In Chinese culture, white (白) is traditionally associated with death and mourning — the opposite of Western culture. White is worn at funerals, while red is the color of celebrations.
usage
白 as an adverb means 'in vain' or 'for nothing': 白费 (waste effort), 白说 (said for nothing), 白跑一趟 (made a trip for nothing).
The sun underneath — sunrise spilling its first light gives the 'bright/white' meaning. (Etymology debated: some scholars read 白 as a grain of rice or a thumb, but the sun-with-ray reading is the common mnemonic.)
