Yinyang (Yin-yang)

Yinyang (yin-yang) is one of the dominant concepts shared by

different schools throughout the history of Chinese
philosophy. Just as with many other Chinese philosophical
notions, the influences of yinyang are easy to observe, but its
conceptual meanings are hard to define. Despite the
differences in the interpretation, application, and
appropriation of yinyang, three basic themes underlie nearly
all deployments of the concept in Chinese philosophy:
(1) yinyang as the coherent fabric of nature and mind,
exhibited in all existence, (2) yinyang as jiao(interaction)
between the waxing and waning of the cosmic and human
realms, and (3) yinyang as a process of harmonization
ensuring a constant, dynamic balance of all things. As
the Zhuangzi (Chuang-tzu) claims, “Yin in its highest form is
freezing while yang in its highest form is boiling. The
chilliness comes from heaven while the warmness comes from the earth. The interaction of
these two establishes he(harmony), so it gives birth to things. Perhaps this is the law of
everything yet there is no form being seen” (Zhuangzi, Chapter 21). In none of these
conceptions of yinyang is there a valuational hierarchy, as if yin could be abstracted
from yang (or vice versa), regarded as superior or considered metaphysically separated and
distinct. Instead, yinyang is emblematic of valuational equality rooted in the unified, dynamic,
and harmonized structure of the cosmos. As such, it has served as a heuristic mechanism for
formulating a coherent view of the world throughout Chinese intellectual and religious
history.
1.Origins of the Terms Yin and Yang
2.The Yinyang School
3.Yinyang as Qi (Vital Energy)
4.Yinyang as Xingzi (Concrete Substance)
5.The Yinyang Symbol
6.References and Further Reading

1. Origins of the Terms Yin and Yang

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 divination practices at
least as early as the 14th century B.C.E.). In these inscriptions, yin and yang simply are
descriptions of natural phenomena such as weather conditions, especially the movement of
the sun. There is sunlight during the day (yang) and a lack of sunlight at night (yin). According
to the earliest comprehensive dictionary of Chinese characters (ca. 100 CE), Xu
Shen’s Shuowen jiezi (Explaining Single-component Graphs and Analyzing Compound
Characters), yin refers to “a closed door, darkness and the south bank of a river and the north
side of a mountain.” Yang refers to “height, brightness and the south side of a mountain.”
These meanings of yin and yang originated in the daily life experience of the early Chinese.
Peasants depended on sunlight for lighting and their daily life routines. When the sun came
out, they would go to the field to work; when the sun went down, they would return home to
rest. This sun-based daily pattern evidently led to a conceptual claim: yangis movement (dong)
and yin is rest (jing). In their earliest usages, yin and yang existed independently and were not
connected. The first written record of using these two characters together appears in a verse
from the Shijing (Book of Songs): “Viewing the scenery at a hill, looking for yinyang.” This
indicates that yang is the sunny side and yin is the shady side of hill. This effect of the sun
exists at the same time over the hill.

