Pure white — white with nothing added. White is the color we perceive from the surface of objects, reflecting all visible light. Yet it is said that such an object does not truly exist; a theoretically pure white is impossible.

In ancient times, pure white was not originally a color name, but a metaphor for a heart so clear and empty it verged on the transcendent. Zhuangzi wrote, "When cunning schemes dwell in the heart, pure whiteness is lost," and "Look into that emptiness — the vacant chamber gives birth to light; good fortune comes to rest there."

Today, pure white carries connotations of innocence — the white wedding dress, for instance. Where black carries undertones of guile (as in the Chinese term "腹黑," meaning a hidden dark heart), white radiates an unambiguously positive presence.