周鈞編著的《色彩語言在中國》（ Jun Zhou和Gail Taylor，《中國色彩語言》劍橋學者出版社，紐卡斯爾，2018年。）”一書概述了一種社會的另類歷史，不是基於文獻和口頭記憶，而是基於色彩偏好。它不僅是一本可以閱讀的書，而且在需要時它始終是一本可以隨時查閱的書。看看顏色及其色彩組合，我們可以閱讀有關新舊王朝更迭變化，經濟改善，起義和戰爭等內容。這是一種秘密代碼，通過一些培訓，可以破譯。
讀這本書，我們對一件早就應該完成的作品有著獨特的印象，因而這項工作將填補千年中國文明研究的空白。這實際上是第一本專門介紹中國色彩歷史的書，彙集了幾個具有共同參考的元素，即“色彩”，將其與藝術和設計聯繫起來。色彩在世界上大多數文化中發揮了重要作用，但其影響從來沒有像中國那麼大，在中國，它一直保持著我們的日子，這是至關重要的。
西方怎麼樣？嗯，斯巴達婦女穿著未染色的衣服，高貴的羅馬人穿著乏味的白色外袍;這在中國是不可能發生的，因為禮服和飾品總是非常豐富多彩。我們擁有關於歐洲國王和皇帝使用的餐具和其他工具的顏色的缺乏信息，但我們確實有關於中國皇帝和他的宮廷所生產的瓷器顏色的非常精確的報告，其中皇宮內的每一種權力都有特定的顏色。例如，就一個普通平民吃食物用黃色的盤子而言，
這是對神一種褻瀆，因為這種顏色是為坐在龍王座上的人保留的。
絲綢之路上肯定存在某種顏色汙染，例如紫色，這在中國首次使用，然後在西方被認為是皇室的特權，幾種彩色顏料從中國出口到地中海港口，最後是喬託和萊昂納多達芬奇畫的畫。
中國色彩的研究始於周口店北京人，進入漢，宋，明，清等朝代，其次，通過文獻資料和少數民族的色彩習慣以及當地的民間傳統，我們可以發現一些深刻的變化。作者展示了瓷器，刺繡，繪畫和紡織品。這是一本豐富的描述性段落以及科學分析的書 - 用於展示色彩多樣性的圖解說明。
在這個世界上沒有什麼是完美的，這本書與這句話並不矛盾。令人遺憾的是，它應該以更大的版本格式打印，如四開本或對開本，而不是八開本，以便產生數百個精彩的彩色插圖，豐富頁面。他們被精心收集和組織，但是如此小的形式，他們不應該完全欣賞，因為他們應該得到。我們希望出版商能夠以更大的格式推出新版本。
這本學術著作對所有對中國歷史感興趣的人和所有中國藝術品和古董收藏家都是“必備品”。它應該被具有強烈中國利益並熱愛這個偉大國家的人們放在所有圖書館。
【書評作者】：意大利歷史學家和作家Angelo Paratico ，著作有“天堂之露”和“達芬奇”以及“在意大利文藝復興時期失去的中國學者”等
【英語原文】The first book on colors in China,
a must have for all Chinese Art Collectors
15 ottobre 2018 di Angelo Paratico
The book of Jun Zhou, The Language of Color in China, outlines a sort of alternative history of a society, based not on documents and oral memories but on chromatic preferences. It is not only a book to read but it is above else a book to be consulted at all times, when needed.
Looking at colors and their combinations we may read about dynastic changes, economic improvements, revolts and wars. It is a sort of secret code which, with some training, can be deciphered.
Reading this book, we had the distinct impression of a work which was long overdue, thus a work which is going to fill a gap in the study of Chinese Civilization throughout the millennia. This is in fact the first book dedicated to the color history of China, bringing together several elements having a common reference, which is “color”, connecting it with art and design.
Color had played and is playing a great role in most cultures around the world but its impact was never so great as for China, where it had always maintained, up to our days, a paramount importance.
What about the West? Well, Spartan women were wearing undyed clothes and the noble Romans were wearing boring white togas; this could not have been possible in China, where dresses and ornaments were always very colorful. We possess scarce information’s about the color of dishes and other implements used by kings and emperors in Europe, but we do have very precise reports about the color of porcelain produced for the Chinese Emperor and his Court, where every degree of power within the Imperial circle had a specific color. For instance, for a Chinese commoner to eat from a yellow dish was a sacrilege, since that color was reserved for the man sitting on the Dragon Throne.
There was certainly some kind of color contamination on the Silk Road, for instance the color purple, which was first used in China and then in the West was considered a privilege for the imperial house and several colored pigments were exported from China to the ports in the Mediterranean Sea, ending up on pictures painted by Giotto and Leonardo Da Vinci.
The study of Chinese color starts with the Pekin Man and proceeds to the Han, Song, Ming, Qing dynasties, then we find several deep diversions through literary references and the color habits of the ethnic minorities and local folk traditions. The authors present porcelain, embroidery, paintings and textiles. It is a book rich in descriptive passages as well as scientific analysis –liberally illustrated to demonstrate color diversity.
Nothing is perfect in this world and this book does not contradict this saying. Regrettably, it should have been printed in a larger format, like quarto or folio, not octavo, in order to bring out hundreds of wonderful color illustrations enriching the pages. They were painstakingly collected and organized but in such small format they cannot be fully appreciated, as they should deserve to be. We do hope that the publishers will present a new edition in a larger format.
This scholarly book is “a must have” for all people interested in the history of China and for all collectors of Chinese works of art and antiques. It should be placed on all libraries by people with strong China interests and love for this great country.
Jun Zhou and Gail Taylor, The Language of Color in China Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle Upon Tyne, 2018.
Angelo Paratico
Author of The Dew of Heaven and Leonardo Da Vinci.
A Chinese Scholar Lost in Renaissance Italy
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