Yin and yang

{{Short description|Cosmological dualism in Chinese philosophy}} {{Redirect|Yin yang|other uses|Yin yang (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Infobox Chinese | collapse = no | pic = Yin and Yang symbol.svg | piccap = A taijitu of a particular style that is often named a "yin and yang symbol", the black area representing yin, with the opposite white side representing yang. The dots are representative of one within the other. | picupright = 0.6 | t = {{linktext|陰陽}} | s = 阴阳 | p = yīnyáng | w = {{tone superscript|yin1-yang2}} | mi = {{IPAc-cmn|yin|1|.|yang|2}} | gr = inyang | j = jam1 joeng4 | y = yām yèuhng | ci = {{IPAc-yue|j|am|1|-|j|oeng|4}} | poj = im-iông | tl = im-iông | h = {{tone superscript|yim1-yong2}} | mc = 'im-yang | oc-b92 = &ast;ʔrjum ljang | oc-bs = &ast;q(r)um lang | hangul = 음양 | hanja = 陰陽 | rr = eumyang | mr = ŭmyang | qn = âm dương | chuhan = 陰陽 | mon = арга билэг / арга билиг | mong = ᠡ‍ᠠ‍ᠷᠭ᠎᠎ᠠ ᠪᠢᠯᠡᠭ ᠠᠷᠭ᠎ᠠ ᠪᠢᠯᠢᠭ | kanji = 陰陽 | hiragana = {{unbulleted list|いんよう|おんよう|おんみょう}} | revhep = {{unbulleted list|in'yō|on'yō|onmyō}} | tp = yin-yáng | bpmf = ㄧㄣㄧㄤˊ | katakana = {{unbulleted list|インヨウ|オンヨウ|オンミョウ}} | kunrei = {{unbulleted list|in'you|on'you|onmyou}} }} {{Taoism}} {{Chinese folk religion}}

Originating in ancient Chinese philosophy, '''yin and yang''' ({{lang-zh|s=阴阳|t=陰陽|first=t|p=yīn yáng}}, {{IPAc-en|lang|j|ɪ|n}}, {{IPAc-en|j|æ|ŋ}})<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stefon |first=Matt |date=7 May 2021 |title=yinyang |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/yinyang |access-date=3 May 2023 |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Wang |first=Robin R. |title=Yinyang (Yin-yang) |url=https://iep.utm.edu/yinyang/ |access-date=3 May 2023 |website=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |language=en-US}}</ref> or '''yin-yang'''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shan |first=Jun |date=3 February 2020 |title=What Do Yin and Yang Represent? |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/yin-and-yang-629214 |access-date=3 May 2023 |website=ThoughtCo |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> is the concept that there exist cosmic principles or forces that are opposite but complementary, which interact, interconnect, support and perpetuate each other. Together they form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the interdependent components, and both parts are essential for the cohesion of the whole.<ref>{{cite book |author-first1=Georges |author-last1=Ohsawa |author-link=Georges Ohsawa |year=1976 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oQqDZnm43mkC |title=The Unique Principle |publisher=George Ohsawa Macrobiotic |isbn=978-0-918860-17-0 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

In Chinese mythology, the universe develops out of a primary chaos of primordial qi or material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and yang, force and motion leading to form and matter. "Yin" is retractive, passive, contractive and receptive in nature in a contrasting relationship to "yang", which is repelling, active, expansive and repulsive in principle. This dichotomy in some form is seen in all things in nature and their patterns of change, difference and transformations. For example, biological, psychological and cosmological seasonal cycles, the historical evolution of landscapes over days, weeks, years to eons. The original meaning of yin was depicted as the northerly shaded side of a hill and yang being the bright southerly aspect. When pertaining to human gender, yin is associated to more rounded feminine characteristics and yang as sharp and masculine traits.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Religions in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations |last=Feuchtwang |first=Stephan |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-415-85881-6 |location=New York |page=150}}</ref>

