She should also pay close attention to her appearance, be clean and proper, and act especially carefully around guests and in public. I prefer it, but it’s a matter of taste. The energy itself is neutral. For example, the text speaks of the gushen, the “spirit of the valley,” which is said to “never die” and is called xuanpin, or “mysterious femininity” (ch. The conclusion is that their combination and interrelation is responsible for all living things and their changes. They are understood correlatively, and determined by their context and dynamic tendencies as they interact with one another. (The Zhongyong, or Doctrine of the Mean, adds that the sage’s virtue is found most simply in husband-wife relations.) This is supposed to allow him to remain “still” while others are in motion, ideally self-ordering. Surround yourselves with very happy and positive people so some of that yang energy rubs off on you. He also says that form and color are natural characteristics, or natural xing. ), the Confucian thinker Zhang Dai (1597-1679 C.E.) This isn’t cattle breeding where you mate male and female animals based on their sex and desirable characteristics. Man and woman were the equivalent of heaven and earth, but became disconnected. Yin-Yang Pairs in Your Body. The emotion of happiness is a powerful yang energy and is infectious. The Yin Yang theory of relationships is credited to Taoism, one that teaches that maintaining balance is the way to a happy life. … As a response to dominant practices, the Laozi—regardless of whether it was formed earlier or later than other major texts, such as the Analects—favors notions that counter (but do not necessarily oppose) early social values. This i… Linked to the understanding of yin and yang as functionally codependent categorizations, differences between genders are characterized on the basis of their distinguishing features, and defined correlatively. People say you should be with somebody who is similar to yours. Yin and yang traits were thus seen as able to accurately describe broad differences between males and females as they interact with one another. Although they are sometimes read as opposing views, both are equally indispensable for comprehending Chinese culture and history. Both will seek the calming yin energy from the other that isn't available and could cause the yang energy to escalate. The Record of Rituals explains, “Just as two rulers cannot coexist in one country, a household cannot have two masters; only one can govern” (Zheng 2008: 2353). The Yang is male and the Yin is Female. In fact, in many texts considered Confucian that are predominant for two millennia of Chinese thought, the political system and gender roles are integrated (Yang 2013). In fact, in one of the earliest references to the distinction between men and women, the Record of Rituals asserts: Once there is a difference between males and females, then there can be love between fathers and sons. However, this distinction is not equivalent to the Western concepts of private and public. In modern scholarship, this is frequently noted, and several scholars have attempted to use the Laozi to support Chinese and comparative feminist studies. If they failed in the latter, their martial function was largely unfulfilled, which reflected poorly on the husband, as well. Social order based itself on cosmological theories that were automatically normative and constituted guidelines for moral cultivation. Firstly, with thinkers such as Dong Zhongshu, the split between the two genders can be seen as relatively fixed. Although these energies are often in a state of flux, when they are balanced it means that they combine to create manifestations. The positive and negative aspects of yin and yang represent a desire for a balanced relationship. At some point, the yang person will feel the lack of yin energy in their own life and the yin person will grow depressed without the motivating yang energy in their energy makeup. Taking yin and yang as an analogy for female and male, classical Chinese thought presents a complex picture of their interaction. also writes, “Yin and yang of the heavens and the earth [which together refer to the cosmos] should be male and female, and the male and female should be yin and yang. Finding the Yin-Yang balance in relationships By Elinor Svoboda | November 12, 2016 Be it romantic, friendship, family or business, relationships are a cornerstone of the human experience. Interaction between genders is thus the primary mechanism of life, which explains all forms of generation, transformation, and existence. Are you Yin or Yang? The Laozi and Zhuangzi have then been seen as opposed to these thinkers, and are representative of Daoism. You can turn to various feng shui remedies to address either too much yang or too much yin in your home. ), Chen, Jiaqi. Overall, while the complementary understanding of yin and yang did not bring about gender equality in traditional Chinese society, it remains a key factor for comprehending Chinese conceptions of gender. Texts classified as Daoist, such as the Laozi and Zhuangzi, similarly affirm that xing is what endows beings with their particular virtuousness (though it is not necessarily moral). Tai-Chi is represented as a circle divided into two areas of different colors – a different color for Yin and Yang. During this time, imperial law stated that any man over forty without a male heir must take on a concubine to aid him in producing one. However, such roles were largely based on function. This is normal and should be expected, but eventually, you want those energies to recede and a more balanced chi to return. In Ancient Chinese philosophy, yin and yang is a concept of dualism, describing how seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. A person with prominent yin energy exhibits a passive attitude to life. (This puts the Laozi in conflict with some branches of feminism that seek to destroy notions of “female” or gender-oriented traits and tendencies.) ), who did not care much for Dong Zhongshu’s cosmological interpretation, still argued that a woman who was too strong was not