Facts about Purple
http://www.thefactsite.com/2014/11/colour-purple-facts.html Purple Mountain (Zhongshan Mountain National Park)Towering in the eastern suburb of Nanjing, Purple Mountain (Zhongshan Mountain National Park) has been known as one of the four most famous mountains in Southern China. It got its name because purple clouds can often be seen at the top of the mountain. The mountain is not only very beautiful, but also rich in historical and cultural relics. The mountain covers a total area of 12 square miles (31 square kilometers), with more than two hundred scenic spots, including fifteen key historical and cultural relics under state protection and one world cultural heritage site, the Xiaoling Mausoleum of Ming Dynasty. The Purple Mountain consists of four core scenic areas, including the Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum Scenic Area on the southern slope, the Xiaoling Mausoleum of Ming Dynasty Scenic Area to the west of the Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum and the Linggu Temple Scenic Area to the east, and the Toutuo Ridge Scenic Area on the mountain top. Why Is the Color Purple Associated With Royalty?Why Is the Color Purple Associated With Royalty? By Remy Melina | June 3, 2011 04:06pm ET Why Is the Color Purple Associated With Royalty? The color purple has been associated with royalty, power and wealth for centuries. In fact, Queen Elizabeth I forbad anyone except close members of the royal family to wear it. Purple's elite status stems from the rarity and cost of the dye originally used to produce it. Purple fabric used to be so outrageously expensive that only rulers could afford it. The dye initially used to make purple came from the Phoenician trading city of Tyre, which is now in modern-day Lebanon. Fabric traders obtained the dye from a small mollusk that was only found in the Tyre region of the Mediterranean Sea. A lot of work went into producing the dye, as more than 9,000 mollusks were needed to create just one gram of Tyrian purple. Since only wealthy rulers could afford to buy and wear the color , it became associated with the imperial classes of Rome, Egypt, and Persia. Purple also came to represent spirituality and holiness because the ancient emperors, kings and queens that wore the color were often thought of as gods or descendents of the gods. Sometimes, however, the dye was too expensive even for royalty. Third-century Roman emperor Aurelian famously wouldn't allow his wife to buy a shawl made from Tyrian purple silk because it literally cost its weight in gold. Talk about sticker shock. Purple's exclusivity carried over to the Elizabethan era (1558 to 1603), during which time everyone in England had to abide by Sumptuary Laws, which strictly regulated what colors, fabrics and clothes could and couldn't be worn by different classes within English society. Queen Elizabeth I's Sumptuary Laws forbid anyone but close relatives of the royal family to wear purple, so the color not only reflected the wearer's wealth but also their regal status . The hue became more accessible to lower classes about a century and a half ago. In 1856, 18-year-old English chemist William Henry Perkin accidently created a synthetic purple compound while attempting to synthesize quinine, an anti-malaria drug . He noticed that the compound could be used to dye fabrics, so he patented the dye and manufactured it under the name aniline purple and Tyrian purple, making a fortune in the process. The color's name was later changed to "mauve" in 1859, based on the French name for the purple mallow flower, with chemists calling the dye compound mauveine. And that's how the elite royal color became widely available and affordable thanks to a young scientist's serendipitous experiment. Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter @LLMysteries http://www.livescience.com/33324-purple-royal-color.html The Purple People BridgeWhy Pick Purple? By Patrick Crowley The Cincinnati Enquirer So why purple? Southbank Partners, the nonprofit group that is the primary developer of the Newport Southbank Bridge, convened focus groups during the planning for converting the span to a pedestrian walkway over the Ohio River. More than a dozen groups were shown computer-generated images of how the bridge would look painted a variety of colors, including dark purple, green, rust, orange and white. In every group, purple and green were among the top choices. In stepped Ted Bushelman, a Southbank volunteer and longtime director of communications at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. During the early 1960s, the Boone County native worked in television. Color TVs were just beginning to appear in homes. At Xavier University, Bushelman studied how people relate to colors, even writing his master's thesis on "The Psychology of Color." "Seeing is as much in the brain as it is in the eye. I redid some of my research and gave the information to Southbank," Bushelman said. "Purple is a good color for public consumption. If you paint a room purple, it can drive you crazy. But it looks good on something like a bridge." Southbank President Wally Pagan said his group took the advice and came up with its own color based on Bushelman's input and the focus group's preference for a darker purple. http://www.purplepeoplebridge.com/IntheNews/WhyPickPurple/tabid/1645/Default.aspx PurpleThe Meanings of Purple
