THE DUALITY YIN-YANG IN THE CHINESE PHILOSOPHY                  Doctor Quang-Luong DAU acupuncturist at Paris

Yin - Yang in the Taoism

The Taoism distinguished the dark period before the creation of the universe (the TAO = the Way), from the presence of the universe thanks to two simple words: "One" and "Two" .

"The Tao produces the One, the One produces the Two, the Two produces the Three, the Three produces all beings" (Tao Te Jing of Lao Tsu)

"One" means unique energy. One means inertia. One means a non productive state.

"Two" means two energizing aspects of all thing, of every being. "Two" means movement, mutation, life, creation, production, therefore. After this moment that the West calls "Big Bang", appear two opposite energies that control themselves reciprocally to maintain the harmony, the balance, and always in movement to give shape to matter, to give life to the beings. In other words, it is about two aspects of the same vital energy; the Chinese call them Yin and Yang. The first being is indeed that the Tao Te Jing called the "Three". The "Three" is indeed the existence, the being created by the combination of these two sides of the energy, Yin and Yang.


The ideogram of Yin and Yang

The word YIN in the archaic Chinese writing is formed by two roots:
a) the left root represents a wall,
b) while in the right root, the superior part represents a roof, and the inferior represents the clouds.

    (the archaic Chinese writing of the word YIN).
     (the classic Chinese writing of the word YIN).

Yin, according to the representation of the ideogram, means the hidden and shady part, the obscurity, the inertia, the sadness, the night, therefore. It is in this sense that the word Yin in the simplified Chinese writing of today is written with the right root represented by the word "the moon" (night, sink).

    (the simplified Chinese writing of the word YIN).


The word YANG in the archaic Chinese writing is formed by two roots:
a) the left root, precisely as in the word Yin, represents a wall,
b) while the right one represents a sun over the horizon (the horizontal feature) that sends its rays downwards.

   (the archaic Chinese writing of the word YANG).

(the classic Chinese writing of the word YANG).

Yang, according to the representation of the ideogram, means the open and sunny part, the clarity, the movement, the joy, the day, therefore. In the simplified Chinese writing, the whole right root is replaced with the word "the sun" (clarity, day).

(the simplified Chinese writing of word YANG).



Yin and Yang in the microcosm and in the macrocosm

Yin and Yang appear in all thing, in the microcosm as in the macrocosm.

Every atom exists like matter because it is composed of two opposite energies that turn one mutually around the other, and according to the speed of these rotational movements they determine the nature of matter: the electron of negative load (Yin) and the proton of positive load (Yang).

A living cell presents two opposite electro-chemical loads inside and outside of its membrane. Inside the cellular membrane the charges is negative by the big concentration of the Potassium ions K^- (Yin); while outside of the cellular membrane, the load is positive by the massive presence of the Calcium ions Ca+ (Yang). This evidence of electro-chemical loads confirms the concept "the inside is Yin, the outside is Yang" of the Chinese thought. This balance between the inside and the outside of the Potassium ions K^-  and the Calcium ions Ca+ allows the flux of the organic liquids to maintain in life the cell.

In the macrocosm, we take the example of the solar system. The Sun is fire, of positive load (Yang) and the Earth that turns around it, is of negative load (Yin).

The Earth itself has an electromagnetic field formed by the two poles of opposite electromagnetic loads, the North of negative load (Yin) and the South of positive load (Yang).

And so we are able to distinguish every thing under its sight Yin - Yang:

The sun is yang, the earth is yin;
The day is yang, the night is yin;
The heat is yang, the cold weather is yin;
The sunshine is yang, the rain is yin;
The fire is yang, the water is yin;
The mountain is yang, the river is yin;
The sunny slope of the mountain is yang, the shady slope is yin...