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Yin Yang theory is a philosophy, which originated in ancient China. It describes the connotation of yin and yang and the changing laws of the yin and yang movement. In ancient times, the yin yang theory was used to explain the occurrence, development, and change of things in the universe.
The peony is a frequent art motif in China. It is considered one of the best flowers of spring and was much loved by Empress Wu Zetian.The yin-yang system is the best known Chinese philosophic tradition. You often hear people speak of someone's yin compared to someone else yang to denote a strange mixture of opposites. Yīn - yáng seeks balance between two alternatives: light/dark; hot/cold; sun/moon; male/female/; odd/even numbers; strong/weak; solid/broken;outside/inside; emit/absorb; active/passive; Imperial/barbarian. It seeks concord in all things, for example in cuisine where hot/cold and sweet/spicy flavors need careful combination. The iconic taiji representation is shown to the left with light ‘yin’ and dark ‘yang’ swirling around each other. It is also known as the 阴阳鱼图 yīn yáng yú tú yin-yang fish diagram with yin and yang as fish swimming around each other. Within yin is a little yang and within yang is a little yin illustrating their mutual dependence, yin can not exist without yang and yang without yin; they have to co-exist in balance and harmony. The two dots should be seen as seeds - the small circle of yin can grow into yang, and the circle of yang can transform into yin. The curve gives the figure dynamism for this is not a static relationship, yin and yang change to each other. This same spiral pattern has been found on pottery made 4,000 years ago.
Opposite but Inseparable
Good & evil both exist in yin & yang, they do not appear in the pairs of alternatives because both yin and yang have their virtues and flaws – they represent alternatives not opposites. The clearest case is shown in the daily cycle of day and night. In Chinese the sun is named 太阳 tài yáng ‘great yang’ and so day is ‘yang’ and yet there are still places of shadow while yin (‘night’) still has the light of moon and stars. Soon the yang will change to yin and back again - as day and night are inseparable and interdependent. Surrounding the swirling yin and yang in the taiji figure are the eight trigrams (八卦 bā guà); these are all the eight combinations of the solid/broken stick central to Yi Jing. They are not arranged as opposites, they show the continuous cycle of change within yin and yang. For an explanation of the ordering and associations of the trigrams please see our section. By looking at the transitions of yin and yang further sub-divisions can be made. And so the four seasons can be seen as winter (yin in yin); spring (yin changing to yang); summer (yang in yang) and autumn (yang changing to yin). An old legend for the origin of yin and yang has peoples separated by a river, the southern bank is shaded (yin) while the northern is sunny (yang). During Spring and Summer the two people met at great festivals to intermingle and intermarry. The character for yin 阴 yīn includes 月moon and the character for yang 阳 yáng includes 日sun, they both have the radical for ‘hill’.Note this is less clear in the old traditional characters where yin is 陰 – the right side has the elements ‘now’ and ‘cloud’ suggesting cloudiness and yang is 陽 – has the elements ‘sun’ and ‘rays’ suggesting sunshine hence darkness and light rather than moon and sun; but the moon is also named 太陰 tài yīn ‘great yin’.
According to one creation story the one gave birth to two (yin and yang) the heavy element sank to become ‘yin’ earth and the lighter element rose to become ‘yang’ heaven. It was believed that the different combinations of yin and yang could represent everything. From these two came the five elements and then from these everything else. Thunder and lightning are presumed to be the result of the violent mixture of yang and yin: heaven and earth. Considering the arguably ‘positive’ attributes of yang, especially ‘maleness’, it is surprising that the pair always puts yin first, it is always ‘yin & yang’ and never ‘yang & yin’.
