We explain what yin-yang is, the origin of this concept, and its applications. We also explain its principle and how it is symbolized. Please read other MTV articles for more information. If you share it, it will be of little help to us.
What is yin-yang?
Yin-yang is one of the fundamental principles of Chinese philosophy, particularly Taoism. Yin means “dark” and yang means “bright”; both terms express the duality that governs the universe.
- Yin represents darkness, earth, femininity, the north, the left, cold, wet, passivity, and absorption. It is present in even numbers, streams, and valleys. Its symbols are the tiger, the color orange, and a broken line.
- Yang. It represents light, the sky, masculinity, the south, the right, warmth, dryness, activity, and penetration. It is present in odd numbers and mountains. Its symbols are the dragon, the color blue, and a continuous line.
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Both forces come from Taiji or Tai chi, the “supreme ultimate” or “great ultimate,” the unity before duality, and according to Tao philosophy, they constitute the generative principle of all things.
Yin-yang governs the dynamics of the universe and is present in all things, including people. Everything has yin and yang aspects: shadow does not exist without light, nor day without night. The two forces interact continuously, so that when one increases, the other decreases, in a dynamic balance.
The notion of yin-yang is at the origin of many Chinese disciplines; It is the framework within which traditional medicine is based and constitutes a fundamental principle of various Chinese martial arts and exercises, such as baguazhang and tai chi or taijiquan.
Origin of the yin-yang concept
The exact origin of the notions of yin (陰) and yang (陽) is unknown. The traditional Chinese characters for these terms may provide some guidance: the character for yin represents the northern, non-sunny side of a mountain, while the character for yang represents the southern, sunny side. This suggests a relationship with certain opposing natural phenomena, such as the hot and cold seasons. Therefore, it is likely that both concepts originated in ancient Chinese agrarian religions.
In the oracle book I Ching (circa 1200 BC), known as “The Book of Changes,” allusions to this dualism are found in many sayings, organized around antagonistic concepts such as strength/weakness, rigidity/flexibility, and high/low, which are represented by solid lines (masculine) and broken lines (feminine).
The concept of yin-yang was the basis of a Chinese cosmological movement—known precisely as the yin-yang school—that flourished in the 3rd century BC, and whose main representative was Zou Yan. For this movement, yin and yang are forces associated with the five elements of nature (water, fire, wood, metal, and earth) that, together, govern the universe.
The notion of yin-yang is also present in Confucianism, where it has a moral meaning. According to Confucian doctrine, yin-yang is not only applicable to the natural world: people should promote harmony and balance both within themselves and in the world at large.
However, it is in Taoism that the idea of yin-yang reaches its greatest development. This school considers yin-yang as manifestations of the Tao (or Dao), the flow of the natural world that keeps the universe balanced and orderly.
The idea of yin-yang is also present in many other schools of thought. So much so that, over the centuries, it has permeated all aspects of Chinese culture, from astrology and divination to art, medicine, and government.
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Principle of Yin-Yang
Yin-yang can be summarized in a few propositions:
- Yin and yang are opposites and complementary: Absolutely everything in the universe has an opposite that complements it, that gives it its reason for being, and that defines it. This opposition is relative, since there is a bit of yin in every yang and vice versa.
- Yin and yang are interdependent: Yin cannot exist without yang, nor yang without yin, just as there can be no day without night.
- Yin and yang are within everything: Everything can be divided into its yin and yang aspects; in turn, any of those aspects can also be divided into its own yin and yang aspects, and so on ad infinitum.
- Yin and yang continually consume and generate each other: Both are at the origin of all things, and form a dynamic balance: if one increases, the other decreases, and vice versa, such that what we perceive as imbalance is circumstantial and temporary.
- Yin and yang can be interchanged: Yin and yang can become one another, since there is yang in every yin and yang in every yang. There is always a remnant of one in the other.
Yin-Yang in Chinese Medicine
The principle of yin-yang is a central element of Chinese medicine. The first text to analyze the relationship between yin-yang and health is the Internal Canon of the Yellow Emperor, written more than two thousand years ago.
Traditional Chinese medicine is based on the notion of chi (or qi), the vital energy present both in the universe and in the human body and mind. Chi, which regulates human balance, is affected by the opposing forces of yin and yang. Illness is a manifestation of a disturbance in qi, which causes an imbalance of yin and yang.
Each part of the human body corresponds to a yin and a yang. For example, the upper body is assigned to yang, while the lower body is assigned to yin. The yin-yang characterization extends to bodily functions and the symptoms of illness. Thus, a deficiency or excess of yin or yang is recognized by certain manifestations, for example, a sensation of heat and dark urine, in the case of a yin deficiency, or cold extremities and clear urine, in the case of a yang deficiency.
The goal of medicine is to restore the harmony of qi, which requires identifying the parts of the body affected by an excess or deficiency of yin or yang and restoring the balance between them.
Applications of the Yin-Yang Concept
The concept of yin-yang is applied to numerous areas of human knowledge, as a perspective for understanding things based on the dualities that are inherent to and constitute them. Thus, it is common to find this concept in:
- Martial arts, which understand the clash of bodies during combat as a dance of opposites whose energies are also complementary.
- Feng shui, a traditional Chinese practice that seeks the harmonious occupation of space, so that it has a positive influence on people. The balance of yin-yang in the environment causes the vital energy of chi to flow in a way that is beneficial for health and well-being. Conversely, a yin-yang imbalance results in an oppressive environment and a lack of inspiration.
- Human relationships, provided that they seek complementarity and reciprocity between opposites or between different personalities, which allows for the achievement of loving balance.
Yin-Yang Symbol
Yin-yang is often represented by the taijitu (太極圖), a circular diagram featuring two shapes (“fish” in Chinese: 鱼), one dark and one light.
There are many versions of this symbol, but the most famous is the xiantian taijitu (先天太極圖) or “taijitu of the earliest times.” The diagram consists of a circle with an S-shaped division in the center, separating two halves: the black half corresponds to yin and the white half to yang. The sinuous dividing line indicates how yin and yang are constantly connected and interact with each other.
Within the yin part of the diagram is a small white circle, while within the yang part is a dark circle. This represents the meaning that nothing is absolute and that all yin has some yang and all yang has some yang.
The outer circle of taijitu symbolizes the entire universe. It indicates that yin-yang is within ourselves and everything around us.
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References
All the information we offer is supported by authoritative and up-to-date bibliographic sources, ensuring reliable content in line with our editorial principles. Welcome Again MTV Thank You.
- Yin and Yang, on Wikipedia.
- Yin and Yang, on Wikipedia.
- Principle of Yin and Yang (video), on Hun Yuan Training.
- Yin and Yang, on Ancient History Encyclopedia.
- Metaphysics in Chinese Philosophy, on Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- Yinyang (Eastern Philosophy), on Britannica.
- Yin and Yang Explained: How to Apply this Ancient Principle to Modern Life, on the Graduate School of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
- Yin-Yang definition, Concept, origin, principles – concepto.de