2. The Yinyang School

According to Sima Tan (Ssu-ma Tan, c. 110 B.C.E.), there existed a school of teaching during
the “Spring and Autumn” (770-481 B.C.E.) and “Warring States” (403-221 B.C.E.) periods
that bore the name of yinyang. He lists this yinyang school alongside five others (Confucian,
Mohist, Legalist, Fatalist, and Daoist) and defines its theory as “the investigation of
the shu [art] of yin and yang.” According to him, this school focused on omens of luck and
explored the patterns of the four seasons. In other words, the yinyang school was concerned
with methods of divination or astronomy (disciplines that were not distinct from one another
in early China, as elsewhere in the ancient world) and the calendrical arts (which entailed
study of the four seasons, eight locations, twelve du [measures] and twenty-four shijie [time
periods]). Just as the Confucians (rujia) arose from the ranks of rushi (“scholar-gentlemen”)
who excelled at ritual and music, those of the yingyang school came from the fangshi (“recipe-
gentlemen”) who specialized in various numerological disciplines known as shushu (“number-
arts”). These shushu included tianwen(astronomy), lipu (calendar-keeping), wuxing (“five
phases” correlative theory), zhuguai (tortoise-shell divination), zazha (fortune-telling)
and xingfa (face-reading). The Han dynasty chronicle Shiji (Records of the Historian) lists Zou
Yan (305-240 B.C.E.) as a representative of the yinyangschool who possessed a profound
knowledge of the theory of yinyang and wrote about a hundred thousand words on it.
However, none of his works have survived.
By the Han dynasty (202 B.C.E.-220 C.E.), yinyang was associated with wuxing (“five
phases”) correlative cosmology. According to the “Great Plan” chapter of
the Shujing (Classic of Documents), wuxing refers to material substances that have certain
functional attributes: water is said to soak and descend; fire is said to blaze and ascend; wood
is said to curve or be straight; metal is said to obey and change; earth is said to take seeds and
give crops. Wuxing is used as a set of numerological classifiers and explains the configuration
of change on various scales. The so-called yinyang wuxing teaching – an “early Chinese attempt
in the direction of working out metaphysics and a cosmology” (Chan 1963: 245) – was a fusion
of these two conceptual schemes applied to astronomy and the mantic arts.
3. Yinyang as Qi (Vital Energy)
The most enduring interpretation of yinyang in Chinese thought is related to the concept
of qi(ch’i, vital energy). According to this interpretation, yin and yang are seen as qi (in
both yin and yang forms) operating in the universe. In the “Duke Shao” chapter of
the Zuozhuan (The Book of History), yin and yang are first defined as two of six heavenly qi:
There are six heavenly influences [qi] which descend and produce the
five tastes, go forth in the five colours, and are verified in the five
notes; but when they are in excess, they produce the six diseases.
Those six influences are denominated the yin, the yang, wind, rain,
obscurity, and brightness. In their separation, they form the four
seasons; in their order, they form the five (elementary) terms. When
any of them is in excess, they ensure calamity. An excess of
the yinleads to diseases of cold; of the yang, to diseases of heat.
(Legge 1994: 580).
Here, yin and yang are the qi of the universe. These qi flow within the natural as well as the
human worlds. They are the basic fabric of existence:
Heaven and earth have their regular ways, and men like these for
their pattern, imitating the brilliant bodies of Heaven, and according
with the natural diversities of the Earth. (Heaven and Earth) produce
the six atmospheric conditions [qi], and make use of the five material
elements. Those conditions (and elements) become the five tastes,
are manifested in the five colours, and displayed in the five notes.
When they are in excess, there ensue obscurity and confusion, and
people lose their (proper) nature… There were mildness and
gentleness kindness and harmony, in imitation of the producing and
nourishing action of Heaven. There are love and hatred, pleasure and
anger, grief and joy, produced by the six atmosphere conditions [qi].
Therefore (the sage kings) carefully imitated these relations and
analogies (in forming ceremonies), to regulate those six impulses…
When there is no failure in the joy and grief, we have a state in
harmony with the nature of Heaven and Earth, which consequently
can endure long. ( Legge 1994: 708).
Thus qi, a force arising from the interplay between yin and yang, becomes a context in
which yinyang is seated and functions. Yinyang as qi provides an explanation of the beginning
of the universe and serves as a building block of the Chinese intellectual tradition. In many
earlier texts, one may observe how yinyang generates a philosophical perspective on heaven,
earth and human beings. Chapter 42 of the Laozi says that "everything is embedded in yin and
embraces yang; through chong qi [vital energy] it reaches he [harmony].” It is through yinyang’s
function as qi and the interaction between them that everything comes into existence.
Zhuangzi also speaks about the “qi of yin and yang”: “When the qi of yin and yang are not in
harmony, and cold and heat come in untimely ways, all things will be harmed.” (Zhuangzi ch.
31) On the other hand, “when the two have successful intercourse and achieve harmony, all
things will be produced.” (Zhuangzi ch. 21)
The interpretation of yinyang as qi conceives yinyang as a dynamic and natural form of flowing
energy, a complementary in the primordial potency of the universe. The Huainanzi offers more
detailed explanation of the cosmological process of yin and yang:
When heaven and earth were formed, they divided
into yin and yang. Yang is generated [sheng] from yin and yin is generated
from yang. Yin and yang mutually alternate which makes four fields [wei,
“celestial circles”] penetrate. Sometimes there is life, sometimes
there is death, that brings the myriad things to completion. (ch. 2)
This process also explains the beginning of human life. When qi moved, the clear and light
rose to be heaven and the muddy and heavy fell to become earth. When these two qi interacted
and attained the stage of harmony (he), human life began. This shows that everything is made
from the same materials and difference relies on the interaction.
Qi also takes on various forms and is convertible from one form to another with order and
pattern. The concept of yinyang supplies a unitary vision of heaven, earth and human beings
and makes the world intelligible in terms of a resonance between human beings and the
universe. The Guoyu(Discourses of the States) describes how earthquakes took place at the
confluence of the Jing, Wei, and Lou rivers during the second year of Duke You of the western
Zhou dynasty. A certain Boyang Fu claims that the Zhou empire is doomed to collapse,
explaining that
The qi of heaven and earth can’t lose its order. If its order vanishes
people will be disoriented. Yang was stuck and could not get
out, yin was suppressed and could not evaporate, so an earthquake
was inevitable. Now the earthquakes around the three rivers are due
to yang losing its place and yin being pressed down. Yang is forsaken
under yin so the source of rivers has been blocked. If the foundation of
rivers is blocked the country will definitely collapse. This is because of
the fact that the flowing water and flourishing land are necessities for
the people’s lives. If the water and land cannot sustain the people’s
living conditions, the country will inevitably fall. (Discourse of the
States 1994: 22).
Not only does this ¬yinyang-flavored explanation claim to illuminate natural phenomena, it
also implies that there is an intrinsic relationship between natural events and political
systems. Human beings, especially political leaders, must align their virtuous actions with the
morally-oriented universe. If they follow and harmonize with (shun) the order and patterns of
the universe, they will be rewarded with prosperity and flourishing, but if they go against and
conflict with (ni) it, they will be punished with disasters and destruction. Whether one engages
in shun or ni depends upon whether yin and yang are in a state of balance.
Thus, yinyang provides a heuristic outlook for human understanding as well as ethical
guidance for achieving harmony in action. As chapter 8 of the Huainanzi claims:
Yinyang embodies the harmony of heaven and earth, manifests the
forms of myriad things, contains qi to transform the things and
completes various kinds of things; yinyang extends and penetrates to
the deepest level; begins in emptiness then becomes full and moves
in boundless lands.