| Supreme Ultimate 太極 Tài jí | |||||||
| Yin 陰 or 阴 ⚋ | Yang 陽 or 阳 ⚊ | ||||||
| Greater Yin 太陰 ⚏ | Lesser Yang 少陽 ⚎ | Lesser Yin 少陰 ⚍ | Greater Yang 太陽 ⚌ | ||||
| 坤 Kūn ☷ 地 Dì Earth 8 | 艮 Gèn ☶ 山 Shān Mountain 7 | 坎 Kǎn ☵ 水 Shuǐ Water 6 | 巽 Xùn ☴ 風 Fēng Wind 5 | 震 Zhèn ☳ 雷 Léi Thunder 4 | 離 Lí ☲ 火 Huǒ Fire 3 | 兌 Duì ☱ 澤 Zé Metal 2 | 乾 Qián ☰ 天 Tiān Heaven 1 |
History of Yin and Yang
The yin-yang tradition is very ancient, it is mentioned in the earliest Chinese books so it is over two thousand years old and fits at the core of Daoist tradition together with the five Chinese elements, Feng shui, Yi Jing and Qi. In the Daoist tradition a harmonious balance between extremes is always sought. The Yi Jing (I Ching) takes all possible combinations of six yin/yang alternatives (two baguas) to develop a complex system that has been immensely influential; here the luckiest combination is neither all yin nor all yang but a harmonious intermingling of the two.
The Emperor is considered the epitome of yang and the Empress yin. As nine is the most yang of numbers (all odd numbers are yang and as 9 is 3x3 it is an odd number of odd numbers) it is associated with the Emperor. Dragons represent the emperor and so naturally nine dragons is particularly potent. There are 'nine dragon screens' at the entrance to Imperial palaces and Kowloon in Hong Kong is the Cantonese for nine dragons. The Imperial capital – the Forbidden City – is said to have 9,999 rooms and the doors have nine rows of nine studs.
Seeking balance between opposites has had huge influence on Chinese culture. It makes dogmatic opinions appear unbalanced, as an ingredient of the alternative view should always be accommodated. It was the root of problems when a new religion reached China that takes a dogmatic right or wrong position with no room blur and compromise. Mao Zedong's philosophical work ‘On Contradiction ➚’ can be seen as following on from the age old tradition of yin-yang. This idea is supported by the Confucian ‘Doctrine of the Mean’ where a middle course between alternatives is always sought. In modern times the Third Way ➚ exemplifies this approach to politics. The yin-yang system can be applied to the history of dynasties, the initial phase is yang (violent and vigorous) and over the centuries transforms into yin (indolence and decadence) before its collapse.
Balanced harmony
The harmonious mixture of alternatives inveigles its way into all things. In food, a meal must seek to balance yin and yang. Yin foods are cool and soothing (fruit; uncooked vegetables; bean-curd; sugar and green tea) while yang foods are the opposite: (chilli; ginger; beef and salt). The health of an individual was also considered to be controlled by the yin-yang system. Traditional Medicines sought to restore balance to the body by providing medicines with the appropriate proportion of yin and yang. Individual organs are labeled yin or yang, for example the liver is yin, so a disease of the liver is seen as caused by too much yang that has upset the balance. The upper half of the body, above the waist, is yang (including thought processes) and the lower half yin. The life force or ‘qi’ is believed to flow in channels within the body, half of these channels are regarded as yin, the other half yang so to treat an ailment with acupuncture needles are inserted in the appropriate channel to restore the yin-yang balance. Balance is also sought in Chinese garden design, hard, jagged rocks (yang) need to be used alongside water (yin) and the whole garden must seek a mixture of light/dark, hard/soft in texture and color.
Book: Chinese Thought
A great survey of all the main strands of Chinese thought: Confucius, Daoism, Legalism, Mohism. Even though written by a Cambridge professor it is very accessible and easy to follow. Explore the Chinese beliefs in the ancestors and the central place of the family in all things.China Mac Yin And Yang Symbol
Chinese fortune telling
Culture
In ancient China the Emperor would do very little without consulting the Yi Jing (I Ching). The Imperial court had experts to interpret the answers given by this method of Divination. Because it produces a set for the 'present' and also a 'change' it is called the Book of Changes and contains explanations of the transformations. Our online, free consultation uses the original yarrow stick method and is not random - you make decisions that guide the consultation. We provide a full translation of the great commentary on each of the 64 hexagrams. Concept
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Midnight-noon Ebb-flow theory is also called Zi Wu Liu Zhu (子午流注). The flowing and ebbing of Qi and Xue along different meridians (Jingluo) is believed to be related to the designated days and hours in terms of the heavenly stems and earthly branches(天干地支).
