- Oct 17, 2019 China is yin, America is yang, and they need each other more than Trump knows China and the US can avoid a clash of civilisations if they can grasp the idea that they need to restrain, support.
- In Chinese philosophy, Yin-yang, which translates into “dark-bright,” describes the notion that everything in nature consists of two paradoxical phases or energies. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the concept of Yin and Yang serves as the foundation for understanding health, as well as diagnosing and treating illnesses.
Jun 27, 2019 Yin, yang, and yin-yang are still being pondered and discussed the world over by Taoists, Buddhists, Vedantists, Yogis, and students of Traditional Chinese Medicine. With more meanings and understandings created over time, the yin yang symbol remains prevalent. A yin-yang symbol. ( exsodus /Adobe Stock) Top Image: A yin yang symbol.
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When Buddhist ideology began to spread in China in the first century AD, it encountered a culture that was more than two thousand years old. The late Chou period (500 to 221 BC) was the golden age of Chinese philosophy in this ancient culture. It was during this period that philosophy reached its zenith. Today in this article we will learn about this Chinese ideology. And if you like this article, just click on any ad on this page. You don’t have to buy anything. Just clicking on the ad will get me some commission. Which will motivate me to write more articles related to spirituality. Thank you! Let’s start.
Two Aspects of Chinese Philosophy
From the very beginning, there have been two complementary aspects of this philosophy. Since the Chinese are ethnically pragmatic and socially conscious, all their philosophical thoughts are, in one way or another, related to social life, people’s relationships, moral values, and administration. This is one side of Chinese philosophy. The other side that complements this is the spiritual side of the Chinese personality, which believes that the ultimate goal of philosophy should be to reach a higher level of consciousness, going beyond society and daily life. Enlightened people who have met the universe spiritually have attained this higher level of consciousness and are the role models of such wise, Chinese people.
However, Chinese wise people are not only deeply involved in religious thought, but also in worldly matters. They seem to combine two complementary human natures – intuition and practical knowledge, contemplation and social action – which the Chinese associate with the images of the wise and the king, respectively. In the words of Chuang Tzu, “fully aware people become wise by their stillness and become their king.”
Confucianism and Taoism
In the sixth century BC, two different philosophies and ideologies emerged from these two sides of Chinese philosophy, Confucianism and Taoism. Of these, Confucianism is the philosophy of social structure, general knowledge, and practical knowledge. It provided the Chinese community the educational methods as well as social etiquette. One of its main objectives was to build the moral foundation of the Chinese family organization, which has a very complex structure of ancestral worship. Taoism, however, is primarily concerned with the observation of nature and the discovery of its working methods. According to Taoism, man can be happy by following natural laws and believing in his own instincts.
These two schools of thought are two opposite ends of Chinese philosophy. But the Chinese see it as two complementary aspects of the same human nature. Confucianism is emphasized in children’s education to learn the rules to be followed in social life, while adults follow Taoism to regain the originality lost due to social constraints. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the Neo-Confucian sect sought to combine Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, giving birth to the philosophy of a great Chinese thinker, Zhu Xi. Zhu Xi was a great philosopher who combined Confucian thought with Buddhism and Taoism and incorporated the principles of these three traditions into his philosophy.
Confucius (Confucian Analects)
Confucianism got its name from the name of a well-known great teacher, Kung Fu Tzu or Confucius. He had made it his life’s mission to give his followers an ancient cultural heritage. But he not only spread knowledge but also interpreted traditional ideas. His teachings are based on the six great texts of philosophy, religion, poetry, music and history. This text is a religious and cultural treasure given by ancient Chinese thinkers. According to Chinese traditional beliefs, Confucius is considered the author, editor, or commentator of these texts. But according to modern scholars he was not the writer or an editor or a commentator of these texts. His thoughts reached the masses through a collection of Sutras called ‘Lunyu’ compiled by some of his disciples. Also known as Confucian Analects, a collection of literary excerpts from Confucius.
Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)
Taoism was started by Lao Tzu. His name literally means ‘experienced expert’. According to earlier beliefs, he was a contemporary of Confucius. He is considered to be the author of a series of short sutras, considered to be the main religious text of Taoism. In China, the text is called Lao Tzu, and in the West, it is known as Tao Te Ching. ‘Tao Te Ching’ is the name given to that book later, which means ‘the great book of customs and power’. According to Joseph Needham, this book is the most profound and beautiful literature in the Chinese language.
Another important Taoist text is Chuang Tzu. It is much larger than the Tao Te Ching. The author of this book, Chuang Tzu, is said to have come into existence two hundred years after Lao Tzu. According to modern scholars, even Chuang Tzu and perhaps Tao Te Ching do not seem to have been written by one person, but must have been Taoist literature collected by writers from different periods.
Language
Both Confucian Analects and Tao to Ching are written in a concise and suggestive language. This style is characteristic of the Chinese way of thinking. The Chinese did not adopt a mystical ideology and enriched a language very different from that of the Western world. Many of these words can be used as nouns, adjectives or verbs. And their order in a sentence is determined by the meaning of the sentence, not by the rules of grammar. The Chinese word concept is very different from the mystical symbols used to draw word pictures, it is a kind of sound sign, which has a tremendous power of instruction, causing a dubious ambiguity of images and emotions in the mind. The purpose of the speaker, instead of expressing an intellectual concept, is to exert pressure on the listener to achieve the desired result. Accordingly, the written letter is not only an abstract sign but also a living symbol, in which the image and the suggestive power of the word are stored.
