This refers to evil prevailing over good and falsehood being mistaken for

truth in literature and art as well as in social life. It is red, not purple, that was

viewed as a truly proper color by the ancient Chinese. Confucius, upset by

the loss of judgment over good and evil, and by the fact that vulgar music

was taking the place of refined classical music in the Spring and Autumn

Period, called for dispelling confusion and putting things in the right order.

With this in mind, Liu Xie of the Southern Dynasties criticized some writers for

abandoning Confucian teachings and catering to vulgar tastes. Scholars of

later generations used this notion to reaffirm Confucian criteria and norms for

literary creation.