

If there is an excess of Yin, there automatically is a deficiency of Yang – and vice versa. Even in the darkness of the night, we still see the light of the stars.Īccording to Daoism, harmony is found when both principles are in balance. These changes can be slow and subtle, like night transforming into day or they can be sudden, like death replacing life.Īs shown in the symbol above, nothing is ever fully Yin or Yang, as they each contain a seed of the other. The curves of the symbol represent how Yin and Yang are continuously transforming into one another. Each half contains a small circle of the opposite color. The black half represents the Yin side, whereas the white half represents Yang. The well-known symbol consists of a circle divided into two teardrop-shaped halves. Like two sides of the same coin, Yin and Yang are interdependent and cannot exist without the other. Yang is the masculine principle: It is active, dynamic, external, heating and upward moving.Įven though they seem like opposing forces, they complement each other. Yin is the feminine principle: It is passive, slow, internal, cooling and downward moving. It emphasizes ‘going with the flow’ and living in harmony with the life force of the universe, the so-called ‘Dao’. From the nothingness of Dao arises the cosmic duality of Yin and Yang, two opposing and complementing principles present in all of existence.Īll things have their backs to the female This ancient Chinese philosophy is based on observations of the natural world where everything is interconnected as a balanced, harmonious whole. The undivided line (-) is a yang line while the divided one (-) a yin line.The Yin Yang symbol can be found everywhere – on shirts, café walls, or as tattoos – but few understand the meaning behind it.ĭating back thousands of years, the concept of Yin and Yang is a central aspect of Daoism. The eight trigrams are: qian (☰), kun (☷), zhen (☳)…Ī gua (trigram/hexagram) is a system of symbols consisting of undivided lines (-) and divided lines (-). The Book of History was the first to define the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and ea…Įach of the eight trigrams consists of three lines and each line is either divided (-) or undivided (-), representing yin or yang respectively. 1) The five fundamental things or elements that make up all things. This term means the four images, or features of the four images, which are engendered through the division of the two modes in the process of the formation of the eight trigrams. As explained in The Book of Changes: “Changes involve taiji (太极 the supreme ultimate), wh… Things come into being and exist in two modes, which are used to describe how the eight trigrams are formed. The ancient Chinese saw it either as qi (vital force) or yuanqi (primordial vital force) that per… First, it refers to the origin of the world. Taiji (the supreme ultimate) has three different meanings. First, it refers to the state of one whole mass that existed before the universe took shape, often said to exist before qi (vital force) emerged. The original meaning of li (理) was the texture of jade later it was extended to contain three meanings: 1) the physical forms or proprieties of things, such as length, size, shape, tensile strength, … It has three extended meanings: 1) the general laws followed by things in different spheres, e.g. In its original meaning, dao (道) is the way or path taken by people. Yuan (元) manifests itself in different forms. The term means the primal source from which all things originate, both animate and inanimate, including human beings. It is also referred to as taiyi (the supreme one). First, it indicates the original essence of all things.

It is also the basis for the birth and existence of life and spirit. Qi (vital force) has a material existence independent of subjective consciousness and is the basic element of all physical beings.