4. Yinyang as Xingzi (Concrete Substance)

Yinyang also has been understood as some concrete substance (xingzhi), according to
which yixing and yangxing define everything in the universe. In the Yijing (I-Ching, The Book of
Changes), yinyang is presented as xingzhi. Yang was identified with the sun and yin with the
moon:
Heaven and earth correlate with vast and profound; four seasons
correlate with change and continuity [biantong]; the significance
of yin and yang correlate with sun and moon; the highest excellence
[zhide] correlates the goodness of easy and simple.(Sishu wujing 1990:
197)
The Guanzi, an important work of the Huang-Lao school, discusses this view along the same
lines: “The sun is in charge of yang, the moon is in charge of yin, the stars are in charge of
harmony [he].” (Guanzi 2000: 151). This xingzhi interpretation materializes the concept
of yinyang in some concrete contexts and shows that the universe is orderly, moral and
gendered. The pattern of the world is written in a gendered language. Yinyang is something
one can see, feel, and grasp through the senses. For example, in the Liji (Book of Ritual), music
represents the he (harmony) of heaven and earth, while li (ritual) represents the order of
heaven and earth: “Music is coming from yang, ritual is coming from yin. The harmony
of yinyang receives the myriad things.” (Sishu wujing1990: 525) In the human world, male
as yang should be cultivated, otherwise the day will suffer; female as yin should be cultivated
too, otherwise the moon will be affected.
According to Dong Zhongshu, (195-115 B.C.E.), both Tian (heaven) and human beings
have yinyang. Therefore, there is an intrinsic connection between tian and human beings
through the movement of yin and yang. Yinyang is an essential vehicle for interactions between
heaven and human beings: “The qi of yinyang moves heaven above as well as in human beings.
When it is among human beings it is displayed itself as like, dislike, happy and mad, when it is
in heaven it is seen as warm, chilly, cold and hot.” (Dong Zhongshu 1996: 436) In Dong’s
cosmological vision, the whole universe is a giant yinyang. One of many examples of this vision
is Dong’s proposal to control floods and prevent droughts by proper human interaction. In
chapter 74 (“Seeking the Rain”) of his Luxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn, Dong asserts
that a spring drought indicates too much yang and not enough yin. So one should
“open yin and close yang” (1996: 432) He suggests that the government should have the south
gate closed, which is in the direction of yang. Men, embodying yang, should remain in
seclusion. Women, embodying yin, should appear in public. He even requests all married
couples to copulate (ouchu) to secure more yinyangintercourse. It is also important during this
time to make women happy. (1996: 436) In chapter 75 (“Stopping the Rain”), Dong alleges
that the flood proves there is too much yin so one should “open yang and close yin” (1996:
438). The north gate, the direction of yin, should be wide open. Women should go into
concealment and men should be visible. Officers in the city should send their wives to the
countryside in order to make sure that yin will not conquer yang. Derk Bodde defines this
practice as a “sexual sympathetic magic.” (Bodde 1981: 373)
Finally, yinyang also plays a pivotal role in traditional Chinese thought about health and the
human body. The early medical text known as the Huangdi neijing (The Yellow Emperor’s Classic
of Internal Medicine) provides a detailed account of physiological functions and pathological
changes in the body and guidance for diagnosis and treatment in terms of yinyang.
Five zang(organs) -- the kidneys, liver, heart, spleen and lungs -- are classified as yin. They
control the storage of vital substance and qi. Six fu (organs) -- the gallbladder, stomach, small
and large intestines, urinary bladder and triple burner (referring to three parts of the body
cavity: the upper burner, which houses the heart and lungs; the middle burner, which houses
the spleen and stomach; and the lower burner, which houses the kidney, urinary bladder and
small and large intestines) -- are yang and control the transport and digestion of food. The
storage is a yinfunction, and the transport and transformation of substance is a yang function.
But the zang and fu organs can be further subdivided into yin and yang. The activity or function
of each organ is its yang aspect, while its substance is its yin aspect. Yin should flow smoothly
and yang should vivify steadily. They regulate themselves so as to maintain
equilibrium. Yin and yang do not exist in isolation but are in a dynamic state in which they
interact and fashion the complicated and intricate system of the human body.

