With the freedom that we have in christ, decisions like whether or not to use alternative medicine are to be based on our own biblically informed convictions and preferences 1 corinthians. Yin yang can be subdivided into additional yin and yang aspects. A more cyclical example of this principle occurs within every 24 hour period. According to zhang xichun 18601933, one of the leading reformers of chinese medicine in the early twentieth century. Yin yang is first referenced in the i ching book of changes, which was written around 700bc. Stemming from taoist philosophy, this principle is embedded in chinese culture, from traditional medicine to martial arts to food. Good health is believed to come from a balance of yin negative, dark, and feminine and yang positive, bright, and masculine. The field of working knowledge of tcm stretches from anything related to general healthcare practice to the philosophy of the mind, the logic of life, religion, and even to as far as cosmology and astronumerology.
A comparison of traditional food and health strategies. Taoism is the philosophy of the unity of the universe and the return of all. In terms of food therapy, yin and yang was known as the heating and cooling system, which has been a very old and little modified philosophy. Man and woman were the equivalent of heaven and earth, but became disconnected.
It is present in even numbers, in valleys and streams, and is represented by the tiger, the colour orange, and a broken line. Yin yang defined what does the yin and yang symbolsymbolize. Dangerously heating foods, as agreed upon by general consensus, consists of foods that are high in nutrition and can only be consumed by the very healthy such as fried, long baked foods, and hot spices. About our expert dani march is a torontobased registered yoga teacher and master lifestyle coach. It is nebulous, hot, active, dry, rising and aggressive. The symbol consists of a circle, divided by a curved line into a black yin and white yang side. This activity continues constantly and repeats itself over time. Additional principles that define yin and yang qualities exist. How the ancient taoists incorporated the principles of philosophy, chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, etc. A sex model in chinese philosophy and medicine, samuel yunxiang liang presents an analysis of why gender, in traditional chinese thought, can only be presented as a dynamic interchangeability of yin yang. This chapter argues that the epistemological system of yinyang balancing is the root of eastern culture traditions.
Most eastern traditional philosophies, such as taoism, from china, share a set of core themes that constitute a philosophy of wisdom scienceart integration, in contrast to western philosophies with a focus on knowledge scienceart separation. School of yin yang was a warring statesera philosophy that synthesized the concepts of yin yang and the five elements overview. Yin is a symbol of earth, femaleness, darkness, passivity, and absorption. Traditional chinese veterinary medicine fundamental principles 2nd edition authors huisheng xie, dvm, ms, phd vanessa preast, dvm, phd coauthors stacie atria, dvm lauren frank, dvm aituan ma, ms, phd carla pasteur, dvm. Yin and yang coexist in everything, and everything embraces yin and yang. A thing can be understood only in relation to something else. A deficiency or excess of yin or yang throws the body off kilter, leading to bodily and spiritual ailments. The yin yang philosophy suggests that there exists neither absolute black nor absolute. Pdf understanding chinese culture and communication. In the chinese yin yang model, yin the black contains a seed of yang in the form of a white dot. But, despite their strong philosophical interests, the major contributions of their writings lie in the areas of medicine, pharmacology and alchemy. Is theory of yin yang of traditional chinese medicine either monism or dualism. Application of ancient chinese thought of yin and yang to computer.
Between yin yang there exists a transformative potential. The school of naturalists or the school of yin yang simplified chinese. The purpose of this article is to propose a yin yang perspective, as an alternative. According to chinese philosophy, the universe and the body can be described by two separate but complementary principles, that of yin and yang dupler, 2001. The yin yang concept is a pivotal theory in traditional chinese thought influencing. Examples illustrating the philosophy of yin yang include. In chinese philosophy, yinyang, which translates into darkbright, 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. The principles of yin and yang, though polar opposites, do not exist without each other. Originally drawn to her own mat by the strong and graceful movements of vinyasa yoga, she later fell. Yin means a shady side, a feminine character, representing darkness, softness, weakness, the general public and similar things yang means a sunny side, a masculine character, representing brightness, hardness, strength, the government and similar things what is yinyang philosophy. In traditional korean medicine, the human body is viewed as a miniature universe. There is yin, but interestingly, yin is also yang because it contains some yang. Yin yang is an ancient chinese philosophy and a holistic, dynamic, and dialectical world view li, 1998.
The first thinkers to elaborate on yin yang relationships were probably the philosophers of the yin yang school. Yin and yang give rise to, complement, and reinforce each other. Whereas the sixtyfour hexagrams are not but made of yin and yang, the same seems to occur in platos eso. Traditional raja yoga is a kind of cognitive behavior therapy. This indicates that yang is the sunny side and yin is the shady side of the hill. Yin and yang theory is an amazing concept that is much more complicated than it would seem. Like yin and yang, the five elements were used in chinese thought to indicate both cosmic activities and conceptual categories. Traditional chinese medicine is a brilliant component of chinese culture. Food therapy and medical diet therapy of traditional.
For example, yin is all things dark, negative, and feminine. She is the visionary behind livon purpose, a modern yoga teacher training that combines the yin and yang aspects of yoga with the underlying current of transformational work. Philosophical basis of traditional chinese medicine. Cusersdelldesktopsiteaccupuncturethe%20philosophy%20of%20yin%20and%20yang. It is one of the fundamental ideas in traditional chinese medicine tcm. Zhang xichun on chinese philosophy and chinese medicine. In either case, as with yin and yang, the patlern of movement was one of ceaseless alteration and cyclical change. A brief outline of chinese medical history with particular reference to acupuncture. The concepts listed here are merely a starting point to illustrate the nature of yin and yang. In this work, all phenomena are said to be reduced to yinyang. The principles, treatment methods and medication for the physiology and pathology of the body are explained by the yin yang and five elements theory, which is based on the concept of yin and yang as.
