors and criminals
were painted yellow.
Hindus in India wear yellow to celebrate the festival of spring.
If someone is said to have a “yellow streak,” that person is
considered a coward.
In Japan during the War of Dynasty in 1357, each warrior wore a
yellow chrysanthemum as a pledge of courage.
A yellow ribbon is a sign of support for soldiers at the front.
Yellow is a symbol of jealousy and deceit.
In the Middle Ages, actors portraying the dead wore yellow.
To holistic healers, yellow is the color of peace.
Yellow has good visibility and is often used as a color of
warning. It is also a symbol for quarantine, an area marked off
because of danger.
The Beatles had a song Yellow Submarine
“Yellow journalism” refers to irresponsible and alarmist reporting.