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| Home > Origin and Concept > Yin and yang concept
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| | Yin and yang concept
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 Chinese medical theory teaches that the two branches of the body`s nervous system, the sympathetic and parasympathetic, corresponds to the two halves of the yin-yang circle. The sympathetic branch is the part of the nervous system that mobilizes our bodies to respond to stress. It initiates the fight-or-flight response, a more yang part of the cycle. The parasympathetic branch replenishes and supports the body during rest, the yin part of the cycle. These two branches oppose and balance each other to create stability and health. When the yin and yang are balanced within the body, all the body`s functions are healthy. Illness is caused by an imbalance between yin and yang.
This concept, generally known as the negative and positive, is the energy responsible for the function of every phenomenon in the universe. It is the source of the universe and the governing principle of the functioning of nature and the human body with all its organs. They are like two sides of the coin.. Yin is to yang what woman is to man, left is to right or night is to day. One cannot exist without the other. They complement each other like a lock and key. Both are necessary for life. A unit is incomplete or cannot survive without yin and yang.
The yin and yang concept is very simple. Yet it is most difficult to understand very well. The concept is derived from experiences gained by practitioners engaged in pursuit of tao. Yin and yang interactions in our daily life lies in the logic of our common sense. Successful practice of yin and yang in life leads to the harmony. This is the basis of good health and as such is maintained by the vita-vapor, which is both physical and moral. The concept of yin and yang is thus the cornerstone of dialectics in Chinese philosophy
In traditional Chinese medicine, every aspect of health is described in terms of a balance between yin and yang. For example, yin illnesses are caused by excessive expansion (overweight as a result of eating too much sugar, for example), while yang illnesses are caused by excessive contraction (sunstroke or fever). An imbalance of yin and yang factors can be demonstrated by showing how red blood cells respond to different substances. When red blood cells are placed in water (yin), they absorb the water, expand, and finally burst. When red blood cells are placed in a concentrated saline (salt) solution (yang), they contract, shrink, and shrivel. In a solution of normal saline (0.9 percent salt), the yin and yang are perfectly balanced and the cells remain virtually unchanged.
An example of how the ancient yin-yang theory can be used to describe concepts in conventional medicine can be found in the treatment of breast and prostate cancer: female hormones (yin) help control prostate cancer (yang); male hormones (yang) help control breast cancer (yin). The interplay of the yin and yang-as one increases, the other decreases-describes the process of the universe and everything in it. In more familiar western terms, as modern physical science teaches, "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."
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: (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: (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 is earthy, female, dark, passive, receptive, and absorbing. It is represented by the moon, the tiger, the color orange, a broken line, and the shady side of a hill. Yin is cool, inward, still, and soft. Yang is represented by the sun, the dragon, the color blue, an unbroken line, and the sunny side of a hill. Yang is hot, outward, moving, aggressive, and bright. Because yin and yang are intertwined halves of the same whole, all things, and all people, contain elements of both, although at any one time, one or the other will be predominant. The sun is yang, the moon is yin. We awaken in the morning and greet the sun. It is natural to be active and moving throughout the daylight. As twilight descends into night, we become more passive and quiet. Nighttime expresses the qualities of yin.
 Yin (and yang are descriptions of complementary opposites rather than absolutes. Any yin/yang dichotomy can be seen as its opposite when viewed from another perspective. The categorisation 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. It was earlier mentioned that the great unification split into yin and yang. According to the book of lao tzi, "reversal is the movement of the tao". Both in the sphere of nature and human affairs, when the development of anything brings it to one extreme, a reversal to the other extreme takes place. Everything has its own negation. This is the principle of yin and yang interaction in nature and human affairs.
 This concept is also associated with the book of changes. "when the sun has reached its meridian, it declines and when the moon has become full, it wanes." For "reversal is the way of the tao." What is true with natural phenomena is also true in human nature. This concept had a profound influence on the behavior of many Chinese. It is said that they remain cautious even in time of success and prosperity and hopeful even in time of failure and poverty. This doctrine of the golden median is based on the concept of harmony between yin and yang. Enough is enough, never too much. It is better to have less than to have too much. Having too much and overdoing something may be counter-productive and may run the risk of getting the opposite of what one expects.
Yin and yang were created due to instability in nature. Yin and yang exist for the stability of nature. For example, in the vacuum near an unstable nucleus, a yin and yang pair (electron -positron) was created to render stability to the area. A stable atom exists mainly due to presence of positive protons and negative electrons. Proper balance and harmony can be maintained by an intermingling of the yin and yang, the moon and the sun, the earth and the heaven, and the transformation of all things will proceed smoothly. There is interplay and exchange between the male and female and all things will be produced. The yang gives the beginning and the yin completes it.