Purple flower & purple electromagnetic energy Purple’s rarity in nature and the expense of creating the color and has given purple a supernatural aura for centuries. Purple is also the most powerful wavelength of the rainbow – and it’s a color with a powerful history that has evolved over time. In fact, the origins of the symbolism of purple are more significant and interesting than those of any other color. Purple flower If we go back to our pre-historic existence, our ancestors probably never saw a purple fruit, flower, bird, fish - or any living thing - because purple is very rare in nature. This is hard to imagine in today’s connected world. Purpura - murex shellfish, purple fabric, Roman emperor As civilizations developed, so did clothing and colored dyes. The earliest purple dyes date back to about 1900 B.C. It took some 12,000 shellfish to extract 1.5 grams of the pure dye - barely enough for dying a single garment the size of the Roman toga. It’s no wonder then, that this color was used primarily for garments of the emperors or privileged individuals. Over the course of history, purple pigments and dyes became less costly and complex, but one thing has remained the same: Purple symbolizes nobility and luxury to most people in the world. Purple Electromagnetic Energy Today, science has revealed much more about purple than our ancestors ever realized: Purple is the most powerful visible wavelength of electromagnetic energy. It’s just a few steps away from x-rays and gamma rays. (See the chart here.) Perhaps this explains why purple is associated with supernatural energy and the cosmos than with the physical world as we know it. Taking all aspects of purple’s past and present into consideration, purple symbolizes magic, mystery, spirituality, the sub-conscious, creativity, dignity, royalty – and it evokes all of these meanings more so than any other color. Variations of purple convey different meanings: Light purples are light-hearted, floral, and romantic. The dark shades are more intellectual and dignified. The negative meanings of purple are decadence, conceit, and pomposity. Purple is also a color of mourning. One of the most significant aspects of purple’s symbolism is the generational divide. There’s a huge difference of opinions about purple. It all depends on age. Barney, Tinky Winky, Yahoo - Purple is a happy color Most young people view purple as a happy color. No baggage. Older adults view the color through a broader perspective. Furthermore, purple takes on new meanings in many cultures. Global Meanings of Purple Purple's global similarities are significant: Purple tends to be a color that people either love or hate. Among Mediterranean people, purple was reserved for emperors and popes. The Japanese christened it “Imperial Purple” Purple is the color of mourning or death in many cultures (U.K., Italy, Thailand, Brazil) Purple is not a common flag color. Only two flags contain purple. Unique Meanings of Purple in Different Cultures The “Purple Heart” is the American award for bravery. Purple is a symbolic color for the gay community in many Western cultures. Purple is the color of popular children's television characters – "Barney" and "Tinky Winky" (the purple Teletubby from the BBC). In Italy most performing artists would not go on stage if they have to wear anything purple. http://www.colormatters.com/the-meanings-of-colors/purple
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Color of the Month: July 2016
What comes to mind when you think of the seventh month of the year? (Wow, we sure have gotten deep into 2016!) Events? Associations? Colors? Well, for a month we associate with a pretty mellow time including activities no more strenuous than kicking back to relax; hanging out in our yards eating and picnicking; and heading out to enjoy some well needed time on vacation, July certainly is a month full of more new opportunities and possibilities than you’d initially expect. Think about it for a minute. What you might dismiss as simply hanging out or just going off on your chosen vacation destination is also a great time to learn new things, engage in new experiences and even quietly reflect on the things most important to you. School has ended so students are out and about changing their routines, taking advantage of new work and volunteer activities and enjoying friends in new and perhaps unexpected ways. The rest of us may be engaged in making choices of what new places we want to visit and what we want to do when we get there. Even when you’re just relaxing, you’re probably being more active and engaged and finding possibilities than you think as you focus on changing scenery, reflect on recent experiences or just choose what strikes