''Taiji'' is a Chinese cosmological term for the "Supreme Ultimate" state of undifferentiated absolute and infinite potential, the oneness before duality, from which yin and yang originate. It can be contrasted with the older ''wuji'' ({{zhi|t=無極|l=without pole}}). In the cosmology pertaining to yin and yang, the material energy which this universe was created from is known as ''qi''. It is believed that the organization of qi in this cosmology of yin and yang is the formation of the 10 thousand things between Heaven and Earth.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Feuchtwang |first1=Stephan |chapter=Chinese religions |pages=143–172 |editor-first1=Linda |editor-first2=Christopher |editor-first3=Hiroko |editor-last1=Woodhead |editor-last2=Partridge |editor-last3=Kawanami |title=Religions in the Modern World |date=2016 |doi=10.4324/9781315694443 |isbn=978-1-317-43960-8 }}</ref>

Included among these forms are humans. Many natural dualities (such as light and dark, fire and water, expanding and contracting) are thought of as physical manifestations of the duality symbolized by yin and yang. This duality, as a unity of opposites, lies at the origins of many branches of classical Chinese science, technology and philosophy, as well as being a primary guideline of traditional Chinese medicine,<ref name=Porkert1974>{{cite book |author-last1=Porkert |author-first1=Manfred |title=The Theoretical Foundations of Chinese Medicine |publisher=MIT Press |year=1974 |isbn=0-262-16058-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/theoreticalfound00pork}}</ref> and a central principle of different forms of Chinese martial arts and exercise, such as baguazhang, tai chi, daoyin, kung fu and qigong, as well as appearing in the pages of the ''I Ching'' and the famous Taoist medical treatise called the ''Huangdi Neijing''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Field |first1=Tiffany |title=Tai Chi research review |journal=Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice |date=August 2011 |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=141–146 |doi=10.1016/j.ctcp.2010.10.002 |pmid=21742279 }}</ref>

In Taoist metaphysics, distinctions between good and bad, along with other dichotomous moral judgments, are perceptual, not real; so, the duality of yin and yang is an indivisible whole. In the ethics of Confucianism on the other hand, most notably in the philosophy of Dong Zhongshu ({{circa}} 2nd century BC), a moral dimension is attached to the idea of yin and yang.<ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor Latener |first=Rodney Leon |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Confucianism |volume=2 |publisher=Rosen Publishing Group |year=2005 |page=869 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8239-4079-0}}</ref> The Ahom philosophy of duality of the individual self ''han'' and ''pu'' is based on the concept of the hun 魂 and po 魄 that are the yin and yang of the mind in the philosophy of Taoism.<ref name=":10603/116167">{{cite thesis |last=Gogoi |first=Shrutashwinee |date=2011 |title=Tai ahom religion a philosophical study |hdl=10603/116167 |type=PhD |url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/116167}}</ref>{{rp|page=vii}} The tradition was originated in Yunnan, China and followed by some Ahom, descendants of the Dai ethnic minority.<ref name=":10603/116167" />{{rp|page=203}}

== Linguistic aspects == === Characters === [[File:Yin yang (Chinese characters).svg|thumb|upright=0.7|{{zhi|p=yīnyáng}} in seal script (top), as well as traditional (middle) and simplified (bottom) character forms]] The Chinese characters {{linktext|lang=zh-hant|陰}} and {{linktext|lang=zh-hant|陽}} are both phono-semantic compounds, with semantic component {{linktext|lang=zh-hant|阝}} 'mound', 'hill', a graphical variant of {{linktext|lang=zh|阜}}—with the phonetic components {{zhi|t=今|p=jīn}} (and the added semantic component {{zhi|t=云|p=yún|l=cloud}}) and {{zhi|t=昜|p=yáng}}.<ref name="Zidian">{{cite dictionary |script-title=zh:汉语大字典 |trans-title=Hanyu Da Zidian |title-link=Hanyu Da Zidian |publisher=Hubei cishu chubanshe |place=Chengdu |date=1986–1989 |isbn=7-80543-001-2 |language=zh}}</ref>{{rp|4138, 4114}} In the latter, {{zhi|t=昜|p=yáng|l=bright}} features {{zhi|t=日|l=the Sun}} + {{zhi|t=示}} + {{zhi|t=彡|l=sunbeam}}.<ref name=Zidian />{{rp|4144, 1499}}

