Colors in Chinese Religion

This advanced undergraduate seminar explores the role of color in Chinese religious traditions, examining how chromatic systems have shaped religious thought, ritual practice, and visual and material culture across Chinese history. Moving from foundational frameworks to focused case studies, the course analyzes how colors function symbolically, ritually, and materially within Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian contexts. We will investigate individual colors and their specific religious meanings, as well as the artisans and ritual specialists who produce and mobilize them. Drawing on primary sources such as canonical texts, ritual manuals, architectural designs, textiles, and painted sculptures, alongside scholarship in religious studies and art history, students will consider how color mediates between sacred and profane realms, generates religious efficacy, and influences broader cultural understandings of the visible world.