X is for Xanthic Roofs in Forbidden City, China

For letter "X" -- 

Friendship Postcard, Sender: Daphne
Sent: 31 Mar 2015 from Beijing, China
Received: 15 Apr 2015, Traveled 4,469 km in 16 days

I almost posted this entry for "X" as the letter being a prohibitory sign representing the word, "forbidden". I was lucky though to bump with the word xanthic, which is relating to the glazed yellow brick roofs on this postcard of the Forbidden City. 

And ooops, I realized that yellow could have been a perfect entry for the next letter of the alphabet, "Y". We'll find another building/structure on postcard for that. For now, let me share a trivia for this word and color. 

Xanthic is an adjective, from Greek, xanqo's yellow. Yellow is a color widely used in Chinese imperial buildings. It means respect in their culture. It's also a representative color of the element, earth. With the elements: metal, wood, fire, water, and earth -- earth is the central element. The ancient Chinese believed that the emperor is the center of the universe. Hence, earth/yellow on the roof of the imperial palaces is a royal emblem. 

~maria