=== Pronunciations and etymologies === The Standard Chinese pronunciation of {{zhi|t=陰}} is the level first tone as {{zhi|p=yīn}} with the meaning {{zhi|l=cloudy, shady, negative (electric.), feminine, moon, implicit, hidden, genitalia}}. {{zhi|c=陽|l=sunny, positive (electric.), male}} is pronounced with the rising second tone as {{zhi|p=yáng}}.<ref>[https://dictionary.writtenchinese.com/worddetail/yinyang/8655/3/2 陰陽 - Chinese Character Detail Page]</ref><ref>[https://www.lingoace.com/blog/yin-and-yang-in-chinese/ Yin and Yang in Chinese: Meaning, pronounce and Symbols]</ref>

Sinologists and historical linguists have reconstructed Middle Chinese pronunciations from data in the (7th century CE) ''Qieyun'' rhyme dictionary and later rhyme tables, which was subsequently used to reconstruct Old Chinese phonology from rhymes in the (11th–7th centuries BCE) ''Shijing'' and phonological components of Chinese characters. Reconstructions of Old Chinese have illuminated the etymology of modern Chinese words. {{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

Compare these Middle Chinese and Old Chinese{{efn|With an asterisk, to denote unattested forms.}} reconstructions of {{zhi|p=yīn|t=陰}} and {{zhi|p=yáng|t=陽}}: * {{transliteration|ltc|ˑiəm}} < {{transliteration|och|*ˑiəm}} and {{transliteration|ltc|iang}} < {{transliteration|och|*diang}} (Bernhard Karlgren)<ref>Bernhard Karlgren, ''Grammata Serica Recensa'', Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, 1957, 173, 188.</ref> ** {{transliteration|ltc|ʔjəm}} and {{transliteration|och|*raŋ}} (Li Fang-Kuei)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mattos |first1=G. L. |title=Fang-Kuei Li: Studies on Archaic Chinese |journal=Monumenta Serica |date=1974 |volume=31 |pages=219–287 |doi=10.1080/02549948.1974.11731100 |jstor=40726172 }}</ref> * {{transliteration|ltc|ʔ(r)jum}} and {{transliteration|och|*ljang}} (William H. Baxter)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baxter |first1=William H. |title=A Handbook of Old Chinese Phonology |date=1992 |doi=10.1515/9783110857085 |isbn=978-3-11-012324-1 }}{{page needed|date=April 2026}}</ref> * {{transliteration|ltc|ʔjəm}} < {{transliteration|och|*ʔəm}} and {{transliteration|ltc|jiaŋ}} < {{transliteration|och|*laŋ}} (Axel Schuessler)<ref>Schuessler, Axel, ''ABC Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese'', University of Hawaii Press, 2007, 558, 572.</ref> * {{transliteration|ltc|im}} < {{transliteration|och|*qrum}} and {{transliteration|ltc|yang}} < {{transliteration|och|*laŋ}} (William H. Baxter and Laurent Sagart){{sfn|Baxter|Sagart|2014|pp=326–378}}

Schuessler gives probable Sino-Tibetan etymologies for both Chinese words.

{{transliteration|ltc|yin}} < {{transliteration|och|*ʔəm}} compares with Burmese {{transliteration|my|ʔumC}} 'overcast', 'cloudy', Adi {{transliteration|adi|muk-jum}} 'shade', and Lepcha {{transliteration|lep|so'yǔm}} 'shade'; it is probably cognate with Chinese {{transliteration|zh|àn}} < {{transliteration|och|*ʔə̂mʔ}} {{zhi|c=黯|l=dim', 'gloomy'}} and {{transliteration|zh|qīn}} < {{transliteration|och|*khəm}} {{zhi|t=衾|l=blanket}}.

{{transliteration|ltc|yang}} < {{transliteration|och|*laŋ}} compares with Lepcha ''a-lóŋ'' 'reflecting light', Burmese ''laŋB'' 'be bright' and ''ə-laŋB'' 'light'; and is perhaps cognate with Chinese {{transliteration|zh|chāng}} < {{transliteration|och|*k-hlaŋ}} {{zhi|c=昌|l=prosperous', 'bright}} (compare areal words like Tai ''plaŋA1'' 'bright' & Proto-Viet-Muong ''hlaŋB''). To this word-family, Unger also includes {{zhi|c=炳|p=bǐng}} < {{transliteration|och|*pl(j)aŋʔ}} 'bright';<ref>Ulrich Unger, Hao-ku : Sinologische Rundbriefe, 1986:34</ref> however Schuessler reconstructs {{zhi|c=炳|p=bǐng}}'s Old Chinese pronunciation as {{transliteration|och|*braŋʔ}} and includes it in an Austroasiatic word family, besides {{zhi|c=亮|p=liàng}} < {{transliteration|och|*raŋh}} {{zhi|c=爽|p=shuǎng}} < {{transliteration|och|*sraŋʔ}} 'twilight of dawn'; {{transliteration|zh|míng}} < {{transliteration|och|*mraŋ}} {{linktext|lang=zh|明}} 'bright', 'become light', 'enlighten'; owing to "the different OC initial consonant which seems to have no recognizable OC morphological function".<ref>Schuessler, Axel, ''ABC Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese'', University of Hawaii Press, 2007. pp. 168, 180, 558.</ref>

