Chinese Idioms Color Words

Color words are the special classification in the language vocabulary system. It has striking characteristics and historical inheritance. This thesis chooses Chinese idioms as the basis of the researching of color words. It uses the synchronic and diachronic views to study the source of color words.Based on "Chinese Idioms Dictionary" (1985), published by Shanghai Dictionary Press and "New Chinese Idioms Dictionary"(2002) by Business Press, this thesis chooses the phrases related to meaning and color, calculates the phrases of the color words and analyzing the characteristics and collocation of the color words. After the analysis and explanation of color studying, psychology, lexicology and literal linguistics, paying attention to synchronic and diachronic views, looking up a lot of materials and using the methods of literature study, comprehensive analysis and contrast, the thesis was finished.The whole article is divided into six parts:The first part is introduction, mainly introducing the present situation of color words between our country and foreign countries and the thoughts and methods of research.The second part is based on the color words related to the phrases, analyzing the basic color words. The times of appearances of the color words are quite different. This article explains this phenomenon from the appearance of the color words.The third part analyses the appearance of the color words and its grammatical functions. It mainly analyses the collocation of the color words, for example, black and white, blue and purple, red and green. It proves the ancient people's feeling.The fourth part explains the literal meaning of color words, obeying the research of synchronic linguistics. It analyses the reason of the color words' literal meanings. It obeys the diachronic linguistics, analyzing the influence of the changes of the social literature on color words.The fifth part explains the characteristics of phrases. The color words are vivid and exact.The sixth part is conclusion, summing up the characteristics of the basic color words and giving the meaning and shortcoming of the study.