Zi (midnight) and Wu (midday) reflect the growth and decline of Yin and Yang. In reference to the 24 hour cycle, in the Zi time (23-1) the Yin Qi reachers its most extreme. After that the Yin Qi begins to decline and the Yang Qi starts to increase. At the Wu time the Yang Qi is at its most extreme, after that it begins to decline, and the Yin Qi starts to increase. Thus the Zi and Wu represent the pivotal points of the growth and decline of the day and night, and Yin and Yang.
The original meaning of 'Liu Zhu' (ebb and flow) is the circulation of the water system. It's dissipating and it's gathering together. Zi Wu Liu Zhu describes the circulation of Qi and Xue in the Jing Mai. It explains that the physiological functions of the body will follow the diurnal rhythm and vary according to the changing of time.
Circulation
In the Yuan Dynasty, Hua Bo Ren said 'The Jing Mai serve as pathways for Qi and Xue and so circulate the Yin and Yang and nourish the whole body. Starting in the Middle Jiao and form there pouring into the Hand Tai Yin and Hand Yang Ming, the Qi belongs to the 'Ping Dan' time, like the dew drops that fall at dawn. The Qi flows day and night, reaches the end and then starts again.'
Ping Dan time here refers to the Yin time (the 3rd of the Earthly Branches, 3-5am).
- In the Yin time (3rd) the Qi and Xue will exit the Middle Jiao and flow and pour into the Hand Tai Yin Lung channel.
- In the Mao time (4th), Qi and Xue will flow and pour into the Hang Yang Ming Large Intestine channel.
- In the Chen time (5th), iQi and Xue will flow and pour into the Foot Yang Ming Stomach channel.
- In the Ji time (6th), Qi and Xue will flow and pour into the Foot Tai Yin Spleen channel.
- In the Wu time (7th), Qi and Xue will flow and pour into the Hand Shao Yin Heart channel.
- In the Wei time (8th), Qi and Xue will flow and pour into the Hand Tai Tang Small Intestine channel.
- In the Shen time (9th), Qi and Xue will flow and pour into the Foot Tai Yang Bladder channel.
- In the You time (10th), Qi and Xue will flow and pour into the Foot Shao Yin Kidney channel.
- In the Shu time (11th), Qi and Xue will flow and pour into the Hand Yue Yin Pericardium channel.
- In the Hai time (12th), Qi and Xue will flow and pour into the Hand Shao Yang Sanjiao channel.
- In the Zi time (1st), Qi and Xue will flow and pour into the Foot Shao Yang Gall Bladder channel.
- In the Chou time (2rd), Qi and Xue will flow and pour into the Foot Jue Yin Liver channel.
- And then Qi and Xue will return to the Lung channel.
The Qi and Xue flow in every channel for a period of two hours, and just like the tides of the sea, will ebb and flow, reaching a high point followed by a low point, entering every channel at its time of fullness, and leaving it at the time of emptiness.
Function
China Mac Yin And Yang
Zi Wu Liu Zhu in Traditional Chinese Medicine can help in diagnosis, in prevention of disease, and especially to choose the most auspicious time to treat the patient. Because of this, in the past few years a new direction in the study of medicine has evolved—when to select the treatment time. Many scholars outside China have performed trials investigating left heart failure due to hypertension. It has been found it mostly occurs between 11pm-1am. When patient is given a suitable amount of vasodilators and a small amount of diuretics at 10 pm, this can prevent left heart failure.
see also
China Mac Yin And Yang Tattoo
http://homepage.mac.com/sweiz/files/article/33-41.pdf