Yin and yang


In Ancient Chinese philosophy, yin and yang is a concept of dualism, describing how seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of Yin and Yang and formed into objects and lives. Yin is the receptive and Yang the active principle, seen in all forms of change and difference such as the annual cycle, the landscape, sexual coupling, the formation of both women and men as characters and sociopolitical history.
There are various dynamics in Chinese cosmology. In the cosmology pertaining to Yin and Yang, the material energy, which this universe has created itself out of, is also referred to as qi. It is believed that the organization of qi in this cosmology of Yin and Yang has formed many things. Included among these forms are humans. Many natural dualities are thought of as physical manifestations of the duality symbolized by yin and yang. This duality lies at the origins of many branches of classical Chinese science and philosophy, as well as being a primary guideline of traditional Chinese medicine, and a central principle of different forms of Chinese martial arts and exercise, such as baguazhang, taijiquan, and qigong, as well as appearing in the pages of the I Ching.
The notion of duality can be found in many areas, such as Communities of Practice. The term "dualistic-monism" or dialectical monism has been coined in an attempt to express this fruitful paradox of simultaneous unity and duality. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary forces that interact to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts. According to this philosophy, everything has both yin and yang aspects. Either of the two major aspects may manifest more strongly in a particular object, depending on the criterion of the observation. The yin yang shows a balance between two opposites with a portion of the opposite element in each section.
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, a moral dimension is attached to the idea of yin and yang.

Linguistic aspects

These Chinese terms yin 陰 or 阴 "shady side" and yang 陽 or 阳 "sunny side" are linguistically analyzable in terms of Chinese characters, pronunciations and etymology, meanings, topography, and loanwords.

Characters

The Traditional Chinese characters and for the words yīn and yáng are both classified as radical-phonetic characters, combining the semantically significant "mound; hill" radical or with the phonetic indicators yin and yang. The first phonetic yīn "cloudy" ideographically combines jīn "now; present" and yún "cloud", denoting the "今 presence of 云 clouds". The second phonetic yáng "bright" features the "sun" component. This phonetic is expanded with the "sun" radical into yáng 暘 "rising sun; sunshine". The "mound; hill" radical 阝full forms semantically specify yīn 陰 "shady/dark side of a hill" and yáng 陽 "sunny/light side of a hill".
The Simplified Chinese characters and for yīn and yáng combine the same "hill" radical 阝 with the non-phonetic yuè "moon" and rì "sun", graphically denoting "shady side of a hill" and "sunny side of a hill". Compare the Classical Chinese names for these two heavenly bodies: Tàiyīn "moon" and Tàiyáng "sun".

Pronunciations and etymologies

The Modern Standard Chinese pronunciation of 陰 or 阴 is usually level first tone yīn "shady; cloudy" or sometimes falling fourth tone yìn "to shelter; shade", and 陽 or 阳 "sunny" is always pronounced with rising second tone yáng.
Sinologists and historical linguists have reconstructed Middle Chinese pronunciations from data in the Qieyun rhyme dictionary and later rhyme tables, which was subsequently used to reconstruct Old Chinese phonology from rhymes in the Shijing and phonological components of Chinese characters. Reconstructions of Old Chinese have illuminated the etymology of modern Chinese words.
Compare these Middle Chinese and Old Chinese reconstructions of yīn 陰 and yáng 陽:
Schuessler gives probable Sino-Tibetan etymologies for both Chinese words.
Yin < *ʔəm compares with Burmese ʔumC "overcast; cloudy", Adi muk-jum "shade", and Lepcha so'yǔm "shade"; and is probably cognate with Chinese àn < *ʔə̂mʔ "dim; gloomy" and qīn < *khəm "blanket".
Yang < *laŋ compares with Lepcha a-lóŋ "reflecting light", Burmese laŋB "be bright" and ə-laŋB "light"; and is perhaps cognate with Chinese chāng < *k-hlaŋ "prosperous; bright". To this word-family, Unger also includes bǐng < *plaŋʔ "bright"; however Schuessler reconstructs 炳s Old Chinese pronunciation as *braŋʔ and includes it in an Austroasiatic word family, besides liàng < *raŋh shuǎng < *sraŋʔ "twilight "; míng < mraŋ "bright, become light, enlighten"; owing to "the different OC initial consonant which seems to have no recognizable OC morphological function".

Meanings

Yin and yang are semantically complex words.
John DeFrancis's Chinese-English dictionary gives the following translation equivalents.
Yin 陰 or 阴 Noun ① negative/passive/female principle in nature ② Surname Bound morpheme ① the moon ② shaded orientation ③ covert; concealed; hidden ④ ⑦ negative ⑧ north side of a hill ⑨ south bank of a river ⑩ reverse side of a stele ⑪in intaglio Stative verb ① overcast

Yang 陽 or 阳 Bound morpheme ① positive/active/male principle in nature ②the sun ④ in relief ⑤ open; overt ⑥ belonging to this world ⑦ masculine ⑧ south side of a hill ⑨ north bank of a river

The compound yinyang 陰陽 or 阴阳 means "yin and yang; opposites; ancient Chinese astronomy; occult arts; astrologer; geomancer; etc.".
The sinologist Rolf Stein etymologically translates Chinese yin 陰 "shady side " and yang 陽 "sunny side " with the uncommon English geographic terms ' "shady side of a mountain" and ' "sunny side of a mountain".