to be married. So know that not everyone chooses to use the association. His patience matches her enthusiasm. Many people state that Yang is masculine and Yin is feminine. as yin-yang symbol, a circle divided by an S-shaped line into a dark and a light segment, representing respectively yin and yang, each containing a 'seed' of the other. A person should have a healthy balance of both energies. These discussions look at human tendencies as largely shaped in the context of society, and can be taken as a conceptual basis for understanding gender as a natural tendency that is steered through social institutions. Gender cosmology then largely replaced more dynamic views of gender roles with sharply defined unequal relationships, and these were generally echoed throughout the culture. Thus there are more physiological and cultural aspects to human tendencies, as well. Yin energy is considered to be female, cold and dark. For instance, in Dong Zhongshu’s Chunqiu Fanlu (Spring and Autumn Annals), we also find that “the sovereign is yang, the minister is yin; the father is yang, the son is yin.” Here males, such as ministers or sons, can also be considered yin. ), (Moeller’s commentary is sensitive to feminist interpretations of the, (A book-length study of gender roles in the Confucian tradition. Since the former are coupled with qian, which comprises maleness, and the latter with kun, which marks femaleness, these gender roles are valued similarly. Yin/Yang or Male/Female ENERGY are energies that run through the physical body and aura. The major thinkers of China’s first philosophic flourishing—traditionally referred to as the Hundred Schools, c. 500s-200s B.C.E.—inherited and further developed this comprehensively gendered view of the world. Like the southern and northern sides of a mountain, men and women are yang and yin in the way they serve the emperor. Against this biased intellectual background, oppressive practices were supported and initiated. Men, being equated here with yang, are also associated with superiority, motion, and firmness, while women are coupled with yin and so seen as inferior, still, and gentle. Once obligations are generated, rituals are made. This is the distinction of yin and yang, the positions of husband and wife.” However, in specific contexts, it is possible for the association to be reversed. ), mainstream political and intellectual discourse viewed both the ability and moral character of women as significantly inferior to males. In the Baihutong (Philosophical Discussions in the White Tiger Hall), which is a collection of court debates from the later Han dynasty, discourse on Dong’s guidelines is taken further. text recovered from the Guodian archaeological site, comments that human beings are defined by the capacity and desire to learn. Zhu recognized that there were aspects of life, mostly household affairs (nei), that women were well suited for, but saw men’s duties as superior, and therefore advocated that males always dominate females. Although Liu did not mention it, later texts argued that widows should not remarry or take on lovers. Dong’s work added a distinct favoring of male over female that became increasingly established and widespread as Confucianism became increasingly influential. For example, Wang Bi (226-249 C.E. Over thousands of years, quite a bit has been sorted and grouped under various Yin Yang classification systems. (Men being responsible for the family’s “outer” dealings, including legal, economic, and political affairs, and women the “inner” ones, such as familial relations and housework.) Legally, men owned their wives, and there was often little practical recourse for a woman against her husband, even though the laws of certain periods allowed for it. All Rights Reserved. For example, the sun and moon, male and female, good and evil, etc. They are composed of two contrasting symbols: the yang-yao unbroken horizontal line, and the yin-yao broken horizontal line. Even more drastically, it states that evilness and all things bad belong to yin, while goodness and all things good are associated with yang, which clearly implicitly links good and evil to male and female, respectively. On this basis regulations on gender roles are equally stabilized, so that they are considered complementary, but not equal. This means that behavior and identity largely arise within the context of male-female relations. Linear, logical, even technological. The South African Shamans, known as Sangomas call these energies Indiki and Indawu, and balancing them is […] If you need to infuse more yin energy, start with feng shui restive colors, darkened environment and nature sounds that are relaxing. Such traditions within Chinese thought may be applied as resources for contemporary feminist philosophy, albeit not without considerable caution. Lexico defines yin as the passive female energy, associated with earth, dark, moon, and cold. The specific traits of the objects can only be designated yin and yang in their functional correlation to one another. For Dong, males are dominant, powerful, and moral, and therefore yang. Therefore, while heaven and earth are eternal, man and woman suffer a premature death. But also: male and female are one. Usually they are related to something in East Asian culture. The comparison to a woman’s body and its function of generation (sheng) identify dao as feminine, and therefore speak to the power of the female. Marriage is especially important because it is politically valuable for establishing and sustaining social order through designated male-female relations. These general guidelines are commonly referred to in other texts as the sancong side or “three obediences and four virtues,” which dominated theories of proper social ordering for most of China’s history. The exchange of energies in a love relationship is more powerful than you may realize. Neither male, positive, or female, negative, is meant literally. Theoretically, the social order of gender in Chinese thought is broadly formed on the concepts of the heavens and earth and yin and yang. Yang is characterised as fire, expansion, outside, upwards, heat, subtle, etc.. Yin is characterised as water, contraction, inside, downwards, cold, obvious, etc.. The character for “spirit,” gu, originally meant “generation.” It is identified with sheng (part of the character for gender and tendencies), and its shape is sometimes taken to represent the female genitals. This is a vast topic and I am only touching upon it here. a. There is also a spiritual reason that a heterosexual relationship can produce earthly fruit and a same-sex relationship cannot. From this perspective the genders also complement and nourish one another, and are even vital to one another. However, the actual relationship between these two “schools” is much more integrated. 