Who are you, From? คณุ เป็ นใคร มาจากไหน? Taijitu Book 1 Sunny Martin Strong
In Chinese philosophy, a taijitu (simplified Chinese: 太极图; traditional Chinese: 太極圖; pinyin: tàijítú; Wade–Giles: tʻai⁴chi²tʻu²) is a symbol or diagram (图; tú) representing Taiji (太极; tàijí; 'utmost extreme') in both its monist (wuji) and its dualist (yin and yang) aspects. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Such a diagram was first introduced by Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhou Dunyi (周敦頤; 1017–1073) of the Song Dynasty in his Taijitu shuo (太極圖說). ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
The modern Taoist canon, compiled during the Ming era, has at least half a dozen variants of such taijitu. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The two most similar are the \"Taiji Primal Heaven\" (太極先天圖; tàijí xiāntiān tú) and the \"wuji\" (無極圖; wújí tú) diagrams, both of which have been extensively studied during the Qing period for their possible connection with Zhou Dunyi's taijitu. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Ming period author Lai Zhide (1525–1604) simplified the taijitu to a design of two interlocking spirals. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ In the Ming era, the combination of the two interlocking spirals of the taijitu with two black-and-white dots superimposed on them became identified with the He tu or \"Yellow River diagram\" (河圖). ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
This version was reported in Western literature of the late 19th century as the \"Great Monad\", and has been widely popularised in Western popular culture as the \"yin-yang symbol\" since the 1960s. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The contemporary Chinese term for the modern symbol is 太极兩儀图 \"two-part Taiji diagram\". ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Ornamental patterns with visual similarity to the \"yin-yang symbol\" are found in archaeological artefacts of European prehistory; such designs are sometimes descriptively dubbed \"yin yang symbols\" in archaeological literature by modern scholars. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Structure The taijitu consists of five parts. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Strictly speaking, the \"yin and yang symbol\", itself popularly called taijitu, represents the second of these five parts of the diagram. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
At the top, an empty circle depicts the absolute (Wuji) ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ A second circle represents the Taiji as harboring Dualism, yin and yang, represented by filling the circle in a black-and-white pattern. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ In some diagrams, there is a smaller empty circle at the center of this, representing Emptiness as the foundation of duality. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Below this second circle is a five-part diagram representing the Five Agents (Wuxing), representing a further stage in the differentiation of Unity into Multiplicity. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The Five Agents are connected by lines indicating their proper sequence, Wood (木) → Fire (火) → Earth (土) → Metal (金) → Water (水). ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
The circle below the Five Agents represents the conjunction of Heaven and Earth, which in turn gives rise to the \"ten thousand things\". ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ This stage is also represented by the Eight Trigrams (Bagua). ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
The final circle represents the state of multiplicity, glossed \"The ten thousand things are born by transformation\" (萬物化生; simplified 万物化生) ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
History The term taijitu in modern Chinese is commonly used to mean the simple \"divided circle\" form ( ), but it may refer to any of several schematic diagrams that contain at least one circle with an inner pattern of symmetry representing yin and yang. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Song and Yuan eras While the concept of yin and yang dates to Chinese antiquity, the interest in \"diagrams\" (圖 tú) is an intellectual fashion of Neo-Confucianism during the Song period (11th century), and it declined again in the Ming period, by the 16th century. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ During the Mongol Empire and Yuan dynasty, Taoist traditions and diagrams were compiled and published in the encyclopedia Shilin Guangji by Chen Yuanjing. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
The original description of a taijitu is due to Song era philosopher Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073), author of the Taijitu shuo 太極圖說 \"Explanation of the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate\", ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ which became the cornerstone of Neo-Confucianist cosmology. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ His brief text synthesized aspects of Chinese Buddhism and Taoism with metaphysical discussions in the Yijing.
Zhou's key terms Wuji and Taiji appear in the opening line 無極而太極, which Adler notes could also be translated \"The Supreme Polarity that is Non-Polar\". ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Non-polar (wuji) and yet Supreme Polarity (taiji)! ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
The Supreme Polarity in activity generates yang; yet at the limit of activity it is still. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ In stillness it generates yin; yet at the limit of stillness it is also active. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Activity and stillness alternate; each is the basis of the other. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
In distinguishing yin and yang, the Two Modes are thereby established. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The alternation and combination of yang and yin generate water, fire, wood, metal, and earth. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ With these five [phases of] qi harmoniously arranged, the Four Seasons proceed through them. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
The Five Phases are simply yin and yang; yin and yang are simply the Supreme Polarity; the Supreme Polarity is fundamentally Non-polar. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ [Yet] in the generation of the Five Phases, each one has its nature.
