Reviewed by Heiko Narrog, Tohoku University, Japan

Color terminology is a field that naturally attracts interest across the borders of multiple scientific disciplines, including linguistics. Here, Weiyuan Xu uses both synchronic and diachronic analyses to study the semantics of color terms in Mandarin Chinese.

The book consists of five chapters. In Ch. 1 (1–26), X discusses previous research on color terminology, focusing on the pioneering study by Brent Berlin and Paul Kay (Basic color terms: Their universality and evolution. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969). The three goals of X’s study are to (i) provide a comprehensive referential semantic picture of the system of color terms in Mandarin Chinese, (ii) analyze the morphological and syntactic properties of color terms in relation to their semantics, and (iii) trace the evolution of Chinese color terminology.

In Ch. 2 (27–113), X presents an experimental study in which seventy-nine informants named, categorized, and selected colors using a 329-piece set of color chips. Although the results showed unexpectedly wide individual variation, X was able to clearly identify eight basic color terms.

In Ch. 3 (114–50), X explores the use of color terms in Modern Chinese literature. Focusing on the morphosyntactic properties of color terms, X concludes that, contrary to the common perception that Chinese has no word classes, color terms basically behave like adjectives. Additionally, he shows that in figurative language, the basic color terms are used more frequently and are more likely to be employed metaphorically.

In Ch. 4 (151–85), using dictionaries and literary works, X gives an outline of the diachronic development of Chinese color terms. He shows that, as predicted by theories of the evolution of color term systems, the basic inventory of color terms has expanded over time.

In Ch. 5, (186–92), X cautiously endorses the universalistic view of color terms. He argues that the development of color terms in specific languages and cultures has been affected by cultural rather than psychophysiological sensibilities, as other scholars have suggested. The concluding chapter is followed by three short appendices and a bibliography.

The range and depth of empirical data from this experimental research and the synchronic and diachronic corpora are truly impressive. This book certainly deserves the attention of anyone seriously interested in the study of color terms.