6. The terms are thereby an expression of the function of the sun on a particular place, but they do not speak to the actual substance of the objects (the sun or mountain) themselves. The partiality shown toward the elevated position of husbands is only further bolstered by the other two relationships being completely male-based. We are all made up of male and female energies, described in the East as Yin and Yang. Traditionally, Easterners used the principle of the Five Elements to shed light on various phenomena in the Universe, such as seasons, directions, stars and planets, plants and animals, as well as the weather … The original meaning of yin and yang had little to do with gender differences. It thereby connotes vital activities and physiological desires or needs. Their gods and goddesses worked to keep a balance of power. There are places where, due to the interrelated correlative relationship between yin and yang, the female might be yang and therefore superior in certain aspects, but since she is mostly yin, she is always worse overall. The intercourse between genders is a harmonization of yin and yang that is necessary not only for an individual’s well-being, but also for the proper functioning of the cosmos. The couple may feel as though they are stuck in a rut and can't find a way to change things. Similarly, men were expected to dominate their wives in a somewhat disrespectful manner in order to display their own ethical cultivation. Email: pauljdambrosio@hotmail.com When they were unbalanced there was chaos.” ― … In this sense, the first two hexagrams qian or “heaven” (which is six yang-yaos) and kun or “earth” (six yin-yaos) can be interpreted as representing pure yin and yang. More directly, the Laozi comments that all things in turn carry yin and embrace yang (Laozi 42). This interpretation explores the productive and efficacious nature of yin, or feminine powers. However, within the home women were supposed to obey men as well, even boys. Here, the word yang is employed six times, and five times it denotes the southern side of mountains, which receives the most sunlight. On the other hand, other texts regarded as Confucian—such as the Book of Changes or Classic of Filial Piety—harbor rich resources for feminism in China. Similarly, a Yang female is not less of a woman than a Yin female. The first chapter of the text claims that the unchanging dao cannot be spoken of, but it does offer clues in the form of a variety of images that appear throughout its eighty-one chapters. Namely, creation is based on the existence of a creative PAIR. It is in this sense that Mengzi (372-289 B.C.E.) Zhang Xianglong is a prominent representative of those who think that Chinese philosophy and culture have long been influenced by concepts of gender. To heal illness [one] must seek its root. There is energy within everything, since everything vibrates and everything is made of atoms on Earth. 3. Later, during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644 C.E. This integration is based on understanding yin and yang as fundamentally affixed to gender and thereby permeating all aspects of social life. As Robin Wang has noted, “on the one hand, yinyang seems to be an intriguing and valuable conceptual resource in ancient Chinese thought for a balanced account of gender equality; on the other hand, no one can deny the fact that the inhumane treatment of women throughout Chinese history has often been rationalized in the name of yinyang” (Wang 2012: xi). The broad system of the Book of Changes attempts to explain every type of change and existence, and is built upon an identification of yin and yang with the sexes as well as their interaction with one another. There are times when one person will have more yin energy and the other will have more yang energy. Zhu Xi, who disagreed with Cheng on many issues, argued that this was not practical; yet it was generally regarded as virtuous, even if not widely practiced. While gender remains fixed, their coupling with yin and yang is not. This also produces physiological properties that account for a wide variety of characteristics that are then reflected in aspects of gender, culture, and social status. Some of the earliest uses of yin and yang are found in the Shangshu (Book of Documents). ... Yin and yang in relationships Yin is arguably more basic, but is prized for its ability to overcome yang, just as the soft can overcome the hard and stillness can defeat movement. That is why attraction is the strongest power in the universe. As examples: night (Yin) and day (Yang), female (Yin) and male (Yang). If you wish to learn more about Yin and Yang energy and how they influence people and their relationships, consider reading Passion Play, a book that I wrote on the subject. Life affects each person a different way. Overall the Aries woman Taurus man relationship can be a balanced one provided they are ready to compromise. Moreover, the ranking of the relationships themselves are hierarchical, relegating women to the lowest level of this order. In this context, people are mainly understood according to their roles in society or relationships with others, which were already established as naturally hierarchical in the Analects (the record of Confucius’s actions and words). The Xunzi agrees, adding that too much change or purposeful change can bring about falsity—which often results in immoral thoughts, feelings, or