Instead of usual Taiji translations \"Supreme Ultimate\" or \"Supreme Pole\", Adler uses \"Supreme Polarity\" (see Robinet 1990) because Zhu Xi describes it as the alternating principle of yin and yang, and: insists that taiji is not a thing (hence \"Supreme Pole\" will not do). Thus, for both Zhou and Zhu, taiji is the yin-yang principle of bipolarity, which is the most fundamental ordering principle, the cosmic \"first principle.\" Wuji as \"non-polar\" follows from this.
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Since the 12th century, there has been a vigorous discussion in Chinese philosophy regarding the ultimate origin of Zhou Dunyi's diagram. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Zhu Xi (12th century) insists that Zhou Dunyi had composed the diagram himself, against the prevailing view that he had received it from Daoist sources. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Zhu Xi could not accept a Daoist origin of the design, because it would have undermined the claim of uniqueness attached to the Neo-Confucian concept of dao.
Ming and Qing eras While Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073) popularized the circular diagram, the introduction of \"swirling\" patterns first appears in the Ming period. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Zhao Huiqian (趙撝謙, 1351–1395) was the first to introduce the \"swirling\" variant of the taijitu in his Liushu benyi (六書本義, 1370s). ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The diagram is combined with the eight trigrams (bagua) and called the \"River Chart spontaneously generated by Heaven and Earth\". ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
By the end of the Ming period, this diagram had become a widespread representation of Chinese cosmology. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The dots were introduced in the later Ming period (replacing the droplet-shapes used earlier, in the 16th century) and are encountered more frequently in the Qing period. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The dots represent the seed of yin within yang and the seed of yang within yin; the idea that neither can exist without the other.
Diagram from Zhao Huiqian's Liushu benyi (1370s) as represented in the Siku Quanshu edition (1751) ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Lai Zhide's design is similar to the gakyil (dga' 'khyil or \"wheel of joy\") symbols of Tibetan Buddhism; but while the Tibetan designs have three or four swirls (representing the Three Jewels or the Four Noble Truths, i.e. as a triskele and a tetraskelion design), Lai Zhide's taijitu has two swirls, terminating in a central circle. Simplified form of Lai Zhide's \"Taiji River Diagram\" (1599)
Modern yin-yang symbol The Ming-era design of the taijitu of two interlocking spirals was a common yin-yang symbol in the first half of the 20th century. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The flag of South Korea, originally introduced as the flag of Joseon era Korea in 1882, shows this symbol in red and blue. This was a modernisation of the older (early 19th century) form of the Bat Quai Do used as the Joseon royal standard. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
The 1882 flag of Korea (since 1949 the flag of South Korea) \"The Great Monad\" from Edna Kenton's Book of Earths (1928), after the design shown by Hampden Coit DuBose (1887)
Since the 1960s, the He tu symbol, which combines the two interlocking spirals with two dots, has more commonly been used as a yin-yang symbol. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Compare with In the standard form of the contemporary symbol, one draws on the diameter of a circle two non-overlapping circles each of which has a diameter equal to the radius of the outer circle. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ One keeps the line that forms an \"S\", and one erases or obscures the other line. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The design is also described as a \"pair of fishes nestling head to tail against each other\". ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
The Soyombo symbol of Mongolia may be prior to 1686. It combines several abstract shapes, including a Taiji symbol illustrating the mutual complement of man and woman. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ In socialist times, it was alternatively interpreted as two fish symbolizing vigilance, because fish never close their eyes.