=== Meanings === ''Yin'' and ''yang'' are semantically complex words.

John DeFrancis's ''ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary'' gives the following translation equivalents.<ref>John DeFrancis, ed., ''ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary'', University of Hawaii Press, 2003, 1147, 1108.</ref> <blockquote>'''Yin''' {{zhi|c=陰}} or {{zhi|c=阴}}—Noun: ① [philosophy] female/passive/negative principle in nature, ② Surname; Bound morpheme: ① the moon, ② shaded orientation, ③ covert; concealed; hidden, ④ vagina, ⑤ penis, ⑥ of the netherworld, ⑦ negative, ⑧ north side of a hill, ⑨ south bank of a river, ⑩ reverse side of a stele, ⑪ in intaglio; Stative verb: ① overcast, ② sinister; treacherous</blockquote> <blockquote>'''Yang''' {{zhi|c=陽}} or {{zhi|c=阳}}—Bound morpheme: ① [Chinese philosophy] male/active/positive principle in nature, ② the sun, ③ male genitals, ④ in relief, ⑤ open; overt, ⑥ belonging to this world, ⑦ [linguistics] masculine, ⑧ south side of a hill, ⑨ north bank of a river</blockquote>

The compound ''yinyang'' {{lang|zh-hant|陰陽}} means "yin and yang; opposites; ancient Chinese astronomy; occult arts; astrologer; geomancer; etc."

The sinologist Rolf Stein glosses Chinese ''yin'' {{lang|zh-hant|陰}} as "shady side (of a mountain)" and ''yang'' {{lang|zh-hant|陽}} as "sunny side (of a mountain)" with the uncommon English geographic terms ''ubac'' "shady side of a mountain" and ''adret'' "sunny side of a mountain" (which are of French origin).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stein |first1=Rolf A. |title=Rolf Stein's Tibetica Antiqua |date=2010 |doi=10.1163/ej.9789004183384.i-384 |isbn=978-90-04-19015-3 |page=63 }}</ref>

=== Toponymy === Many Chinese place names or toponyms contain the word ''yang'' 'sunny side', and a few contain ''yin'' 'shady side'. In China, as elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, sunlight comes predominantly from the south, and thus the south face of a mountain or the north bank of a river will receive more direct sunlight than the opposite side.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CHINESE PLACE NAMES |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/chinalan.htm |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=www.sjsu.edu}}</ref> For example, ''Yang'' refers to the "south side of a hill" in Hengyang {{lang|zh|衡陽}}, which is south of Mount Heng {{lang|zh|衡山}} in Hunan,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hengyang {{!}} Ancient City & Major Industrial Hub {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Hengyang |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> and to the "north bank of a river" in Luoyang {{lang|zh-hant|洛陽}}, which is located north of the Luo River {{lang|zh|洛河}} in Henan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Info about Luoyang-国际合作交流中心 |url=https://sites.lynu.edu.cn/gjhz/wjzp/Info_about_Luoyang.htm |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=sites.lynu.edu.cn}}</ref> Similarly, ''yin'' refers to "north side of a hill" in Huayin {{lang|zh-hant|華陰}}, which is north of Mount Hua {{lang|zh-hant|華山}} in Shaanxi province.<ref>{{cite book |first=Zhuqing |last=Li |chapter=Chinese Place Names |pages=179–180 |editor-last=Jiao |editor-first=Liwei |title=The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Language and Culture |publisher=Routledge |date=2024 |isbn=978-1-315-16780-0 |doi=10.4324/9781315167800 }}</ref>

In Japan, the characters are used in western Honshu to delineate the north-side San'in region {{lang|ja|山陰}} from the south-side San'yō region {{lang|ja|山陽}}, separated by the Chūgoku Mountains {{lang|ja|中国山地}}.

