Why Gold Is Revered By The Chinese
| by Michael Locklear
China is a very ancient civilization and has a highly diverse and complex culture. Gold is extremely important to great many cultures in the world and China is no exception.
In its history gold has long been associated with good fortune. The metal and the color have long been revered by the ruling elite for its ability to bring good luck. In the days of the emperors it was illegal to wear the color gold and it goes without saying that few people outside the power structure possessed the precious metal.
Because of its importance to the ruling class and its relationship to prosperity, gold is a symbol of lavishness and great wealth. Like the rest of the world, gold played a major role in Chinese cultural history as a symbol of wealth and power.
Chinese festivals and art make use of lots of gold. Gold is used in making the dragons used in celebrations and decorations. Dragon wall decorations used gold-plated thread in the embroidery and it is used in the ceremonial clothing as well.
The color yellow is so highly revered by the people of China because it is considered the most important color of their cultural scheme. Imperial robes and other clothing always incorporate the color. It was a color associated with China’s imperial dynasties.
The place of birth for the Chinese people and their civilization is said to be the Yellow River, which is also known as the Mother River. Northern Chinese society got its start in the Yellow River Basin more than 30,000 years ago. For much of Chinese history this area with China’s most successful and abundant region
The Banpo clan, which live along the Yellow River around 6000 years ago is believed to be the root group of Chinese civilization as we know it. They lived in the region known as the Loess Land. This is where the Yellow River culture emerged to become one of the greatest civilizations world is ever seen.
From around 2200 BC to around 980 BC the Yellow River was the center of China’s earliest and most powerful dynasties. The XIA,Shang, and Tang emperors made this region a center of their political, economic and cultural power.
The Yellow River culture was the birthplace of many of the world’s greatest discoveries and inventions. Pottery, the discovery of the methods for making bronze, and the creation of Chinese writing characters all have their origins in the Yellow River Basin.
It is well-known that Egypt is said to be the Gift of the Nile. So it is that China is a Gift of the Yellow River.
Maybe the Chinese love gold because it’s yellow, however it is more likely that gold and the Yellow River are loved because they are eternal in the minds of the Chinese people. Both are abundant with great wealth and happiness. Since his first discovery in streams and rivers by early humans, gold is been a source of fascination and legend.
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