20250117 Guangxi National Museum~Colorful Bagui

20250117 Guangxi National Museum~Colorful Bagui Colorful Bagui is a wonderful summary of the colorful ethnic groups, beautiful land, and splendid traditions of the people of Guangxi. The five colors are green, white, red, black, and yellow, representing wood, gold, fire, water, and earth, symbolizing east, west, south, north, and center, and containing the power of the five directions to ward off evil spirits. Bagui originally referred to eight osmanthus trees, symbolizing the geographical location and historical and cultural heritage of Guangxi. Historical background The history of "Colorful Bagui" can be traced back to the multicultural and geographical features of Guangxi. Guangxi has rich natural landscapes and diverse ethnic customs. Since the pre-Qin period, it has been the home of the Xi'ou and Luoyue, one of the Baiyue. After more than 2,000 years of development, Guangxi has gradually formed its own unique cultural characteristics and regional features. Cultural connotation The "five colors" symbolize the rich natural colors and cultural diversity of Guangxi. Green represents wood, symbolizing the east; white represents gold, symbolizing the west; red represents fire, symbolizing the south; black represents water, symbolizing the north; and yellow represents earth, symbolizing the center. These colors not only reflect the natural landscape of Guangxi, but also symbolize the philosophy of the five elements. "Bagui" comes from the record in the Classic of Mountains and Seas: "Eight trees in Guilin, east of Benyu." It originally referred to Guilin City, and later to the whole of Guangxi. Liu Zongyuan, a Tang Dynasty writer, described the magnificent scenery of Guangxi in his Record of the City Tower of Liuzhou, calling it "Bagui." Historically, "Bagui" not only represented the geographical location, but also carried a profound historical and cultural heritage.