5. The Yinyang Symbol

There is no a clear and definite way to determine the exact date of origin or the person who
created the popular yinyang symbol. No one has ever claimed specific ownership of this
popular image. However, there is a rich textual and visual history leading to its creation.
Inspired by a primeval vision of cosmic harmony, Chinese thinkers have sought to codify this
order in various intellectual constructions. Whether to formulate this underlying pattern
through words and concepts or numbers and visual images has been debated since the Han
dynasty. The question first surfaced in the interpretation of the Yijing. The Yijing is constructed
around sixty-four hexagrams (gua), each of which is made of six parallel broken or unbroken
line segments (yao). Each of the sixty-four hexagrams has a unique designation; its image
(xiang) refers to a particular natural object and conveys the meaning of human events and
activities. The Yijing thus has generated a special way to decipher the universe. It mainly
incorporates three elements: xiang (images), shu (numbers), and li (meanings). They act as the
mediators between heavenly cosmic phenomena and earthly human everyday life. From the
Han dynasty through the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1912 CE), there was a consistent
 tension between two schools of thought: the school of xiangshu (images and numbers) and the
school of yili (meanings and reasoning). At issue between them is how best to interpret the
classics, particularly the Yijing. The question often was posed as: “Am I interpreting the six
classics or are the six classics interpreting me?”
For the school of Xiangshu the way to interpret the classics is to produce a figurative and
numerological representation of the universe through xiang (images) and shu (numbers). It
held that xiangshu are indispensable structures expressing the Way of heaven, earth and
human being. Thus the school of Xiangshu takes the position that “I interpret the classics” by
means of the images and numbers. The emphasis is on the appreciation of classics. The school
of Yili, on the other hand, focuses on an exploration of the meanings of the classics on the
basis of one’s own reconstruction. In other word, the school of Yili treats all classics as
supporting evidence for their own ideas and theories. The emphasis is more on idiosyncratic
new theories rather than the explanation of the classics. In what follows, our inquiry focuses
on the legacy of the Xiangshuschool.
The most common effort of the Xiangshu school was to draw tu (diagrams). Generations of
intellectuals labored on the formulation and creation of numerous tu. Tu often delineate
structure, place, and numbers through black and white lines. They are not aesthetic objects
but rather serve as a means of articulating the fundamental patterns that govern phenomena
in the universe. Tu are universes in microcosm and demonstrate obedience to definite norms
or rules. During the Song dynasty (960-1279 CE), the Daoist monk Chen Tuan (906-989 CE)
made an important contribution to this tradition by drawing a few tu in order to elucidate
the Yijing. Though none of his tu were directly passed down, he is considered the forerunner of
the school of tushu (diagrams and writings). It is said that he left behind three tu; since his
death, attempting to discover these tuhas become a popular scholarly pursuit. After Chen
Tuan, three trends in making tu emerged, exemplified by the work of three Neo-
Confucian thinkers: the Hetu (Diagram of River) and Luoshu (Chart of Luo) ascribed to Liu Mu
(1011-1064 CE), the Xiantian tu (Diagram of Preceding Heaven) credited to Shao Yong (1011-1077
CE), and the Taijitu (Diagram of the Great Ultimate) attributed to Zhou Dunyi (1017-1073 CE).
These three trends eventually led to the creation of the first yinyang symbol by Zhao Huiqian
(1351-1395 CE), entitled Tiandi Zhiran Hetu (Heaven and Earth’s Natural Diagram of the River) and
pictured above at the head of this entry.