=== Loanwords === English ''yin'', ''yang'', and ''yin-yang'' are familiar loanwords of Chinese origin.

The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') defines: <blockquote>'''yin''' (jɪn) Also '''Yin''', '''Yn'''. [Chinese ''yīn'' shade, feminine; the moon.] '''a.''' In Chinese philosophy, the feminine or negative principle (characterized by dark, wetness, cold, passivity, disintegration, etc.) of the two opposing cosmic forces into which creative energy divides and whose fusion in physical matter brings the phenomenal world into being. Also ''attrib''. or as ''adj''., and ''transf''. Cf. '''yang'''. '''b.''' ''Comb''., as '''yin-yang''', the combination or fusion of the two cosmic forces; freq. attrib., esp. as '''yin-yang symbol''', a circle divided by an S-shaped line into a dark and a light segment, representing respectively ''yin'' and ''yang'', each containing a 'seed' of the other. </blockquote> <blockquote>'''yang''' (jæŋ) Also '''Yang'''. [Chinese ''yáng'' yang, sun, positive, male genitals.] '''a.''' In Chinese philosophy, the masculine or positive principle (characterized by light, warmth, dryness, activity, etc.) of the two opposing cosmic forces into which creative energy divides and whose fusion in physical matter brings the phenomenal world into being. Also ''attrib.'' or as ''adj.'' Cf. '''yin'''. '''b.''' ''Comb.'': '''yang-yin''' = ''yin-yang'' s.v. '''yin b.'''</blockquote>

For the earliest recorded "yin and yang" usages, the ''OED'' cites 1671 for ''yin'' and ''yang'',<ref>Arnoldus Montanus, ''Atlas Chinensis: Being a relation of remarkable passages in two embassies from the East-India Company of the United Provinces to the Vice-Roy Singlamong, General Taising Lipovi, and Konchi, Emperor, Thomas Johnson'', tr. by J. Ogilby, 1671, 549: "The Chineses by these Strokes ‥ declare ‥ how much each Form or Sign receives from the two fore-mention'd Beginnings of Yn or Yang."</ref> 1850 for ''yin-yang'',<ref>William Jones Boone, "Defense of an Essay on the proper renderings of the words Elohim and θεός into the Chinese Language," ''Chinese Repository'' XIX, 1850, 375: "... when in the Yih King (or Book of Diagrams) we read of the Great Extreme, it means that the Great Extreme is in the midst of the active-passive primordial substance (Yin-yáng); and that it is not exterior to, or separate from the Yin-yáng."</ref> and 1959 for ''yang-yin''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jung |first1=C. G. |title=Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Volume 9 (Part 2) Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self |orig-year=1959 |year=1968|publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-09759-6 |jstor=j.ctt5hhqh6 |page=58 |quote=[The vision of 'Ascension of Isaiah'] might easily be a description of a genuine yang-yin relationship, a picture that comes closer to the actual truth than the ''privatio boni''. Moreover, it does not damage monotheism in any way, since it unites the opposites just and yang and yin are united in Tao (which the Jesuits quite logically translated as 'God'). }}</ref>

In English, ''yang-yin'' (like ''ying-yang'') occasionally occurs as a mistake or typographical error for the Chinese loanword ''yin-yang''—yet they are not equivalents. Chinese does have some ''yangyin'' collocations, such as {{lang|zh|洋銀}} ({{lit|foreign silver}}) "silver coin/dollar", but not even the most comprehensive dictionaries (e.g., the ''Hanyu Da Cidian'') enter ''yangyin'' *{{lang|zh-hant|陽陰}}. While ''yang'' and ''yin'' can occur together in context,<ref>For instance, the ''Huainanzi'' says" "Now, the lumber is not so important as the forest; the forest is not so important as the rain; the rain is not so important as yin and yang; yin and yang are not so important as harmony; and harmony is not so important as the Way. (12, {{lang|zh|材不及林，林不及雨，雨不及陰陽，陰陽不及和，和不及道}}; tr. Major et al. 2010, 442).</ref> ''yangyin'' is not synonymous with ''yinyang''. The linguistic term "irreversible binomial" refers to a collocation of two words A–B that cannot be idiomatically reversed as B–A, for example, English ''cat and mouse'' (not *''mouse and cat'') and ''friend or foe'' (not *''foe or friend'').<ref name="Ames">{{cite book |last1=Ames |first1=Roger T. |title=Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy |chapter=Yin–yang |date=2016 |doi=10.4324/9780415249126-G026-1 |isbn=978-0-415-25069-6 }}</ref>

