Yin and yang

Yin and yang
Yin and yang
	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.
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	陰陽
Simplified Chinese	阴阳
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	yīnyáng
Bopomofo	ㄧㄣㄧㄤˊ
Gwoyeu Romatzyh	inyang
Wade–Giles	yin1-yang2
Tongyong Pinyin	yin-yáng
IPA	[ín.jǎŋ]
Hakka
Romanization	yim1-yong2
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	yām yèuhng
Jyutping	jam1 joeng4
IPA	[jɐm˥ jœŋ˩]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ	im-iông
Tâi-lô	im-iông
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese	'im-yang
Old Chinese
Baxter (1992)	*ʔrjum ljang
Baxter–Sagart (2014)	*q(r)um lang
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	âm dương
Chữ Hán	陰陽
Korean name
Hangul	음양
Hanja	陰陽
Revised Romanization
Transcriptions
Revised Romanization	eumyang
McCune–Reischauer	ŭmyang
Mongolian name
Mongolian Cyrillic	арга билэг / арга билиг
Mongolian script	ᠡ‍ᠠ‍ᠷᠭ᠎᠎ᠠ ᠪᠢᠯᠡᠭ ; ᠠᠷᠭ᠎ᠠ ᠪᠢᠯᠢᠭ
Japanese name
Kanji	陰陽
Hiragana	いんよう; おんよう; おんみょう;
Katakana	インヨウ; オンヨウ; オンミョウ;
Revised Hepburn
Transcriptions
Revised Hepburn	in'yō; on'yō; onmyō;
Kunrei-shiki	in'you; on'you; onmyou;

Yin and yang (English: /jɪn/, /jæŋ/), also yinyang^[1]^[2] or yin-yang,^[3]^[2] is a concept that originated in Chinese philosophy, describing an opposite but interconnected, self-perpetuating cycle. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary and at the same time opposing forces that interact to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts and the parts are important for cohesion of the whole.^[4]

In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself 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 and contractive in nature, while 'yang' is repelling, active and expansive in principle; this dichotomy in some form, is seen in all things in nature—patterns of change and difference. For example, biological, psychological and seasonal cycles, evolution of the landscape over days, weeks, years and eons (with the original meaning of the words being the north-facing shade and the south-facing brightness of a hill), gender (female and male), as well as the formation of the character of individuals and the grand arc of sociopolitical history in disorder and order.^[5]

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 (無極; '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.^[6] 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,^[7] 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.^[8]

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 (c. 2nd century BC), a moral dimension is attached to the idea of yin and yang.^[9] The Ahom philosophy of duality of the individual self han and pu is quite similar to yin and yang of Taoism.^[10]^: vii The tradition was originated in Yunnan, China and followed by some Ahom, descendants of the Dai ethnic minority.^[10]^: 203

^ Stefon, Matt (7 May 2021). "yinyang". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
^ ^a ^b Wang, Robin R. "Yinyang (Yin-yang)". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
^ Shan, Jun (3 February 2020). "What Do Yin and Yang Represent?". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
^ Georges Ohsawa (1976). The Unique Principle. George Ohsawa Macrobiotic. ISBN 978-0-918860-17-0 – via Google Books.
^ Feuchtwang, Stephan (2016). Religions in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations. New York: Routledge. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-415-85881-6.
^ Feuchtwang, Sephan. "Chinese Religions." Religions in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations, Third ed., Routledge, 2016, pp. 150–151.
^ Porkert, Manfred (1974). The Theoretical Foundations of Chinese Medicine. MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-16058-7.
^ Field, Tiffany (1 August 2011). "Tai Chi research review". Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. 17 (3): 141–146. doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2010.10.002. ISSN 1744-3881.
^ Taylor Latener, Rodney Leon (2005). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Confucianism. Vol. 2. New York: Rosen Publishing Group. p. 869. ISBN 978-0-8239-4079-0.
^ ^a ^b Gogoi, Shrutashwinee (2011). Tai ahom religion a philosophical study (PhD). hdl:10603/116167.

[1] Stefon, Matt (7 May 2021). "yinyang". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 May 2023.

[:1-2] Wang, Robin R. "Yinyang (Yin-yang)". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 3 May 2023.

[3] Shan, Jun (3 February 2020). "What Do Yin and Yang Represent?". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 3 May 2023.

[4] Georges Ohsawa (1976). The Unique Principle. George Ohsawa Macrobiotic. ISBN 978-0-918860-17-0 – via Google Books.

[5] Feuchtwang, Stephan (2016). Religions in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations. New York: Routledge. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-415-85881-6.

[6] Feuchtwang, Sephan. "Chinese Religions." Religions in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations, Third ed., Routledge, 2016, pp. 150–151.

[Porkert1974-7] Porkert, Manfred (1974). The Theoretical Foundations of Chinese Medicine. MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-16058-7.

[8] Field, Tiffany (1 August 2011). "Tai Chi research review". Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. 17 (3): 141–146. doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2010.10.002. ISSN 1744-3881.

[9] Taylor Latener, Rodney Leon (2005). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Confucianism. Vol. 2. New York: Rosen Publishing Group. p. 869. ISBN 978-0-8239-4079-0.

[:10603/116167-10] Gogoi, Shrutashwinee (2011). Tai ahom religion a philosophical study (PhD). hdl:10603/116167.

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