ChiDragon

Chapter 78 1. There is nothing in the world that is softer than water. 2. But when it strikes any rigid object nothing can beat it. 4. There is nothing that can replace it. 5. The weak vanquishes the strong. 6. The softness vanquishes the hardness. The weak and the softness are the Yin-attribute.

hmmmmmm......... Don't they call that AM and FM modulations in the radio industry.....???

Yes, it is really immaterial to me for putting so much time and effort into a monkey character from a fictional story.

The Tao Te Ching and Tai Ji both came later. Actually the Yin-Yang was written in the Yi Jing at first, then everything in the Chinese history were evolved from the Yi Jing. Yi Jing was all about Yin-Yang. The broken line is the Yin-line and the solid line is the Yang-line. They were used to draw the trigrams.

That only tells you how the name of Yin-Yang came about. That's all. Yang is the sunlight and Yin is the shadow.

Yes, that says Yin-Yang, originally, was telling you nothing. It was only a description of a phenomenon. It was not an element nor a force but Yin-Yang are only two categories for to classify different things in the Universe. If it is not one, then it's the other. Thus one is complementary to the other.

Yes, I do aware of this period. That was the time about Taoism and Morality. The problem with that was the characters themselves. The confusion arrived from these two characters 道德(Tao Te) . Tao Te means "morality" in Confucian; but it means the "virtue of the Tao(principles)" in the Tao Te Ching. At the time, people had to redefine their own definition for the character 道(Tao). Virtue of Tao is a description for those people who follow the principles of Tao. It seems like given them a little merit, for following the principles of Tao, by saying that they have the virtue of Tao. So to speak.

Where does the Yin Yang Symbol come from? is a well-known Chinese Yin Yang symbol. Sometimes it's called Tai-Chi symbol. The Tai-Chi is from I-Ching. The I-Ching is the greatest foundation of Chinese philosophy. It's development is from the natural phenomena of our universe. Because I-Ching comes from nature, it is believed it should be natural and easy to understand. The Chinese characters of I-Ching are . The second character means a book, a profound book. The first character means ease or change. Since I-Ching is easy, some people call it as "The Book of Ease" or "The Book of Changes". The original Chinese character of is , which is a symbol combining the sun (top) and moon (bottom). It's simpler for people to understand the philosophy by talking about the sun (Yang), moon (Yin) and universe. After observing the universe, ancient Chinese found that the universe is changing every day. Although it changes every day, it also has seasonal and annual cycles. From these cycles the unchanging rules are created. By observing the sky, recording the Dipper's positions and watching the shadow of the Sun from an 8-foot (Chinese measurement) pole, ancient Chinese determined the four directions. The direction of sunrise is the East; the direction of sunset is the West; the direction of the shortest shadow is the South and the direction of the longest shadow is the North. At night, the direction of the Polaris star is the North. They noticed the seasonal changes. When the Dipper points to the East, it's spring; when the Dipper points to the South, it's summer; when the Dipper points to the West, it's fall; when the Dipper points to the North, it's winter. When observing the cycle of the Sun, ancient Chinese simply used a pole about 8 feet long, posted at right angles to the ground and recorded positions of the shadow. Then they found the length of a year is around 365.25 days. They even divided the year's cycle into 24 Segments, including the Vernal Equinox, Autumnal Equinox, Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice, using the sunrise and Dipper positions. They used six concentric circles, marked the 24-Segment points, divided the circles into 24 sectors and recorded the length of shadow every day. The shortest shadow is found on the day of Summer Solstice. The longest shadow is found on the day of Winter Solstice. After connecting each lines and dimming Yin Part from Summer Solstice to Winter Solstice, the Sun chart looks like below. The ecliptic angle 23 26' 19'' of the Earth can be seen in this chart. The Ecliptic is the Sun's apparent path around the Earth. It's tilted relative to the Earth's equator. The value of obliquity of the Ecliptic is around 23 26' 19'' in year 2000. By rotating the Sun chart and positioning the Winter Solstice at the bottom, it will look like this . The light color area which indicates more sunlight is called Yang (Sun). The dark color area has less sunlight (more moonlight) and is called Yin (Moon). Yang is like man. Yin is like woman. Yang wouldn't grow without Yin. Yin couldn't give birth without Yang. Yin is born (begins) at Summer Solstice and Yang is born (begins) at Winter Solstice. Therefore one little circle Yin is marked on the Summer Solstice position. Another little circle Yang is marked on the Winter Solstice position. These two little circles look like two fish eyes. In general, the Yin Yang symbol is a Chinese representation of the entire celestial phenomenon. It contains the cycle of Sun, four seasons, 24-Segment Chi, the foundation of the I-Ching and the Chinese calendar.

