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The concepts of Yin and Yang originate in ancient Chinese philosophy and metaphysics, which describes two primal opposing but complementary forces found in all things in the universe. Yin (Template:Zh-c; pinyin: yīn

literally "shady place, north slope (hill), south bank (river); cloudy, overcast") is the darker element; it is sad, passive, dark, feminine, downward-seeking, and corresponds to the night. Yang (陽/阳; yáng; "sunny place, south slope (hill), north bank (river); sunshine") is the brighter element; it is happy, active, light, masculine, upward-seeking and corresponds to the day. Yin is often symbolized by water, while Yang is symbolized by fire, or wind.

Yin (receptive, feminine, dark, passive force) and Yang (creative, masculine, bright, active force) are descriptions of complementary opposites rather than absolutes. Any Yin/Yang dichotomy can be seen as its opposite when viewed from another perspective. The categorization is seen as one of convenience. Most forces in nature can be seen as having Yin and Yang states, and the two are usually in movement rather than held in absolute stasis.

[edit] Summary of Yin and Yang concepts

Everything can be described as both Yin and Yang.

1. Yin and Yang do not exclude each other.

Everything has its opposite—although this is never absolute, only relative. No one thing is completely Yin or completely Yang. Each contains the seed of its opposite. For example, winter can turn into summer; "what goes up must come down".

2. Yin and Yang are interdependent.

One cannot exist without the other. For example, day cannot exist without night. Light cannot exist without darkness.

3. Yin and Yang can be further subdivided into Yin and Yang.

Any Yin or Yang aspect can be further subdivided into Yin and Yang. For example, temperature can be seen as either hot or cold. However, hot can be further divided into warm or burning; cold into cool or icy. Within each spectrum, there is a smaller spectrum; every beginning is a moment in time, and has a beginning and end, just as every hour has a beginning and end.

4. Yin and Yang consume and support each other.

Yin and Yang are usually held in balance—as one increases, the other decreases. However, imbalances can occur. There are four possible imbalances: Excess Yin, excess Yang, Yin deficiency, and Yang deficiency. They can again be seen as a pair: by excess of Yin there is a Yang deficiency and vice versa. The imbalance is also a relative factor: the excess of Yang "forces" Yin to be more "concentrated".

5. Yin and Yang can transform into one another.

At a particular stage, Yin can transform into Yang and vice versa. For example, night changes into day; warmth cools; life changes to death. However this transformation is relative too. Night and day coexist on Earth at the same time when shown from space.

6. Part of Yin is in Yang and part of Yang is in Yin.

The dots in each serve:

1. as a reminder that there are always traces of one in the other. For example, there is always light within the dark (e.g., the stars at night); these qualities are never completely one or the other.
2. as a reminder that absolute extreme side transforms instantly into the opposite, or that the labels Yin and Yang are conditioned by an observer's point of view. For example, the hardest stone is easiest to break. This can show that absolute discrimination between the two is artificial.

[edit] See also

• Bagua
• Chinese mythology
• I Ching
• Taijiquan
• Tomoe
• Sacred Chao (recently derived comedic symbol)
• Wuxing

[edit] External links

• Becoming-Being Complementarity: An Account of the Yin-Yang Metaphysical Vision of the Yijing by Bo Mou
• images about Dualiti and twins symbols
• Where does the Yin Yang Symbol come from?
• Yin and Yang Yin and Yang information page translated from historic text.
• Yin Yang in Ancient Albania? Photos of a recently excavated Roman-era basilica in the Illyrian city of Bylis (Albania) showing Yin Yang and Swastikas symbols
• Yin and Yang Horoscope. A medieval synthesis of the yin and yang concept, time-keeping and character prediction (aka The Astrology of I Ching).
• Circular representation of Yin-Yangbg:Ин-ян

da:Yin og yang de:Yin und Yang et:Yin ja yang es:Yin y yang fr:Yīn et Yáng ko:음양he:יין-יאנג lt:In ir Jang nl:Yin yangno:Yin og yangpt:Yin yang ru:Инь и ян sk:Jin a jang sr:Јин и јанг fi:Jin ja jang sv:Yin och yang vi:Âm dươnguk:Інь і ян zh:阴阳

This page uses content from the English-language version of Wikipedia. The original article was at Yin and yang. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Psychology Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.