you as the most thirst quenching drink. Going along with the surprising number of opportunities and possibilities out there in what we think of as a mellow month, the color for this month is also one that’s a little unexpected at this time of year—in fact by some standards, it’s simply a little unexpected! Thus, it’s considered at least in comparison to other colors to be pretty rare in nature; and when it does show up, it does so in some pretty unusual places. As well because it historically was so expensive to make, only royalty and some members of the nobility could afford to wear it. Some of those royalty even decreed that they themselves should be the only ones allowed to wear it, a tradition which flourished as late as the time of England’s queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) and the Sumptuary Laws regulating all manner of dress. Finally, according to some theories of optics, it shouldn’t even count as a color because it technically doesn’t have its own wavelength. Only a close cousin of the color has a natural wavelength. If you want to create light of this color, you need to do so by combining the lights/wavelengths of two other colors. So if some of the facts associated with this color are a little unexpected, the associations we have with the color also offer quite a few suggestions about how to deal with these surprises, possibilities and opportunities. Picked by a friend who recently enjoyed the significant milestone of a law school graduation (the color is the hood you get for earning the degree), the color has long been associated with qualities including wisdom, that which is sacred, cultivating intuition, mystery and even things that are magical. A combination of two primary colors, the color “has a variety of effects on the mind and body, including uplifting spirits, calming the mind and nerves, enhancing the sacred, creating feelings of spirituality, increasing nurturing tendencies and sensitivity, and encouraging imagination and creativity. “From a color psychology perspective,{the color}… ensures harmony of the mind and the emotions and contributes to mental balance and stability, peace of mind, a connection between the spiritual and physical world, and between thought and action.” Finally, the color encourages each of us “to be unique, individual and independent.” In short, what a quality color and what a wonderful set of qualities which have come to be associated with the color. You could get a lot from considering each of the specific characteristics listed above, and each could contribute enorormously to the ways you take advantage of the opportunities and surprises of the season. Additionally for this color in particular, the sum of all these characteristics seems even greater than the sum of the parts. Put it all together and you can really feel the mystery, the magic and the wisdom you want to cultivate as you approach the summer season as it opens up so many new things to explore. And there’s one last attribute of this color that we shouldn’t overlook: it wants us to have fun! There’s a bridge in Ohio of this color which can be rented out for weddings and parties; a store in Washington State which sells all manner of things of this color; and a section of San Fransisco where this color of houses truly stands out. In poker, it’s the color of the highest denomination chip ($5000). In celebration of all the opportunities and possibilities that are open to us even during a season we think of as mellow; in recognition of the qualities we might want to develop as we approach that season; and in remembering the spirit of fun and light we want to keep with us throughout this time, the color of the month for July 2016 is…purple. •Purple is the color of the highest denomination poker chip = $5,000 Note: Some of the unexpected places where purple can be found include foods; did you know you can find for instance purple cauliflower, purple carrots and purple potatoes And the close cousin to purple that is part of the visible light spectrum is violet; in terms of light, the color purple itself can only be made as a combination of red and blue. Information for this article includes the following sources: http://www.livescience.com/33324-purple-royal-color.html http://www.color-meanings.com/purple-color-meaning-the-color-purple/ http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-purple.html http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/blogs/7-purple-vegetables-and-fruits-to-add-to-your-diet http://www.purplepeoplebridge.com/ |
AuthorI am a Life Coach, a Color Wisdom Card Practitioner, and yes, even a Professor (political science, State University of New York at Albany). I use the Color Wisdom Cards to support clients in exploring priorities and taking concrete actions to stay on track with the goals they set. Because in my own life I have overcome a lot of self-doubt, I want to work with people towards more confidence and self-empowerment. You can do it! What is it you want to do? Categories
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