The modern symbol has also been widely used in martial arts, particularly tʻai chi chʻüan (taijiquan), and Jeet Kune Do, since the 1970s. In this context, it is generally used to represent the interplay between hard and soft techniques. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ The dots in the modern \"yin-yang symbol\" have been given the additional interpretation of \"intense interaction\" between the complementary principles, i.e. a flux or flow to achieve harmony and balance. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
The Role of Yin-Yang Theory in Health What is yin-yang theory? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ How does it relate to health and disease? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ How does East Asian medicine use yin-yang theory in diagnosis and treatment? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
The philosophy at the root of the traditional East Asian approach to health and well-being used at Creekside Acupuncture is yin-yang theory. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ In this theory, yin and yang describe all known phenomena. They are descriptions of easily observed processes such as day turning into night, youth into old age, one season into the next. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
The application of yin and yang to real life is far reaching. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Your own observations have probably shown you that if a plan is based on an unchanging structure that does not adapt with people’s needs, its long term success is unlikely. Creative adaptability is the crux of yin-yang theory. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
The yin-yang principle holds that all the phenomena of the universe can be understood as limitless pairs of opposites that interact according to these principles: The source of yin and yang, and all dualities, is that which is unified and unchanging. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Yang is active and yin is passive, but nothing is pure yin or pure yang. This is why there is a dark spot within the white area of the yin-yang symbol and vice versa. If either yin or yang predominate, the one in excess tends to consume the other. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Some examples of yin-yang pairs are passive/active; substance/function; inside/outside; body/mind; dark/light; space/time; cold/heat; contraction/expansion. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ When something yin or yang reaches its extreme it transforms into its opposite. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
For example, extreme activity necessitates rest. Extreme yang activity (violence) leads to extreme yin (death). Extremely energizing substances such as caffeine or sugar usually lead to a crash in energy after they wear off. In meditation, concentration on a single object ultimately results in universal awareness. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Applying yin-yang theory to health is a dynamic and practical framework. In a normal state of health, yin and yang harmoniously support and depend on each other for existence. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Food in the body transforms into energy. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Energy in the body assimilates nutrients which build the substance of the body. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ A balanced interplay of yin and yang is a state where they are in a constant state of transformation of one to the other, without ever reaching a state of extreme yang or extreme yin. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
A condition of ultimate health occurs when the moment-by-moment transformation of the body and mind are harmonious. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ In a broad sense, disease results when there is not a state of flowing transformation between yin and yang. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Traditional East Asian medicine employs a multitude of techniques to diagnose and address imbalances of yin and yang. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Diagnostic techniques include detailed questions about one’s history, lifestyle and diet, and observation of such things as the pulse, tongue, abdomen and complexion. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Methods for addressing yin-yang imbalance including acupuncture, massage, herbal medicine, diet, and lifestyle changes. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Wuxing (Chinese philosophy) Wuxing ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ (Chinese: 五行; pinyin: wǔxíng; Japanese: gogyō (五行); Korean: ohaeng (오행); Vietnamese: ngũ hành (五行)) ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Usually translated as Five Phases or Five Agents, is a fivefold conceptual scheme that many traditional Chinese fields used to explain a wide array of phenomena, from cosmic cycles to the interaction between internal organs, and from the succession of political regimes to the properties of medicinal drugs. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
The \"Five Phases\" are Fire (火; huǒ), Water (水; shuǐ), Wood (木; mù), Metal or Gold (金; jīn), and Earth or Soil (土; tǔ). ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
This order of presentation is known as the \"Days of the Week\" sequence. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ In the order of \"mutual generation\" (相生; xiāngshēng), they are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ In the order of \"mutual overcoming\" (相克; xiāngkè), they are Wood, Earth, Water, Fire, and Metal. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
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The system of five phases was used for describing interactions and relationships between phenomena. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ After it came to maturity in the second or first century BCE during the Han dynasty, this device was employed in many fields of early Chinese thought, including seemingly disparate fields such as Yi jing divination, alchemy, feng shui, astrology, traditional Chinese medicine, music, military strategy, and martial arts. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Although often translated as the Five Elements in comparison to Classical elements of the ancient Mediterranean world, the Wuxing were conceived primarily as cosmic agents of change rather than a means to describe natural substances. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Applications The Wuxing philosophy is applied to explain different concepts in various fields. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Phases of the Year Cosmology and feng shui Dynastic transitions Chinese medicine Music Martial arts ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Phases of the Year The five phases are around 73 days each and are usually used to describe the transformations of nature rather than their formative states. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Wood/Spring: a period of growth, which generates abundant vitality, movement and wind. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
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