Different shades of pink have been around in China since ancient times, and were usually given names which related to the natural object from which they came.

At that time the colour was gendered to a certain extent, but not nearly as much as it has been in modern times.

For example, pink with a salmon tint, or Haitianxia, translated as “rosy clouds between sea and sky”, was created during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) to imitate the romantic glow of a sunset.

Peach blossom, a version of pink literally referring to the colour of the blossoming flowers, has been used to describe charming women since the Spring and Autumn Period (about 771 to 476BC) - much earlier than the same connotation became common in Western countries in the 1950s.

In the Books of Songs, one of the world’s oldest collections of poetry dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BC, a poem describes a new bride as a peach blossom: “The peach tree is blooming brilliantly, growing on it are vivid blossoms. Now the maiden is about to marry, so happy her husband will be.”

The art of herb-based natural dyeing also matured in China around the same time.

Craftsmen extracted red pigment from plants like Rubia cordifolia and safflower. Mixed with lead white, the pink it produced became a popular Tang dynasty (618-907) cheek rouge named after peach blossoms.

Tang dynasty poet Cui Hu used the peach blossom colour to portray a good-looking woman: “Cheeks and peach blossoms shine upon each other,” he wrote.

The colour was also used in connection with romantic relationships, a link that remains to the present day.

Peach blossom eye refers to sheep’s eyes, Taose Xinwen, which literally means “peach news”, refers to a sexual scandal, and, if a person is having peach blossom luck, it means they are about to become involved in a romantic relationship.

Another shade of pink, qian fei, or light crimson, is, on the other hand, a representation of power and masculinity.

The colour was used in the uniforms of officials of the fifth grade in the Tang dynasty, ranking behind purple for officials above the third grade and dark crimson for the fourth grade, and before green and cyan for lower-ranked officials.

In Peking Opera, pink is also applied to the facial masks of old men.

It was not until Western culture and fashion entered China after the “reform and opening up” period of the late 1970s that pink, as well as its contemporary translation fen se, began to be recognised by its modern meaning – girly and fashionable, sometimes garish.

The colour has become so popular among Chinese consumers that Apple released a rose gold option within its iPhone 6s lineup in 2015, which, according to its CEO Tim Cook, was mainly targeted at the Chinese market.

In recent years, the colour has also gained a political significance in the sense of the rise of the online expression “Little Pink”.

Translated from xiao fenhong in Chinese, it stands for a group of digital warriors, mostly made up of young Chinese, who are fired with patriotic zeal and voluntarily defend the Chinese government online against even the mildest of criticism.

In China, Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, has taken in box office receipts of 200 million yuan (US$28 million) as of August 2, and women comprised about 80 per cent of filmgoers.

Its popularity has also seen a moviegoing dress code in which moviegoers wear Barbie pink to cinemas. It also revived many women’s childhood memories of playing with shanzhai, or pirated Barbie dolls.

The film’s support of feminism and mocking of toxic masculinity have empowered many Chinese women.

Previously, the colour had been seen as gaudy and in contradiction to the notion of independent women.