6. References and Further Reading

• Bennett, Steven J. “Patterns of the Sky and the Earth: A Chinese Science of Applied
Cosmology.” Chinese Science (March 1978) 3: 1-26.
• Chan, Wing-tsit, ed. A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
1963.
• Bodde, Derk. Essays on Chinese Civilization. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981.
• Dong, Zhongshu. Luxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn. Ed. Su Xing. Beijing: Chinese Press, 1996.
• Fung, Yu-lan. A Short History of Chinese Philosophy. Trans. Derk Bodde. New York: The Free Press,
1997.
• Graham, A.C. Yin-Yang and the Nature of Correlative Thinking. Singapore: The Institute of East Asian
Philosophies, 1986.
• Guanzi. Ed. Guan Bo. Beijing: Hua Xia Press, 2000.
• Guoyu (Discourse of the States). Eds. Wu Guoyi, Hu Guowen and Li Xiaolu. Shanghai: Guji Press,
1994.
• Henderson, John B. The Development and Decline of Chinese Cosmology. New York: Columbia University
Press, 1984.
• Huainanzi. Ed. Liu An. Xi’an: Sanqing Press, 1998.
• Inoue, Satoshi. Xianqin Yinyang Wuxing (Pre-Qin Yinyang and Five Phases). Hubei: Education Press,
1997.
• Kohn, Livia. “Ying and Yang: The Natural Dimension of Evil.” In Philosophies of Nature: The Human
Dimension, eds. Robert S. Cohen and Alfred I. Tauber (New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers,
1997), 91-106.
• Legge, James. The Chinese Classics: The Ch’un Ts’ew, with Tso Chuen. Taipei: SMC Publishing Inc., 1994.
• Li, Shen and Guo Yu, eds. The Complete Selection of Diagrams of Zhouyi. Shanghai: China Eastern
Normal University Press, 2004.
• Makeham, John. Transmitters and Creators: Chinese Commentators and Commentaries on the Analects.
Harvard East Asian Monographs, no. 228. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003.
• Needham, Joseph. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1956.
• Porkert, Manfred. The Theoretical Foundations of Chinese Medicine: Systems of Correspondence. Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press, 1974.
• Puett, Michael J. To Become a God: Cosmology, Sacrifice and Self-Divination in Early China. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press, 2002.
• Roth, Harold D. Original Tao: Inward Training (Nei-yeh) and the Foundations of Taoist Mysticism. New York:
Columbia University Press, 1999.
• Rubin, Vitaly A. “The Concepts of Wu-Hsing and Yin-Yang,” Journal of Chinese Philosophy 9 (1982):
131-157.
• Sishu wujing (Four Books and Five Classics). China: Yuling Press, 1990.
• Yabuuti, Kiyosi. “Chinese Astronomy: Development and Limiting Factors.” In Chinese Science:
Explorations of an Ancient Tradition, eds. Shigeru Nakayama and Nathan Sivin (Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press, 1973), 91-103.
• Yang, Xuepeng. Yinyang Qi yu Bianliang (Yinyang Qi and Changes). Beijing: Chinese Science Press,
1993.
• Yates, Robin D.S. Five Lost Classics: Tao, Huang-Lao, and Yin-yang in Han China. New York: Ballantine
Books, 1997.
• Zhuangzi. Ed. by Chen Guying. Beijing: Chinese Press, 1983.

Author Information
Robin R. Wang
Email: rwang@lmu.edu 
Loyola Marymount University
U. S. A.