# Yin and yang By [Untitled](https://paragraph.com/@0x25dfd4cbd2c6e49aa16c861150fed2829a42f53e) · 2023-04-14 --- **Yin and yang** ([/jɪn/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) and [/jæŋ/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English)) is a [Chinese philosophical](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_philosophy) concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. 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 (winter and summer), the landscape (north-facing shade and south-facing brightness), sexual coupling (female and male), the formation of both men and women as characters and sociopolitical history (disorder and order).[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang#cite_note-1) [Taiji](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiji_\(philosophy\)) or tai chi (simplified Chinese: 太极; traditional Chinese: 太極; pinyin: _tàijí_; lit. 'great pole') 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 compared with the old [_wuji_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuji_\(philosophy\)) (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_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi). It is believed that the organization of qi in this cosmology of yin and yang has formed many things.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang#cite_note-2) Included among these forms are humans. Many natural [dualities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dualistic_cosmology) (such as [light and dark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 classical [Chinese science](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_science_and_technology_in_China) and philosophy, as well as being a primary guideline of [traditional Chinese medicine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine),[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang#cite_note-Porkert1974-3) and a central principle of different forms of [Chinese martial arts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_martial_arts) and exercise, such as [baguazhang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baguazhang), [taijiquan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taijiquan) (tʻai chi chʻüan) and [qigong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong) (chʻi kung), as well as appearing in the pages of the [_I Ching_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Ching). The notion of duality can be found in many areas, such as [Communities of Practice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duality_\(CoPs\)). The term "dualistic-monism" or [dialectical monism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_monism) has been coined in an attempt to express this fruitful [paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox) of simultaneous unity and 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.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang#cite_note-4) 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taijitu) symbol) shows a balance between two opposites with a portion of the opposite element in each section. In [Taoist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism) metaphysics, distinctions between good and bad, along with other [dichotomous](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichotomy) moral judgments, are perceptual, not real; so, the duality of yin and yang is an indivisible whole. In the ethics of [Confucianism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism) on the other hand, most notably in the philosophy of [Dong Zhongshu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dong_Zhongshu) (c. 2nd century BC), a moral dimension is attached to the idea of yin and yang.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang#cite_note-5) Linguistic aspects ------------------ These [Chinese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_language) terms _yīn_ 陰 "dark side" and _yáng_ 陽 "white side" are linguistically analyzable in terms of [Chinese characters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_characters), [pronunciations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciations) and [etymology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology), [meanings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaning_\(linguistics\)), [topography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topography), and [loanwords](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loanword). ### Characters "_Yin-yang_" in [seal script](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_script) (top), Traditional Chinese characters (middle), and Simplified Chinese characters (bottom) The [Chinese characters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_characters) [陰](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%99%B0#Traditional_Chinese) and [陽](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%99%BD#Traditional_Chinese) for the words _yīn_ and _yáng_ are both classified as [Phono-semantic characters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character_classification#Phono-semantic_compound_characters), combining the semantic component ["mound; hill" radical](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_170) [阝](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%98%9D#Traditional_Chinese)(graphical variant of [阜](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%98%9C#Chinese)) with the phonetic components _jīn_ [今](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BB%8A#Traditional_Chinese) (and the added semantic component _yún_ [云](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BA%91#Traditional_Chinese) "pictographic: cloud") and _yáng_ [昜](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%98%9C#Traditional_Chinese). In the latter, _yáng_ [昜](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%98%9C#Traditional_Chinese) "bright" features [日](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%97%A5#Traditional_Chinese) "sun" + [示](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%A4%BA#Traditional_Chinese) + [彡](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%BD%A1#Traditional_Chinese) "The rays of the sun". ### Pronunciations and etymologies The [Modern Standard Chinese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Standard_Chinese) pronunciation of 陰 is usually the level first [tone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_tones) _yīn_ "shady; cloudy" or sometimes the falling fourth tone _yìn_ "to shelter; shade" while 陽 "sunny" is always pronounced with rising second tone _yáng_. Sinologists and historical linguists have reconstructed [Middle Chinese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Chinese) pronunciations from data in the (7th century CE) [_Qieyun_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qieyun) [rhyme dictionary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyme_dictionary) and later [rhyme tables](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyme_tables), which was subsequently used to reconstruct [Old Chinese phonology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Chinese_phonology) from rhymes in the (11th–7th centuries BCE) [_Shijing_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shijing) and phonological components of Chinese characters. [Reconstructions of Old Chinese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstructions_of_Old_Chinese) have illuminated the etymology of modern Chinese words. Compare these Middle Chinese and Old Chinese (with asterisk) reconstructions of _yīn_ 陰 and _yáng_ 陽: * _ˑiəm_ < \*_ˑiəm_ and _iang_ < \*_diang_ ([Bernhard Karlgren](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Karlgren))[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang#cite_note-6) * _ʔjəm_ and \*_raŋ_ ([Li Fang-Kuei](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Fang-Kuei))[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang#cite_note-7) * _ʔ(r)jum_ and \*_ljang_ ([William H. Baxter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Baxter))[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang#cite_note-8) * _ʔjəm_ < \*_ʔəm_ and _jiaŋ_ < \*_laŋ_ (Axel Schuessler)[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang#cite_note-9) * '_im_ < \*_qrum_ and _yang_ < \*_laŋ_ ([William H. Baxter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Baxter) and [Laurent Sagart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurent_Sagart))[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang#cite_note-10) Schuessler gives probable [Sino-Tibetan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Tibetan_languages) etymologies for both Chinese words. _Yin_ < \*_ʔəm_ compares with [Burmese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burmese_language) _ʔumC_ "overcast; cloudy", [Adi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adi_language) _muk-jum_ "shade", and [Lepcha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepcha_language) _so'yǔm_ "shade"; and is probably cognate with Chinese _àn_ < \*_ʔə̂mʔ_ [黯](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%BB%AF#Chinese) "dim; gloomy" and _qīn_ < \*_khəm_ [衾](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E8%A1%BE#Traditional_Chinese) "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_ [昌](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%98%8C#Chinese) "prosperous; bright" (compare [areal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainland_Southeast_Asia_linguistic_area) words like [Tai](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_languages) _plaŋA1_ "bright" & Proto-[Viet-Muong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietic_languages) _hlaŋB_). To this word-family, [Unger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Unger) (Hao-ku, 1986:34) also includes [炳](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%82%B3#Chinese) _bǐng_ < _\*pl(j)aŋʔ_ "bright"; however Schuessler reconstructs 炳 \*bǐng'\*s Old Chinese pronunciation as \*_braŋʔ_ and includes it in an [Austroasiatic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austroasiatic_languages) word family, besides [亮](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BA%AE#Traditional_Chinese) _liàng_ < \*_raŋh_ [爽](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%88%BD#Chinese) _shuǎng_ < \*_sraŋʔ_ "twilight (of dawn)"; _míng_ < \*_mraŋ_ [明](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%98%8E#Chinese) "bright, become light, enlighten"; owing to "the different OC initial consonant which seems to have no recognizable OC morphological function".[\[11\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang#cite_note-11) [https://opensea.io/assets/0x82d6b59A7d8cA5523E4165a12018F1780984066d/0](https://opensea.io/assets/0x82d6b59A7d8cA5523E4165a12018F1780984066d/0) --- *Originally published on [Untitled](https://paragraph.com/@0x25dfd4cbd2c6e49aa16c861150fed2829a42f53e/yin-and-yang)*