A Study Of The Color Concept In The Buddhist Scriptures In Jin Dynasties

One of the first questions we must face in studying color concept in Buddhist scriptures is how the colors in the Buddhist scriptures came into being.The Buddhists believe that the basic elements that make everything in the world are the “four majors”,namely,earth,water,fire,and wind.As the four majors have the functions of mighty creation,they are also called “four major seeds of mighty creation”.It can be said that the colors in the Buddhist scriptures originate from the “four majors”,and follow this process of generation: the “four majors” generate “color states”,and “color states” contain the concept of color showing,which includes the fundamental showing colors “cyan,yellow,red and white”.The four fundamental showing colors generate more other colors through the “differential” approach.The four colors of cyan,yellow,red,and white are the basic colors in the Buddhist scriptures of the Jin Dynasties and the entire Tripitaka.Together with their “differential colors” of l?(green),c?ng,pi?o,bì,gàn,hóng(red),jiàng(deep red),xu?(snow white),j?n(gold),black and purple etc.,under various contexts,they present different states of existence and ideaistic meanings,and in nature,they are decorative,symbolic,natural,and spiritual.There are four issues on the expression of the color concept in the Buddhist scriptures,namely,the collocation of cyan,yellow,red and white,the forms of color words “show colors with objects”,the customary and fixed use of the color words,and the expression and involvement of the color words in Buddhist ideas.The collocation of the four basic colors is actually a centralized use of omission,generalization,and enumeration of colors.Its functional meanings include: expressing the state of various and bright colors,expressing uncertain indication of colors,metonymy for a Buddhist idea,and being regarded as a distinguishing sign,etc.The expression “show colors with objects” can not only express the colors of specific things,but also be used to render certain space,and sometimes it also has the functions of metonymy and symbolism.The customary use of color words are featured by the habitual use of a color by a scriptures translator.Such customary colors are commonly seen or have special meanings in Buddhism,or they are used to describe particular objects,such as “gànq?ng(ultra marine)”,“z?mòj?n(purple gold)”,“q?ngy?(bruise color)”,etc.The fixed expression of colors means a specific color and an object are used in a set phrase or structure.But in different scriptures the color words used to describe the color of the same object may be different.The colors in Buddhist scriptures express various abstract Buddhist concepts,which leads to certain abstraction in themselves.Therefore,most color words only have the names of color,but express non-color meanings.“Five colors” is another important expression of the colors in Buddhist scriptures.It is related to such words or concepts as “five pure colors”,“pure colors”,“five major colors”,and “coloring”.And there are both the same places and differences in their expression of specific colors and functions.The application of these words and concepts in various literature has found no strict boundaries,showing the uncertainty of using “five colors”.However,in the classics of the Esoteric Buddhism,“five colors” show relatively strong convention and structure in their use and expression,with institutional characteristics.The “five colors” in the Buddhist scriptures were influenced by the names of the Chinese five color.This influence was evident in the Buddhism classics of the Sui and Tang dynasties,especially the classics of the Esoteric Buddhism.The specific and rich colors in Buddhism generated through a common path,based on the fundamental concept of different Buddhisms.They are used as presentation elements of named substance and Buddhism language in the Buddhist world.In the context of concrete classics,the colors demonstrate complex facial features and meanings by various expressions and modes of use.And they play an irreplaceable role in the depiction and narration of Buddhist names and concepts,ideas and concepts.