also: たんぜい
noun
red and blue
Only with reading たんせい
Literal reference to the colors red and blue, often in classical or poetic contexts.
古い文献には「丹青」を赤と青の顔料として記している。
Old documents record '丹青' as red and blue pigments.
noun
paints; colors
Only with reading たんせい
Extended from the literal colors to refer to paints or coloring materials in general, used in classical or artistic contexts.
画家は丹青を駆使して屏風に山水を描いた。
The painter used paints skillfully to depict a landscape on the folding screen.
noun
Metonymic use for a painting or picture itself; a literary term. The reading たんぜい is a rare alternative.
この丹青は鎌倉時代の作と伝えられている。
This painting is said to be a work from the Kamakura period.
From Chinese 丹青 (dānqīng), literally 'cinnabar red and indigo blue', used in classical Chinese to refer to painting and colors. The Japanese reading たんせい is the standard Sino-Japanese reading; たんぜい is a rare alternative.