Similarly, the usual pattern among Chinese binomial compounds is for positive A and negative B, where the A word is dominant or privileged over B. For example, ''tiandi'' {{lang|zh|天地}} "heaven and earth" and ''nannü'' {{lang|zh|男女}} "men and women". ''Yinyang'' meaning "dark and light; female and male; moon and sun", is an exception. Scholars have proposed various explanations for why ''yinyang'' violates this pattern, including "linguistic convenience" (it is easier to say ''yinyang'' than ''yangyin''), the idea that "proto-Chinese society was matriarchal", or perhaps, since ''yinyang'' first became prominent during the late Warring States period, this term was "purposely directed at challenging persistent cultural assumptions".<ref name="Ames" />

== History == The oldest iconography has been found on an urn-shaped coffin in Ruzhou from the Yangshao culture period, around 4500 BCE. The images appear to be of two black male genitalia rotating in opposite directions in a circular pattern on a white background, with the image suggesting that the worship of male reproduction was present in the area. While it's theorised that the concept of mythological duality and regeneration must of been already present, the use of it on a coffin suggests it might have an unknown afterlife mythological connotation.<ref>{{cite book | last=Hu | first=Jiansheng | title=Big Tradition and Chinese Mythological Studies | chapter=Origin of Humanity: Images on Prehistoric Colored Pottery and Chinese Spirituality | publisher=Springer Singapore | publication-place=Singapore | date=2020 | isbn=978-981-15-4633-4 | doi=10.1007/978-981-15-4634-1_7 | url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-981-15-4634-1_7 | access-date=2026-05-30 | page=77–110}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web | author=["Tác giả"] | title=579. ☀ Nguồn gốc của âm dương và các hoa văn tộc Việt [The origins of yin and yang and Vietnamese ethnic patterns] | website=Lược Sử Tộc Việt | date=2021-12-06 | url=https://luocsutocviet.com/2021/12/06/579-nguon-goc-cua-am-duong-va-cac-hoa-van-toc-viet/ | language=vi | access-date=2026-05-30}}</ref> Further more, the use of black for male genitalia instead of assumed white, two penises but no female genitalia, and the decorative use of purely male icons on a coffin (death and netherworld association), suggests a similar but alternative framework.

Joseph Needham discusses yin and yang together with Five Elements as part of the School of Naturalists. He says that it would be proper to begin with yin and yang before Five Elements because the former: "lay, as it were, at a deeper level in Nature, and were the most ultimate principles of which the ancient Chinese could conceive. But it so happens that we know a good deal more about the historical origin of the Five-Element theory than about that of the yin and the yang, and it will therefore be more convenient to deal with it first."<ref>{{cite book |last=Needham |first=Joseph |year=1956 |title=Science and Civilization in China |title-link=Science and Civilization in China |volume=2: History of Scientific Thought |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=232}}</ref>

He then discusses Zou Yan ({{lang|zh|鄒衍}}; 305–240 BC) who is most associated with these theories. Although yin and yang are not mentioned in any of the surviving documents of Zou Yan, his school was known as the Yin Yang Jia (Yin and Yang School). Needham concludes "There can be very little doubt that the philosophical use of the terms began about the beginning of the 4th century BC, and that the passages in older texts which mention this use are interpolations made later than that time."<ref>{{cite book |last=Needham |first=Joseph |year=1956 |title=Science and Civilization in China |title-link=Science and Civilization in China |volume=2: History of Scientific Thought |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=273}}</ref>

== Nature == Yin and yang are a concept that originated in ancient Chinese philosophy that describes how opposite or contrary forces may create each other by their comparison and are to be seen as actually complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another.<ref>{{cite web |title=The hidden meanings of yin and yang – John Bellaimey |date=2 August 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezmR9Attpyc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/ezmR9Attpyc |archive-date=28 October 2021 |access-date=2 August 2013 |publisher=TED-Ed}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Xu |first=Guang |title=Chinese Herbal Medicine |publisher=Vermillion |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-09-180944-7 |page=41}}</ref>

