As far as I understand it, we of course agree perfectly about black in nature. Absolute black does not really exist. But like white, it is present in almost every color, and forms the endless variety of greys, -- different in tone and strength. So that in nature one really sees nothing else but those tones or shades.

 

There are but three fundamental colours -- red, yellow and blue; “composites” are orange, green and purple.

 

By adding black and some white one gets the endless varieties of greys - red grey, yellow-grey, blue-grey, green-grey, orange-grey, violet-grey. To say, for instance, how many green-greys there are is impossible; there are endless varieties.

 

But the whole chemistry of colors is not more complicated than those few simple rules. And to have a clear notion of this is worth more than seventy different colors of paint, - since with those three principal colors and black and white, one can make more than seventy tones and varieties. The colorist is he who, seeing a color in nature knows at once how to analyse it. And can say for instance: that green-grey is yellow with black and blue, etc.

我说：“爷爷，您说怎样才算一个聪明的孩子呀？”

 

爷爷笑了，说：“‘聪’是耳朵听得真，‘明’是眼睛看得清楚……”说到这里，爷爷站了起来，指着前面问：“前面那些花和树都是什么颜色呀？”

 

我说：“松树、柳树和草都是绿的。花也有红的，也有黄的。水的颜色我说不上来了。”

 

爷爷说：“绿和绿又不同，你看松树的绿色多暗呀，这种绿叫做‘苍’；草的绿色浅多了，和那边卷着的美人蕉叶子差不多，这种绿叫做‘碧’；柳树的绿色，又比草深些，比松树浅些，这种绿叫做‘翠’……”

 

我笑说：“爷爷，您从哪儿学来的这么多的字眼儿呀？”

 

爷爷也笑说：“我是书上学来的。关于颜色，会画画，会绣花的人，都知道得很多。就像你奶奶，她年轻的时候常绣花。她针线匣里的花线，就有几十种颜色，她都叫得上名字来。她从前绣的鸳鸯莲枕套，颜色配得才漂亮呢！”