Yin and yang are words in chinese philosophy that describe everything in the universe. The curve symbolizes the constant change of balance between yin and yang. Each side contains a small circle of the opposite color. To truly understand qi it is important to grasp the concept of yin yang. Yinyang in traditional chinese medicine acupuncture and. A philosophical assessment 215 the taoteching deals with the blending of yin yang, but it does not specify how the blending takes place. In thinking about this paper, i am struck by the similarity of chinese thought with what. The commentaries of the ching describe two forms of blending. Pdf china is one of the worlds oldest civilizations with a splendid culture. Yin and yang are terms used to describe relative opposite qualities or manifestations of qi.
Medical diet therapy, however, is to achieve the balance of yin and yang through the combination of nutrition and medicine. Are you asking what yin yang means in tcm and how to diagnose and treat diseases with this principle. One of the key principles of chinese thought is the duality of yin and yang. While a christian should wholeheartedly reject the taoist yin yang philosophy, there is nothing inherently unbiblical about the acupuncture procedure itself. Just as with many other chinese philosophical notions, the influences of yinyang are easy to observe, but its conceptual meanings are hard to define. As day turns to night and back to day, yang and yin alternate in an endless daily cycle figure 17. In order to explain the meaning of this correlative relation the german scholar uses some metaphors.
Yinyang, wadegiles romanization yinyang, japanese inyo, in eastern thought, the two complementary forces that make up all aspects and phenomena of life. These physicians were informed by the yinyang theory and cosmology of the yi jing and the philosophical concepts of the zhuangzi and daode jing. The earliest reference to yin and yang is in the i ching book of changes in approximately in 700 bc. The yin yang philosophy suggests that there exists neith er. Yin is that portion of qi that is cold, passive, solid, heavy, descending, moist and dark. There are four primary principles explain the dynamic interplay between the yin and yang in traditional chinese medicine. Although wikipedia defines yin and yang as a dualistic concept derived from ancient chinese philosophical thought,11 it also points out the yin yang symbol in actuality has very little to do with western dualism. Either food therapy or medical diet therapy aims to keep health, prevent disease, remove illness and slow aging. Yin yang is an ancient chinese philosophy and a holistic, dynamic, and dialectical world view li, 2008. The concept of yin and yang has been embedded in chinese culture since its early history. According to traditional chinese medicine, ones spiritual, physical and emotional wellbeing are all regulated by the balance of yin and yang in the body. The earliest chinese characters for yin and yang are found in inscriptions made on oracle bones skeletal remains of various animals used in ancient chinese.
Yang usually referred to the male sex, whereas yin could refer to the female sex. Viewing the scenery at a hill, looking for yin yang. The earliest known instance of yin yang is in the shijing book of songs, a collection of chinese poetry compiled between the 11th and 7th centuries bc. The importance of yinyang philosophy in chinese food. Yinyang yinyang yinyang yinyang is one of the dominant concepts shared by different schools throughout the history of chinese philosophy. Yin yang is a unique chinese duality thinking bearing some resemblance to the dialectical thinking in the west. Food therapy of traditional chinese medicine aims to maintain balanced nutrition through diet. The chinese are both collectivist and individualist, both traditional and modern, both long. Based on the indigenous chinese philosophy of yin yang, i conceptualize culture as possessing inherently paradoxical.
Many recent medical journal reports take the view that traditional chinese philosophy holds back the progress of medicine, but their authors do not understand the use of philosophy, nor do they understand that philosophy is actually the basis of medicine. The basic philosophy of yin yang according to yin yang philosophy the universe, and everything in it, is both constant and cyclical. One force dominates and then it is replaced by the opposing force. The truth is yin can transform into yang under certain conditions. Yinyang thoery basics of traditional chinese medicine. Epistemology of yinyang balancing as the root of chinese. Yin yang symbol in chinese culture while there are many culturally important symbols in china, none is more significant than the yin yang symbol. This effect of the sun exists at the same time over the hill. The origin of yinyang ideas must be sought in very ancient times. The theory of chinese medicine the theory of yinyang and the. Because my english is not so good and i always worry about that. Yin and yang is one of the most fundamental concepts in traditional chinese medicine, as it is the foundation of diagnosis and treatment. The concept of yin and yang is important in taoism and consequently also holds special importance in sex. The yin and yang theory is a simple dialectical materialist philosophy originated in ancient china.
The purpose of this article is to propose a yin yang perspective, as an alternative to the hofstede paradigm, to understand culture. The application of yin yang theory to the field of traditional chinese medicine. This is the essential idea behind the use of the terms yin and yang. Yin and yang exist within each other and interplay with each other to form a dynamic and paradoxical unity fang, 2012a. Is theory of yinyang of traditional chinese medicine. In chinese philosophy, yin yang balance and harmony is a fundamental concept applied to. The ventral thorax is yang within yin, and the ventral abdomen is yin within yin. This early text views chinese culture within the borders of yin and yang. Yinyang yinyang internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Yin and yang are the underlying principles of chinese philosophy and medicine. According to it, all phenomena is composed of two opposite, but mutually interconnected forces, known as yin and yang. Yin yang can be summarized in terms of three principles. The interrelating and complementary principles of yin and yang are key concepts in traditional chinese philosophy that are used to describe the dynamic nature of the universe.