In Daoist philosophy, dark and light, yin and yang, arrive in the ''Tao Te Ching'' at chapter 42.<ref>{{cite web |last=Muller |first=Charles |title=Daode Jing |url=http://www.acmuller.net/con-dao/daodejing.html#div-43 |access-date=9 March 2018}}</ref>

It is impossible to talk about yin or yang without some reference to the opposite, traditionally it is said that Yin and Yang are known by the comparison of each other, since yin and yang are bound together as parts of a mutual whole (for example, there cannot be the bottom of the foot without the top). A way to illustrate this idea is to postulate the notion of a race with only women or only men; this race would disappear in a single generation. Yet, women and men together create new generations that allow the race they mutually create (and mutually come from) to thrive or survive. The interaction of the two gives birth to humans, as does the interaction of heaven and earth establishes harmony (''he''), giving birth to things.<ref>Robin R. Wang {{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/yinyang/ |title=Yinyang (Yin-yang) |encyclopedia=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |access-date=9 March 2018}}</ref>

== Modern usage == Yin is the black side, and yang is the white side. Other color arrangements have included the white of yang being replaced by red.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=The World Book Encyclopedia |publisher=Scott Fetzer Company |year=2003 |isbn=0-7166-0103-6 |edition= |volume=19 |location=Chicago |page=36 |oclc=50204221}}</ref> The taijitu is sometimes accompanied by other shapes,<ref name=":05">{{Cite book |last1=Carrasco |first1=David |title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions |last2=Warmind |first2=Morten |last3=Hawley |first3=John Stratton |last4=Reynolds |first4=Frank |last5=Giarardot |first5=Norman |last6=Neusner |first6=Jacob |last7=Pelikan |first7=Jaroslav |last8=Campo |first8=Juan |last9=Penner |first9=Hans |publisher=Merriam-Webster |editor=Wendy Doniger |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-87779-044-0 |location=United States |page=495 |language=en |author-link=David Carrasco |author-link6=Jacob Neusner |author-link7=Jaroslav Pelikan}}</ref> such as bagua.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":05" />

In turn, the concepts are also applied to the human body. In traditional Chinese medicine, one's health is directly related to the balance between yin and yang qualities within them.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Choh-Luh |title=A Brief Outline of Chinese Medical History with Particular Reference to Acupuncture |journal=Perspectives in Biology and Medicine |date=September 1974 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=132–143 |id={{Project MUSE|405304}} |doi=10.1353/pbm.1974.0013 |pmid=4612475 }}</ref> The technology of yin and yang is the foundation of critical and deductive reasoning for effective differential diagnosis of disease and illnesses within Taoist influenced traditional Chinese medicine.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ching |first1=Nigel |title=The art and practice of diagnosis in Chinese medicine |last2=Halpin |first2=Jeremy |date=2017 |publisher=Singing Dragon |isbn=978-0-85701-267-8 |location=London Philadelphia}}{{page needed|date=April 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-first1=Dongpei |editor-last1=Hu |title=Traditional Chinese Medicine |date=2015 |doi=10.1515/9783110417661 |isbn=978-3-11-041729-6 }}{{page needed|date=April 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Seem |first=Dr. Mark |title=Acupuncture Energetics A Workbook for Diagnostics and Treatment |publisher=Inner Traditions/Bear |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-89281-435-0}}{{page needed|date=April 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Acupuncture Therapeutics |publisher=Jessica Kingsley Publishers |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-85701-018-6 |page=23}}</ref>

=== ''Taijitu'' === {{Main|Taijitu}}The principle of yin and yang is represented by the ''taijitu'' (literally "diagram of the Supreme Ultimate"). The term is commonly used to mean the simple "divided circle" form, but may refer to any of several schematic diagrams representing these principles, such as the swastika, common to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Similar symbols have also appeared in other cultures, such as in Celtic art and Roman shield markings.<ref name="Giovanni Monastra (2000)">Giovanni Monastra: "{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110925054740/http://www.estovest.net/tradizione/yinyang_en.html The "Yin–Yang" among the Insignia of the Roman Empire?]}}," "Sophia," Vol. 6, No. 2 (2000)</ref><ref name="Late Roman Shield Patterns">{{cite web |url=http://www.ne.jp/asahi/luke/ueda-sarson/MagisterPeditum.html |title=Late Roman Shield Patterns – Magister Peditum |work=www.ne.jp}}</ref><ref name="Helmut Nickel (1992), 146, 5">{{cite journal |last1=Nickel |first1=Helmut |title=The Dragon and the Pearl |journal=Metropolitan Museum Journal |date=1991 |volume=26 |pages=139–146 |doi=10.2307/1512907 |jstor=1512907 }}</ref>