actions. After tens of thousands of healing sessions, I realize no one will ever attain a perfect balance of both energies. Becoming a universal stream, one is not separated from eternal virtue. The couple will be rather passive and lack the energy to transform the relationship into more. Gender issues play an important role in the history of Chinese thought. ), (An excellent resource for gender issues in Chinese thought. The Inner Scripture of the Yellow Emperor says that yang’s maleness is meant for the outside, and yin’s femaleness for the inside. According to the functional distinction of “inner” and “outer,” women were responsible for everything in the house, while men dominated external affairs. The collection includes lamentations of men going off on business or to war, and women’s complaints of being abandoned by their husbands after concubines are purchased. There is a strong creative streak that demands expression. Male Female. The wedding rites in the Record of Rituals say that marriages are important for maintaining ancestral sacrifice and family lineages. The Commentary on the Appended Phrases makes the link to gender issues clear by stating that both qian and kun have their own daos (ways) that are responsible for the male and female respectively. Fighting Relationships of Heavenly Stem. Men as Yang. The Yin Yang theory of relationships is credited to Taoism, one that teaches that maintaining balance is the way to a happy life. The Yin and Yang of Masculine and Feminine Women as Yin. Yin (literally the 'shady place' or 'north slope') is the dark area occluded by the mountain's bulk, while yang (literally the 'sunny place' or 'south slope') is the brightly lit portion. Fire is connected to summer and the South. Yin and yang, core elements of Chinese cosmogony, involve correlative aspects of “dark and light,” “female and male,” and “soft and hard.” These notions, with their deeply-rooted gender connotations, recognize the necessity of interplay between these different forces in generating and carrying forward the world. 52). The language of Dong’s Spring and Autumn Annals praises males and presents a negative view of females and all things feminine. That doesn't mean that the female energy belongs strictly to a woman or the male energy belongs strictly to a man. Each will try to one-up the other or dominate the other. China, (This book includes a chapter on gender roles that outlines how the Confucian tradition can be used to establish a foundation for Chinese gender equality.). While yang force is considered to be solid, yin is broken. It is responsible for the origin of all things, it is all things, and it provides the patterns that they should follow. Once in a meditative state, the healer will conduct a series of tones specific to awakening and restoring chakra centers in your body. Everything we know as life or the universe is made up of energy. You can imbue yang energy into your environment through sound. WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity, now streaming on Netflix. One half is female (yin) while the other half is male (yang). The terms Yin and Yang (pronounced yong, as in ‘gong’) may sound familiar. Yin and Yang. Yin people are very nurturing and enjoy creating a home (nest) for themselves and their family. The symbol for Yin Yang is called the Taijitu. Several of the descriptions associate dao with the feminine, maternal, or female “gate.” In this context, dao is given three important connotations. Whenever possible you can use music, chimes, and drums for yang energy. Taken as a political text, the Laozi argues that the ruler should take on more female than male traits in order to properly govern the world. In traditional Chinese philosophy, these are referred to as “yin and yang”. Just like Branch Fighting Relationship, we can to apply the Stem Fighting Relationship on the left into the compatibility.. Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology This, in turn, provided the foundation for a Confucian society in which this ideology successfully penetrated the daily lives of the state’s entire populace. There is a truth to this, but the problem is most people leap to Yang is man and Yin is woman. This person is laid back and often fairly quiet in social situations. This close and complex relationship means yin and yang themselves require examination if their role in Chinese gender theory is to be properly understood. In terms of actual practice, the more generalized and stable affiliation between yin as female and yang as male often won out, as exemplified by Wang’s idea. Therefore, aren’t they engaging in the same yin/yang exchange that hetero couples are? Thinkers such as Confucius, Mengzi, Xunzi, Dong Zhongshu, and Zhu Xi are often taken to represent Confucianism, which belongs to the first viewpoint. © 2006-2021 LoveToKnow, Corp., except where otherwise noted. Another early text, the 3rd century B.C.E. In line with the mutual relationship of yin and yang emphasized by the Book of Changes and Daoism, marriages were largely understood as being a deferential equivalence. As a couple, you can join a sound bath session. Their obedience was a display of morality. He grouped virtuous women into six categories, or virtues: maternal rectitude (muyi), sage-like intelligence (xianming), humane wisdom (renzhi), purity and deference (zhenshun), chastity and dutifulness (jieyi), and skill in arguments and communication (biantong). Such a claim is dubious, as the dualistic dynamic of yin and yang, while positing both aspects as essential to existence and in this way ontologically equal, has been generally presented as inherently hierarchical. Despite the possibility of reading feminism into many Chinese texts, there can be no doubt that the Chinese tradition, as practiced, was largely sexist. They provide the gateways for change, and are considered, quite literally, the father and mother of all other hexagrams (which equates to all things in the world). It is on the basis of human nature/tendencies that their unique capacity for moral cultivation is given. 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