What are the five colors of the five-color line worn on the Dragon Boat Festival? What is the symbolic significance?

The colors of colored ropes worn on the Dragon Boat Festival: blue, white, red, black and yellow.

Five-color rope, also known as "lifeline", "avoiding soldiers", "five-color silk" and "long life line", is used by children to ward off evil spirits and pray for life safety during the Dragon Boat Festival.

In ancient times, May was regarded as an evil month. Because of the hot weather, diseases were easy to spread. Since the Han dynasty, that is, around the fifth day of this month, colored silk thread has been tied to the arm, which means that it can protect peace and health, and also means that it can avoid the disaster of swords and soldiers, so it is called this.

The meaning represented by colorful rope

The five colors of the five-color silk represent the five elements. In the Han Dynasty, they believed in the theory of five elements of yin and yang, and the five colors represented five directions, which had the mysterious function of exorcising evil spirits and welcoming good luck. Blue is wood, representing the East, red is fire, representing the South, yellow is earth, representing the Central Committee, white is gold, representing the West, and black is water, representing the North.

Animals are symbols, with Qinglong in the east, Suzaku in the south, White Tiger in the west, Xuanwu (tortoise and snake) in the north and Huanglong in the middle, all of which are spiritual objects.

The symbolic significance of five-color silk to ward off evil spirits and plagues is far more obvious than the actual function, because there is no specific explanation why these colors can eliminate disasters and diseases.

It can be seen that this is a magical thing with magic and symbolic significance in folk beliefs, which is obviously different from the medical functions used by mugwort, calamus and realgar in festivals, purely for the needs of folk beliefs and good luck.