As they expressed their thoughts in a language that was highly conducive to the Chinese philosophers’ way of thinking, their thoughts and conversations were enriched with very brief, but suggestive images. Many of these images get lost while translating. For example, a translation of a sentence from Tao Te Ching may contain only a few of the rich concepts in the original sentence, which often makes the various translations of the text seem to be quite different literature. As Fung Yu Lan put it, “The combined effect of all the translations that have taken place so far and since, may give an idea of the original ideological richness of Tao Te Ching and Confucius Analects.”
Tao: Consciousness
Like the Indians, the Chinese believe that there is an ultimate truth at the root of all these different things and events that holds them all together:
“These three terms, integral, all-encompassing, and complete, although the names are different, have the same meaning: they all refer to the same thing.”
They called this truth Tao, which originally meant ‘way’ or ‘ritual’. It is the way or manner of this universe, the workings of creation. In later times the Confucianists gave it a different meaning. They began to talk about the Tao of the individual or the Tao of human society, and began to interpret it as the moral way of life.
In its original sense of relation to the universe, Tao is the ultimate indescribable truth. That is, Tao is similar to the Hindu ‘Brahman’ (ब्रह्म) and the Buddhist ‘Dharmakaya’. Tao, however, differs from these Indian concepts in its constantly changing properties. According to the Chinese view, this property is the essence of the universe. Tao is the system of the universe, which includes all things and considers this world to be constantly flowing and changing.
Flow and Change
A similar view is found in the teachings of ephemerality in Indian Buddhist thought. However, it only linked it to the human condition and explained its psychological consequences. The Chinese, however, believed that flow and change were inherent in nature, and that there was a certain order of change that human beings should take into account. The wise man recognizes this order and acts accordingly. In this way he becomes ‘one with the Tao’. He interacts with nature and succeeds in all his endeavors. In the words of the philosopher Huai Nan Tzu, who was in the second century AD:
“One who adapts to the Tao, follows the natural processes of heaven and earth, finds it easier to succeed in this world.”
So what are the ways of the universe that humans need to know? The main feature of the Tao is its cyclical properties of constant motion and change. Lao Tzu says, “Tao’s speed is reversible, and to go away is to come back.” The concept behind this is that all the phenomena in the physical world, as well as those related to human beings, take place in a cyclical form, come and go, rise and fall.
This concept must have been based on the motion of the sun and the moon, as well as the changes in the seasons, and later it was considered the law of the life cycle. The Chinese believe that when the situation escalates, it is inevitable that a complete change will take place. It teaches them to be courageous in times of crisis and to be alert and humble in times of success. This teaches them to reach the golden middle. Which is believed by both Taoists and Confucian ideologues. Lao Tzu says, “The thoughtful man avoids excess, waste, and arbitrariness.”
The Chinese believe that even if it is short, it is okay, but it should not be too much. And it is better to give up half of it than to exaggerate, because even if it does not make us achieve much, we are definitely on the right track. Just as a man who continues to move eastward will eventually reach the west, so a man who continues to earn money to become rich will end up in poverty. Modern industrial society, which is constantly striving to raise the standard of living, but which is causing it to degrade the standard of living, is a perfect example of this ancient Chinese wisdom.
Yin and Yang
To Tao’s cyclical motion, the concepts of yin and yang provided a definite structure. Yin and yang, which have opposite ends, determine the limits of circular change:
“When Yang reaches a high point, it withdraws for Yin; When Yin reaches its high point, it retreats for Young.”
According to Chinese philosophy, due to the interaction of these two opposing forces, different forms of Tao emerge. The symbolic scheme of the original pair of yin and yang had been worked on for many generations and was finally adopted as the basic concept of Chinese ideology. The literal meaning of the words Yin and Yang is the shadowy and sunny side of the mountain, which shows the relativity between the two:
“That which lets now the dark, now the light appear is Tao.”
From time immemorial, these contradictory ends of creation have been represented not only by light and darkness, but also by men and women, strong and humble, up and down. The strong, creative, male Yang was associated with heaven, while Yin, the symbol of darkness, receptivity, femininity and motherhood, was represented by the earth. Heaven is above and rich in movement, while the earth – according to the old concept – is below and stable. Thus, Yang was considered a symbol of movement and Yin a symbol of stability. Yin has a hard to understand, feminine, intuitive mind, while Yang has a clean, rational masculinity. Yin is the contemplative silence of still wisdom, while Yang is the productive action of the mighty king.
Tai-Ji-Tu
The consciousness of Yin and Yang is represented by the ancient Chinese symbol, called “Tai-Ji-Tu”, meaning “the figure of the greatest infinity”:
This figure has a symmetrical structure of black yin and bright Yang, but this symmetry is not static, it is a rotating symmetry and it is an indicator of a continuous cyclic movement:
“Yang returns to its beginning in a cyclical manner, Yin reaches its climax and gives Yang space.”
