Is there any good reasons to think that the black-belt tradition predated Jigoro Kano, that it was a chinese idea, that he got the idea from kungfu?

I've came across the claim that there is an old saying in Chinese martial arts that you don't fool with a shuai jiao player who has a "black" belt (meaning that it is never washed and it turns black after years of practice) and you don't mess with a spear-user who has a "black" spear (the white waxwood turns black from the constant usage where the hands grip and slide).

Has anyone else heard this saying? Do you believe it predates the influence of the Judo belt-ranking system? Does anyone have other, better evidence -- perhaps old pictures of masters with black belts, and students with white belts?