In Chinese philosophy, yin yang (/ˈjɪn ˈjɑːŋ/;Chinese: 陰陽 yīnyáng, lit. "dark-bright", "negative-positive") describes 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. Many tangibledualities (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 lies at the origins of many branches of classicalChinese science and philosophy, as well as being a primary guideline of traditional Chinese medicine,[1] and a central principle of different forms of Chinese martial arts and exercise, such as baguazhang, taijiquan (t'ai chi), and qigong (Chi Kung), as well as appearing in the pages of the I Ching.
Duality is found in many belief systems, but yin and yang are parts of a Oneness that is also equated with the Tao. The term 'dualistic-monism' or dialectical monism has been coined in an attempt to express this fruitfulparadox of simultaneous unity/duality. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary (rather than opposing) forces that interact to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts.[2] According to this philosophy, everything has both yin and yang aspects (for instance, shadow cannot exist without light). Either of the two major aspects may manifest more strongly in a particular object, depending on the criterion of the observation. The yin yang (i.e. taijitu symbol) 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 ofDong Zhongshu (c. 2nd century BC), a moral dimension is attached to the idea of yin and yang.[3]
Linguistic aspectsEdit
The 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.
CharactersEdit
The Traditional Chinese characters 陰 and 陽for the words yīn and yáng are both classified as radical-phonetic characters, combining the semantically significant "mound; hill" radical阝 or 阜 with the phonetic indicators ying 侌and yang 昜. The first phonetic yīn 侌 "cloudy" ideographically combines jīn 今 "now; present" and yún 云 "cloud", denoting the "今 presence of 云 clouds".[4] The second phonetic yáng 昜"bright" originally pictured 日 the "sun" with 勿"rays coming down".[5] 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 阴 and 阳for yīn and yáng combine the same "hill" radical 阝 with the non-phonetic yuè 月 "moon" and rì 日 "sun", graphically denoting "shady side of a hill" and "sunny side of a hill". Compare the Classical Chinese names (which contain tài 太 "great") for these two heavenly bodies: Tàiyīn 太陰 "moon" and Tàiyáng 太陽"sun".
Pronunciations and etymologiesEdit
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 toneyáng.