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.
Yang refers to the "south side of a hill" in Hengyang 衡陽, which is south of Mount Heng 衡山 in Hunan province, and to the "north bank of a river" in Luoyang 洛陽, which is located north of the Luo River 洛河 in Henan.
Similarly, yin refers to "north side of a hill" in Huayin 華陰, which is north of Mount Hua 華山 in Shaanxi province.
In Japan, the characters are used in western Honshu to delineate the north-side San'in region 山陰 from the south-side San'yō region 山陽, separated by the Chūgoku Mountains 中国山地.

Loanwords

English ', ', and ' are familiar loanwords of Chinese origin.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines:
yin Also Yin, Yn.
a. In Chinese philosophy, the feminine or negative principle 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.

yang Also Yang.
a. In Chinese philosophy, the masculine or positive principle 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.'

For the earliest recorded "yin and yang" usages, the OED cites 1671 for yin and yang, 1850 for yin-yang, and 1959 for yang-yin.
In English, yang-yin 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 洋銀 "silver coin/dollar", but not even the most comprehensive dictionaries enter yangyin *陽陰. While yang and yin can occur together in context, 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 and friend or foe.
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 天地 "heaven and earth" and nannü 男女 "women and men". Yinyang meaning "dark and light; female and male; moon and sun", however, is an exception. Scholars have proposed various explanations for why yinyang violates this pattern, including "linguistic convenience", 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".

History

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." He then discusses Zou Yan 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 Needham concludes "There can be very little doubt that the philosophical use of the terms began about the beginning of the -4th century, and that the passages in older texts which mention this use are interpolations made later than that time."

Chinese gender roles

In spite of being used in a modern context to justify egalitarianism under the notion of both yin and yang being "necessary", in practise the concept of yin and yang has led to justification for China's patriarchal history. Particularly under Confucianism, yang is considered superior to "yin", hence men are afforded rulership positions whereas women are not unless, under some remarkable circumstances, they possess sufficient yang.

Nature

In Daoist philosophy, dark and light, yin and yang, arrive in the Tao Te Ching at chapter 42. It becomes sensible from an initial quiescence or emptiness, and continues moving until is reached again. For instance, dropping a stone in a calm pool of water will simultaneously raise waves and lower troughs between them, and this alternation of high and low points in the water will radiate outward until the movement dissipates and the pool is calm once more. Yin and yang thus are always opposite and equal qualities. Further, whenever one quality reaches its peak, it will naturally begin to transform into the opposite quality: for example, grain that reaches its full height in summer will produce seeds and die back in winter in an endless cycle.
It is impossible to talk about yin or yang without some reference to the opposite, since yin and yang are bound together as parts of a mutual whole. 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 to survive. The interaction of the two gives birth to things, like manhood. Yin and yang transform each other: like an undertow in the ocean, every advance is complemented by a retreat, and every rise transforms into a fall. Thus, a seed will sprout from the earth and grow upwards towards the skyan intrinsically yang movement. Then, when it reaches its full potential height, it will fall. Also, the growth of the top seeks light, while roots grow in darkness.
Certain catchphrases have been used to express yin and yang complementarity:
Yin is the black side, and yang is the white side. The relationship between yin and yang is often described in terms of sunlight playing over a mountain and a valley. Yin is the dark area occluded by the mountain's bulk, while yang is the brightly lit portion. As the sun moves across the sky, yin and yang gradually trade places with each other, revealing what was obscured and obscuring what was revealed.
Yin is characterized as slow, soft, yielding, diffuse, cold, wet, and passive; and is associated with water, earth, the moon, femininity, and night time.
Yang, by contrast, is fast, hard, solid, focused, hot, dry, and active; and is associated with fire, sky, the sun, masculinity and daytime.
Yin and yang also applies to the human body. In traditional Chinese medicine good health is directly related to the balance between yin and yang qualities within oneself. If yin and yang become unbalanced, one of the qualities is considered deficient or has vacuity.

''I Ching''

In the I Ching, originally a divination manual of the Western Zhou period, yin and yang are represented by broken and solid lines: yin is broken and yang is solid. These are then combined into trigrams, which are more yang or more yin depending on the number of broken and solid lines, and trigrams are combined into hexagrams. The relative positions and numbers of yin and yang lines within the trigrams determines the meaning of a trigram, and in hexagrams the upper trigram is considered yang with respect to the lower trigram, yin, which allows for complex depictions of interrelations.

Taijitu

The principle of yin and yang is represented by the Taijitu. 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.

Taijiquan

Taijiquan, 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 Taijiquan as follows:

Footnotes

Works cited