Alienation
Yin and yang cannot exist each alone in separate isolation. One cannot exist without the other. Yin separated from yang or yang separated from yin in isolation without any interaction with each other is alienation. Any philosophy that promotes the positive, the strong, the bright, the bright, the visible and the matter and denies the negative, the weak, the dark, the invisible and the spiritual and conducts one`s life in accordance with such a philosophy lives in a state of alienation. And any philosophy that promotes the latter and denies the former is equally alienated. So, without the combination of yin and yang pair, all other mechanisms of interaction would not be possible. A system that does not tolerate yin and yang contradiction suffers alienation, poverty and meaninglessness. When the alienation is out of proportion, survival of human society is in danger. Changes are then necessary to remove the elements that cause the alienation in order to restore the dialectic of harmony.
Complementarity
Yin and yang are two opposite elementary principles from which all phenomena are produced. This concept is associated with the five elements in ancient medicine of the first millennium b.c. in china. Reality is a pair of opposites and a group of five elements on rotation succeeding one another each taking us turn. This concept is also present in the writings of philosopher hsun tzi. Opposites of yin and yang are complementary to each other for the formation of a stable system. Such a contradiction is necessary for survival of any living system. Alienation on the other hand, is harmful to the survival of the system. With out complementarity there will be no inheritance of genetic replication. The examples of complementarity of yin and yang include the paradoxes of the matter and the mind, materialism and idealism, and the biological and the spiritual. Both are parts of the unity as in a ring. There is no moral priority of one over the other, for no point in a ring is before or after any other point. Alienation is removed, but complementarity is preserved for life process.
Inter-penetration
Intrinsically, yin does not exist as purely yin, nor does yang exist as purely yang. There is yin in the yang, and yang in the yin. Yin and yang do not only complement each other, they are also inside each other. Yin influences yang not only from without but also from within. And yang influences yin in the same manner. This is inter-penetration, another aspect of the yin and yang relationship. In other words there is action in inactions, strength in weakness, unity in diversity, victory in failure and life in sacrifice. In human society there is no such thing as pure socialism or pure private enterprise. There will always be private enterprise in socialism and socialism in private enterprise--society. The two will penetrate each other for stability and survival.
Transformation
Inter-penetration allows the presence of yin in the interior of yang and yang inside yin. The yin and the yang in the interior of each half can expand or contract internally. Motion and development are associated with such activity. The two halves can transform into each other. So there are both external and internal contradictions and for that matter both external and internal interactions. The result of such transformation is the production of pluralism. Mutual production and mutual overcoming as the seasons rotate in cycles of rise and fall unite man and nature. All things are related. Reality is also a process of mutual transformation. But the essence of the reality is always the same, the will to survive. Transformation between yin and yang ensures the success of the survival and meaningful life in society.
Harmony
Harmony is not static. It is a result of dynamic operation. Harmony between yin and yang reinforced the doctrine of the golden median. In this respect, chinese philosophy concerned more with relationship than with substance. The universe is a well-ordered state of existence but it is also in a state of constant change and readjustment. Things are forever interfused and intermingled. The universe is a realm of perpetual activity. The activity takes the form of cycles of yin and yang. It is for a dynamic homeostasis for the survival of a system. Harmony does not stand still. It has a progressive direction leading to the development of morality, the stability of the society and the maturation of a civilization.
Yin and yang may oppose each other but also attract each other. In chapter 46 of canon of internal medicine, it is recorded that "where there is strength, there is also weakness. Too strong is conducive to too much anger, and too weak is liable to be hurt. " " there is yin inside yang, and yang inside yin. " the inter-penetration of yin and yang contradictions creates new substances and conceptual significance. There is no limit to the evolution of the yin and yang opposites, generating new phenomena and quality. The origin of things will evolve in quantitative changes, while the limit of things will evolve in qualitative changes. From the beginning to the end of life, there will be changes and if the interactions get out of control, disorders and diseases will ensue. All the changes should lead to homeostatic harmony to ensure health.
To maintain homeostatic balance is not only a biological necessity but also a philosophical issue. The human body possesses the ability to maintain and regulate the structure and function of life unto harmony. The five element system is a demonstration of the five-activating-forces operating not in a mechanical way but with mutual interactions and feedback mechanism. It is not just a reaction of cause and effect, but with interactions resulting from the inter-relatedness of all the five substances in nature or the five-activating -forces of all the internal organs and glands of the body cause and effect is direct, but inter-relatedness also considers the indirect interactions.
The human body does fight diseases, but the objective is to regain the yin and yang balance and health. Diseases and excesses are alienation and as such must be removed to restore a balance of yin and yang in the living system.
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