Yin-Yang: A Taoist Symbol

Yin-Yang: A Taoist Symbol

Introduction

It's everywhere. The classic yin-yang symbol, seen more and more these days, is a circular symbol, half-black and half-white, with a small dot of white on the black side, and a small black dot on the white side (see example in Appendix A). It is recognized by most people. This symbol is also called the Tai Chi Tu. The term "yin-yang" is drifting into popular speech, usually along such lines as, "Well, everything has its yin and yang side." Many believe that this symbol represents balance, peace or harmony. Others believe that it means there is a little bad in the good, and a little good in the bad, which would ultimately mean that there is no absolute good or evil. What does the yin-yang symbol mean to Taoism?

Methodology Statement

The methodology for answering the question "what does the yin-yang symbol mean to Taoism" is researching academic articles, books, and websites for the Taoist meanings found in the yin-yang symbol.

Origins of yin-yang

The terms yin and yang originally referred to the dark and sunlit sides of a mountain, respectively. The shadowy and sunny sides of the mountain combine to make a unified whole. They are not separate and do not struggle with one another. Furthermore, the very perception of both a dark and light side of the mountain is made possible by a powerful source of constant energy. (Feuerstein).

While the contrast theory is integral to early Taoist theory, yin-yang theory, though compatible, was not a central part of the early philosophy. Classical thinkers barely mentioned the originator of yin-yang cosmology, Zou Yan. The Laozi uses the terms yin and yang only once in passing in only two of the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi. Yin-yang was most prominent in the Yi Jing (I Ching, or Book of Changes). The association of yin and yang with Taoist ideas actually stems from the most influential early commentator of the Daode Jing, Wang Bi, who wrote after the fall of the Han dynasty. He treated the Yi Jing and the Daode Jing as a single system. (Chan 1995).

Origins of yin-yang became associated with Taoism, a religion widespread in China several hundred years before Christ's incarnation on earth. In Taoism, the Tao, loosely translated as "the Way" or "the Path", is the origin of all things and the ultimate reality. As is true in many Eastern religions, this concept is not to be grasped intellectually since it describes a reality beyond the intellect. Therefore, according to Taoist teachings, the truth of the Tao can only be understood indirectly or through a process of enlightened living. Happiness is gained by living in the flow of the Tao, which is the flow of the universe. This belief has no personal God. Where do the yin and yang come in? "Through the dynamics of yin and yang, the female and male cosmic principles, the Tao creates all phenomena. Whereas the Tao is perfectly harmonious, the cosmos is in a state of constant disequilibrium" (Feuerstein, 146).

"It represents the balance of opposites in the universe. When they are equally present, all is calm. When one is outweighed by the other, there is confusion and disarray" (Taoism). One source explains that it was derived from astronomical observations which recorded the shadow of the sun throughout a full year (Where). The two swirling shapes inside the symbol give the impression of change - the only constant factor in the universe. One tradition states that yin (the dark side) represents the breath that formed the earth. Yang (the light side) symbolizes the breath that formed the heavens. The most traditional view, found in most sources, is that yin represents aspects of the feminine: being soft, cool, calm, introspective, and healing... and yang the masculine: being hard, hot, energetic, moving, and sometimes aggressive. Another view has the yin representing night and yang' day (Where). However, since nothing in nature is purely black or purely white, the symbol includes a small black spot in the white swirl, and a corresponding white spot in the black swirl, representing that neither is absolute.

"The essentials of the yin-yang school (of thought) are as follows: the universe is divided into . . . two principles which oppose one another in their actions, yin and yang. All the opposites one perceives in the universe can be reduced to one of the opposite forces. The yin and yang accomplish changes in the universe through the five material agents, or wu hsing [wood, fire, earth, metal, and water], which both produce one [an]other and overcome one another. All change in the universe can be explained by the workings of yin and yang as they either produce one another or overcome one another" (Hooker 1996).

The circle symbolizes the wholeness and infinity of chi. There is no beginning nor ending, and pervades through everything. This outer circle is the cosmos that contains the yang and the yin. The dividing line between the two sectors is a curved one. This denotes movement and a constant flowing of yin into yang and yang into yin. It signifies the eternal motion of the combined elements. Within the largest portion (when it has peaked and grown as big as it possibly can) of each color there is a dot of the opposing color. This can be considered as a small seed. Therefore we see that there is a small black dot in the white section and a small white dot in the black section. Everything contains the seed of its opposite within it. This is symbolic that all things contain both yin and yang. The two colors are in equal proportion, equally balanced. When there is more of one aspect, then there is less of the other.

The forces of yin-yang arise from a belief in dualism, a state in which the universe is seemingly equally divided into two opposing but equal forces (Toropov, 175). The dualistic world of yin-yang, however, is not seen as good versus bad. It is divided along other lines. Yang, represented by the white in the yin-yang symbol, is traditionally associated with masculinity, activity, the sun, advancing, warm temperatures, brightness, advancement, and creation (Toropov, 175). Yin, represented by black, is traditionally associated with femininity, passivity, the moon, yielding, cold temperatures, darkness, submission, completion and the earth (Toropov, 175). Placing yin and yang together forms a circle - the yin-yang symbol of infinity and integrity that encompasses everything and pervades everything. The yin and yang forces are believed to be cyclical, moving and evolving into each other, represented by the white dot on the black yin side of the symbol, and by the black dot on the white yang side (Where). In this view, the universe depends on