The two dots in the figure show that when one of the two forces reaches its perimeter, the seed of the opposite force is already rooted in itself.
Yin and Yang are both deep-seated chemicals in Chinese culture, which have greatly influenced the Chinese way of looking at life. As Lao Tzu puts it, “Life is a harmonious union of Yin and Yang.” As China is an agricultural country, people are familiar with the motion of the moon and the sun, as well as the seasons. The changes in the seasons and the resulting fluctuations were considered to be indicative of the interaction between yin and yang, cold and dark winters, and hot and bright summers. This game, which runs between the two opposite ends of the cycle, is also seen in the foods of our meals, with the properties of yin and yang. According to the Chinese view, a diet that balances yin and yang is nutritious.
Traditional Chinese medicine, too, is based on the balance of yin and yang in the human body, and they believe that any disease is caused by a loss of balance. The body is divided into yin and yang parts. In general, the inner part of the body is yang and the outer part is yin, the back part is yang and the front part is yin. Inside the body are the yin and yang organs. The body has a kind of network of latitude and longitude, i.e., a linear body, which has the points of a complementary therapeutic method, ‘acupuncture’, and the ‘Chi’, the vital energy, flowing along these longitudes, works to balance the organs of the body. The yin longitude is related to every yang organ in the body and the yang longitude is related to the yin organ. If the flow between yin and yang is interrupted, the body becomes ill, and resuming the flow of ‘Chi’ by inserting needles into the acupuncture points cures the disease.
Thus, the interaction between Yin and Yang is a formula according to which all Tao’s movements take place. But this did not satisfy the Chinese. They studied the different combinations of yin and yang and created a system of replicas of the universe. This mechanism is described in detail in ‘I-Ching’ – ‘Book of Changes’.
A Book of Changes
The Book of Changes is the first of Confucius’ six best books and is the source of all three ideologies and cultures. The honor and authority that this book has enjoyed in China for thousands of years can only be compared to sacred texts such as the Vedas or the Bible. Richard Wilhelm, a well-known thinker with knowledge of Chinese culture, introduces the translation of his book in the following words:
“The Book of Change (I-Ching in Chinese) is undoubtedly one of the most important books in the world. This ancient book has attracted the attention of many eminent thinkers in China to this day. The most important and great events in China’s cultural history of the last three thousand years have inspired or influenced the interpretation of ideas. So it can be said that the knowledge gained over thousands of years has created I-Ching.”
Thus, The Book of Changes has been evolving for thousands of years. It has different layers of thought, which were given in the important times of Chinese culture. The book begins with a set of sixty-four hexagrams. The figure is based on the Yin-Yang sign scheme and was used as advice by the clergy. Each hexagram has six sides, which can be yin or yang, and a total of 64 such combinations are possible.
These ‘hexagrams’ (about which we will learn in more detail later) were considered to be indicative of the conditions of Tao’s creation and human life. Each figure is given a name and is accompanied by a few exhortations, which give appropriate advice in that situation. Their so-called word pictures over time, it interprets those ‘hexagrams’ briefly, but poetically. In their third type of description, each side of the hexagrams is analyzed in a language that is complex and full of fictional images.
These three types of characters, the main part of the book, were used to predict the future. To determine the ‘hexagrams’ that fit the questioner’s personal situation, a large ritual was performed using 50 stalks of the ‘Yaro’ bush. The idea was to determine the ‘hexagrams’ that fit the state of the universe at that moment, and to learn from the clergy what was appropriate for that situation:
“In the Book of Change, there are images that reveal meaning, to decide actions. To which decisions are attached, and good and bad are decided.”
Thus, the I-Ching book was used not only to know the future, but also to understand the right course of action in the present situation. As a result, I-Ching became a book of knowledge, rather than an ordinary book of fortune-telling.
In fact, I-Ching is more useful as a book of knowledge than a book of divination. It has inspired many intellectuals in China. Lao Tzu has taken many profound sources of his knowledge from this book.Confucius also studied it in depth and many of the commentaries on it are a gift from his sect. It is a later layer of knowledge, given later in the book. These commentaries, popularly known as the “Ten Wings”, combine the meaning of Hexagram’s composition with philosophy.
Like other layers of the I-Ching book, Confucius’ commentaries on it emphasize the consciousness of all events. The main purpose of I-Ching is to constantly change all things and events:
The book of change is such a book
From which no one can stay away.
Its path is constantly changing –
Change, without stopping movement,
Flowing through six empty spaces,
Rising and falling unrestrained,
Steadfast and submissive, they transform into each other.
They cannot be bound by any rules,
Only change works here.
Yin And Yang In Ancient China
This was the brief introduction of Chinese Ideology. That’s it for today! If you liked this article, don’t forget to just click on any ad on this page. You don’t have to buy anything. Just clicking on the ad will get me some commission. Which will motivate me to write more articles related to spirituality. Thank you! In the next article we will talk about Tao Ideology. Till then, keep peeking into the Spiritual Cave. Maybe you too will find something precious. Bye
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