Color symbolism, social identity, and dressing occasion: a quantitative analysis of female clothing color matching in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty from a material culture perspective

Construction and evolution of the clothing color-matching system in the Ming Dynasty represent an important historical accumulation of Chinese clothing culture, holding great value for the inheritance, innovation, and cultural identity of contemporary ethnic costumes. This study established a framework of “color extraction-feature analysis-cultural interpretation,” sorted out figure paintings from the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, and classified female clothing based on social class and dressing occasion. By adopting the K-means clustering algorithm and combining it with the color network model, this study quantitatively analyzed clothing color features, refined color-matching rules, and explored their influencing factors and cultural connotations. The results showed that, during the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, there was a significant correlation between female clothing color-matching and dressing occasions, but only a weak correlation with social class. The color-matching rules for ten different types of clothing were summarized. These findings provide theoretical support and practical references for enriching traditional clothing color design paradigms, enhancing relevant theories, and promoting innovative transformation.