5. Fortune and Prosperity
In Chinese philosophy, red is one of the colors associated with the five elements of the world: red for fire, yellow for earth, white for metal, black for water, and green for wood. The fire element, and therefore red, is linked to dynamism, leadership, confidence, aggression, and hypersensitivity. When Chinese emperors asked their personal fortune tellers to choose a color that would bring the most prosperity and good fortune to their reign, red was the answer: in the Zhou, Han, Jin, Song and Ming Dynasties it was the royal color par excellence and was featured heavily in royal ceremonies. In this Tang-era painting of Chinese Emperors from the Han to Sui dynasty, eleven of the thirteen Emperors wear red robes, symbolizing their royal power.
