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In Chinese concept, yin (陰 or 阴 in pinyin: yīn) and yang (陽 or 阳 yáng) are two opposing elements of the universe. They are not two poles like good and evil, however; they are relative. For example,
- Yin: associates with the dark Moon (facing away from Sun), representing feminine nature
- Yang: associates with the bright Sun, representing masculine nature
Examples
Yin and yang can also be used (in conjunction with other characters) to indicate various parts of the male and female anatomy.
A modern example:
- Yin: the traffic light on the freeway (the stillness)
- Yang: the traffic that flows past that traffic light (activity)
Some Chinese, Korean and Japanese placenames that still exist are named in the following principle:
- Yin: the shady north side of the mountain, the south side of the river.
- Yang: the sunny south side of the mountain, the north side of the river.
Although while yin dominates femininity and yang masculinity, within the body of either sex, there are still traces of both elements. As a result, an imbalance of the yin-yang ratio can cause illness. This is not to say that everyone should have exactly half of each; every individual needs to find this balance depending on their own constitution, climate, season, occupation and even emotional environment. And, if in perfect health, the individual should be able to adapt to any inevitable changes.
Together, the symbolic colours of yin and yang, black and white respectively, are combined into a circle that symbolizes Taoism for many: the Taijitu (太極圖), often known as the T'ai Chi symbol or the Pictogram of the Supreme Ultimate.
Taoist philosophy is applied to metaphor and is used to describe thereby the dynamic complexities of the human body's organic processes in traditional Chinese medicine as well as the complexities of human personality (Chinese astrology), nothing in the universe is completely yin or completely yang. It is a basic Taoist tenet that yin and yang are artificial terms of convenience, depending ultimately upon the observer's perspective. There is always yin within yang, and yang within yin. This is symbolized in the yin and yang T'ai Chi circle by the two smaller circles in either side: black within white and white within black.
Another Taoist tenet is that one extreme will always change into its opposite, so that extreme yang turns into yin and vice versa. This is symbolized in the yin-yang symbol by the shape of the outer swooshes, which appear to be moving, one into the other. This principle has been extended into the physical realm of the martial arts, where yang and yin can directly represent the limits of balance in different directions; up and down, left and right, forward and back; and the physical properties of full and empty, hard and soft, active and receptive, etc. Over the centuries, the study of the interplay between these principles has led to the formulation and refinement of many different systems of self-defense across East Asia.
Summary of properties
| yin | yang
|
| black | white
|
| cold | warm
|
| dark | light
|
| empty | full
|
| fat | muscle, bone
|
| female | male
|
| introversion | extroversion
|
| moon | sun
|
| north | south
|
| passive | active
|
| receptive | creative
|
| winter | summer
|
Unicode note
In Unicode, the "yin yang" symbol is U+262F (☯).
See also
External link
Yin is Experiment 501 in Lilo and Stitch: The Series.
Yang is Experiment 502 in Lilo and Stitch: The Series.
de:Yin und Yang
et:Yin ja yang
nl:Yin Yang
zh:阴阳
pl:Yin i yang
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