In this symbol the two water droplets swirl and mixing to represent its two intertransformative forms moving from turbid murky yin to the pure clear yang and back again. The two droplets are opposite in direction to each other to show that as one increases the other decreases but at the same time are equal in volume and substance denoting a state of dynamic tension. The dot of the opposite field in the droplets shows that they are infinitely divisible depicting there is always yin within yang and always yang within yin and the S- curve through the centre representative of the amount of yin or yang that is present when night turns to day. By drawing a horizontal and vertical line forming a cross directly through its centre will give the observation of the quantities of yin and yang that are present in all four seasons of the year on this planet.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hughes |first=Kevin |title=Introduction to the Theory of Yin-Yang |publisher=Independent |year=2020 |isbn=979-8-6678-6786-9 |location= |pages=}}{{page needed|date=October 2022}}</ref>

=== Tai chi === {{Main|Tai chi}} Tai chi, a form of martial art, is often described as the principles of yin and yang applied to the human body and an animal body. Wu Jianquan, a famous Chinese martial arts teacher, described tai chi (''taijiquan'') as follows:

{{blockquote|Various people have offered different explanations for the name ''Taijiquan''. Some have said: – 'In terms of self-cultivation, one must train from a state of movement towards a state of stillness. ''Taiji'' comes about through the balance of ''yin'' and ''yang''. In terms of the art of attack and defense then, in the context of the changes of full and empty, one is constantly internally latent, not revealed outward, as if the ''yin'' and ''yang'' of ''Taiji'' have not yet separated.' Others say: 'Every movement of ''Taijiquan'' is based on circles, just like the shape of a ''Taijitu''. Therefore, it is called ''Taijiquan''.|Wu Jianquan|The International Magazine of T{{Wg-apos}}ai Chi Ch{{Wg-apos}}üan<ref>{{cite journal |last=Woolidge |first=Doug |title=The International Magazine of T{{Wg-apos}}ai Chi Ch{{Wg-apos}}üan |volume=21 |issue=3 |journal=Tʻai Chi |publisher=Wayfarer Publications |date=June 1997 |issn=0730-1049}}</ref>}}

== See also == {{Portal|China|South Korea}} {{Div col|colwidth=15em}} * Ayin and Yesh * Chinese numismatic charm * Dialectic * Dualistic cosmology * Enantiodromia * Feng Shui in the Chinese Imperial Court * Flag of Mongolia * Flag of South Korea * Flag of Tibet * Fu Xi * Gankyil * ''Huangdi Neijing'' * Ometeotl * Onmyōdō * Seny and Rauxa * Taegeuk * Tomoe * Yin Yang fish * Yin yang fried rice * ''Yin Yang Shiyi Mai Jiujing'' * Yin-yang-style baguazhang * Yinyanggong, personified yin and yang deity ** Shatkona * ''Zhuangzi'' {{Div col end}}

== Notes == {{notelist}}

== References == === Footnotes === {{reflist|30em}}

=== Works cited === {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |first1=William H. |last1=Baxter |first2=Laurent |last2=Sagart |title=Old Chinese: A New Reconstruction |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-994537-5}} {{refend}}

== External links ==  {{Commons category|Taijitu|Yin Yang}} {{Wiktionary|yin|yang|yin-yang}} * {{cite web |url=https://iep.utm.edu/yinyang/ |title=Yinyang (Yin-yang) |author-first1=Robin R. |author-last1=Wang |website=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy}}

Category:Chinese martial arts terminology Category:Concepts in Chinese philosophy Category:Chinese words and phrases Category:Dichotomies Category:Dualism in cosmology Category:Religious symbols Category:Tai chi Category:Taoist cosmology Category:Traditional Chinese medicine Category:National symbols of Mongolia Category:National symbols of South Korea Category:Metaphysics