The Significance of Black in Chinese Culture

Chinese have developed a rich culture around the use of color, especially in language. Below I will explain the significance of black in Chinese culture.
On one hand, it means solemnity and integrity, such as when used as "脸谱 (liǎnpǔ)" which is an important makeup application used in Beijing opera. Here black is used to show the virtuous and dignified nature of a character. On the other hand, black conveys a grave and frightened outlook on life because of an implied lack of light. Some examples of not-so-pleasant uses of black are "黑手 (hēi shǒu)," which means a puppet master, or someone manipulating others behind the scenes, "黑社会 (hēi shèhuì)," an underground criminal organization, "黑名单 (hēi míngdān)" meaning to …  
Get more information at http://resources.echineselearning.com/general/general-chinese-1525.html
Examples:
Zhège diàn yě tài hēi le, yì běn shū jūrán yào yìbǎi yuán.
这个     店   也 太 黑 了，一本   书  居然  要  一百   元。
The owner of this bookstore is terrible; the cheapest books go for one hundred yuan.
Wǒ bǎ tā fàngdàole wǒ de hēi míngdān lǐ.
我   把 他  放到了     我 的  黑   名单    里。
I put him on my black list.
Learn more Chinese culture at http://resources.echineselearning.com/general/general-chinese-1525.html?ecl=PtEEEEEEpg1271602