Let's get the fundamental out of the way first.... The meaning of Yin-Yang

oops.... I need to borrow your words again......

The whole theme of the Tao Te Ching was based on the concept of Wu Wei. Here are the steps of the logic: 1. Take no action 2. Take no abusive action 3. Take no abusive action to interfere 4. Take no abusive action to interfere with the course of Nature. oops..... sorry, edited by mistake. It cannot be restored what had been said.

Is that my problem or yours.....???

Yes, I do agree it can be but it needs to be more specifically stated for clarity. I can only deal with what was giving to me at the time. I do not make erroneous assumptions to the subject of interest nor to the messenger.

I am still trying very hard indeed........

I got the definition of Huang Ting from the interpretation of a native source. 黃為中央之色(Yellow is the central color) 庭為四方之中(Ting is the center of the four directions.) Ref: 黃庭 Huang Ting

Are you pulling some reverse logic on me..............??? :D

thelerner: "To wit: Stosh: How do you think, considering yin and yang as 'forces' sheds light on objective reality?" Stosh: "How much have you looked into whether it makes sense at all to call yin and yang forces?" Shall we get back on course again...???

Taoism did not believe in science, that is why.....???

BTW... The principles in the Tao Te Ching were mainly advices for the rulers to rule with benevolence. However, the principles are too idealistic but not practical to be carried out by any politician. The purpose for Taoists in the Taoist religion was for a better health and longevity. They tend to stay close to Nature as naturalists, so to speak. That was why they don't want to get involve with politics. Of course, those Taoist priests with high wisdom were admired by the rulers and was asked to be the ruler's advisers. Indeed, some high priests were reluctant to help the ruler unless the ruler was really serious and sincere.

Yes, there are two types of Taoists. One type is the scholars who study the pure principles in the Tao Te Ching. The other was those who interpret the Tao Te Ching as their canon for creating a religion.

Someone calls oneself a Taoist may not be a true Taoist. BTW Anyone can call oneself a Taoist but has to be judged by one's action. A true Chinese Taoist does not go to serve the State nor get involve with politics. PS... A true Chinese Taoist is someone that believes in the principles of the Tao Te Ching or belongs to a Taoist religion.

The integral of Yin-Yang is always One. The musics can go either way. For example, if the music sounds sad then, it will remind someone's sorrow which is in the Yin attribute. On other hand, if the music makes people happy and lively, then it is in the Yang attribute.

Chapter 8 Translation in terse English: 1. High virtue is like water. 2. Water is good at benefiting all things without contend. 3. Attends places where people disdain. 4. Hence, water is similar to Tao. 5. Dwell in good selectable places, 6. Good deep in the heart with peace and kind to others, 7. Spoken words with trust, 8. Rule with benevolence, 9. Conduct affairs with best ability, 10.Take action in a timely manner, 11.Therefore, only by not contending, 12.Thus no resentment. Isn't this a suggestion for what to do, emotionally, in a traffic jam. By flowing the principal of Lines 3 and 4 in Chapter 8 of the TAo Te Ching: 3. Water attends places where people disdain. 4. Hence, water is similar to Tao. 6. Good deep in the heart with peace and kind to others(by not getting upset with the traffic jam), 11.Therefore, only by not contending(with your temperament), 12.Thus no resentment.

Yes, that is the basic idea where the interactions of the Five Elements came from. And the Yin-Yang story is different.