- Black and White
- Dark and Light
- Night and Day
“You’ve probably said something like “You are the yin to my yang” in the past, but can you honestly say that you actually know the meaning of the two words ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ or are you using the phrase just because it’s been used too many times in the past and it sounds cool. Perhaps you actually complete each other?
The truth is without an actual understanding of the words, you may end up misusing them, and that is not a problem you want to deal with. This article delves into everything you need to know about Yin and Yang. We’ll also look at the meaning of the yin and yang symbols. So, let’s get right into it!
What Does Yin And Yang Mean?
Yin and Yang, 陰 and 陽, in Chinese is one of the most popular principles in Chinese culture. It is a principle that explains or represents the duality of things; and the idea that two completely opposite elements or characteristics can actually exist harmoniously while also complementing each other. Similar ideas based on this principle would be something like the quote – there can be no light without darkness.
In terms of the symbol, the black segment is the Yin while the white section is the yang, and each segment represents a set of qualities that are opposite of each other.
Yin and yang or Yinyang could, therefore, be said to represent or describe two complementary forces that makeup all the aspects of and the phenomena in life. It is a principle that encompasses different actual processes in the universe and all that’s in the universe. As a result, yin and yang are depicted as the dark and light halves of the circle, in perfect balance with each other.
According to the Wade-Giles Romanization, Yin-Yang or in- yō, in Japanese, is the Eastern thought that there are two complementary forces that makeup life’s phenomena and aspects.
The symbol for Yin represents darkness, femaleness, earth, absorption, and passivity; it is also present in the even numbers, in streams and valleys. Yin is also represented by the tiger, a broken line, and the color orange. Yang, on the other hand, is a symbol that’s conceived as the heavens, light, maleness, penetration, and activity. Yang also represents the odd numbers, the mountains, the dragon, an unbroken line, and the color azure.
Yin and Yang are both believed to be proceeds from the Great Ultimate or the taiji, and they have this interplay with one another where one increases as the other decreases; and they are, therefore, representations of the actual processes that take place in the universe and also in all that is in the universe. And when in harmony, yin and yang are depicted as light and dark, perfect halves of a complete circle.
What Is The Origin Of Yin And Yang
yin and yang color
While the origins of this principle remain rather obscure, the concept is associated with the Chinese idea of wuxing or the Five Phases, namely, wood, metal, fire, water, and earth; and it’s also believed both of these ideas lend substance to the characteristics Chinese belief in the rather cynical theory associated with dissolution and becoming, as well as the inherent interdependence between nature and human activity.
The origin of the concept is rather ancient, though, and its earliest mention is believed to date back to China, in the 3rd century BCE. Yin and yang is believed to have been formed based on the cosmology school of thought or what’s also referred to as the Yinyang School. The school’s main representative Zou Yan taught about the significance of the principles of yin and yang, and these teachings permeated through different aspects of Chinese thought and teachings, including medicine, astrology, art, divination, and the government.
But it wasn’t until early 675CE that the concept was introduced in Japan, where it was used to influence divination, the government, and control of the calendar that were all based on the principles of yin and yang. These principles were not in use for too long, though. But even with disuse, it had permeated into all the levels of society in Japan, persisting into modern times.
Yin and Yang remain the biggest principle that is associated with beliefs of some things being lucky or unlucky, and also in considerations for zodiac signs and directions when it comes to arranged marriages”
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