Yang (“sun” or “male”) represents light, masculinity, activity, and the heavens. Yin, Chinese for “female” or “moon,” represents darkness, femininity, passivity, and the earth.
The school focused around the idea that all life revolved around five basic elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth), governed by the forces of yin and yang, part of the qi, or vital life force, of the cosmos. Sometime between roughly 700–400 BCE, Yin-yang was the name of a school of teaching, with chief thinker: alchemist Zou Yan. One of the first mentions of yin-yang for the concept of cosmic harmony comes from a verse in the Shih Ching, a 6th-century BCE collection of poems compiled by Confucius. According to TCM, the activity of the individual organs is coordinated in the best possible way.The concepts of yin and yang have been around since at least the 1300s b.c., when they were found referenced in inscriptions related to Chinese divination of the weather. In this case, the organs are divided into active and passive functions, so yin is, for example, the heart, liver and lungs, while yang is found in the stomach, intestines and bladder. The balance of the two forces is also put into practice in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Basically, there are no significant differences in these interpretations of the yin-yang concept. Tiger and dragon originate from Chinese zodiac signs. The division between the female yin and the male yang and the distinction between the active dragon and the more reserved tiger is based on the same principle: one cannot exist without the other.
So what does this mean in concrete terms? Then there is talk of the contrast between a woman (yin) and man (yang), but sometimes also of the unity between tiger (yin) and dragon (yang). MAN AND WOMAN, TIGER AND DRAGON: EXTRA MEANINGSĬoncerning the opposites that yin and yang stand for, the philosophy is often also applied to genders. Accordingly, all forms of yoga that focus on movements, such as Hatha yoga or Bikram yoga, are considered yang yoga. White (yang), on the other hand, symbolises sun or brightness, warmth, active giving and masculinity.īy the way, you will also find this difference in yoga: Yin yoga is primarily about rest and pausing. The black area (yin) stands for darkness, calm, passive receiving, the feminine and soft. When you hear the phrase, Yin Yang, the symbol that immediately comes to mind comprises a black and a white component. Next to it is Hotu, the Yin and Yang of the entire world. However, this pretty little symbol, Taijitu in Chinese, does not actually stand for Yin Yang as a whole but only embodies the individual balance of forces. When we think of Yin Yang, we usually think of the small, round, black and white symbol. You probably know this from your own everyday life after all, on some days, you feel better, while on others, you have barely any energy and are in a bad mood.
While this may all sound a little foreign, the basic idea is quite simple: everything in the world has a necessary opposite pole.Īccording to yin-yang philosophy, two opposing forces always alternate: a high phase is followed by a low, movement is followed by rest, etc. The primary religious or philosophical context is Taoism/Daoism. The principle of Yin and Yang is found in the Chinese "Book of Changes" (Yijing). The Chinese philosophy says precisely that: there are always two opposing forces in harmony with each other. Heaven and earth, day and night, ebb and flow - have you ever noticed that there are actually quite a few things that cannot exist without each other? If so, you already understand the yin-yang principle.
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