The designation of something as Yin or Yang is always relative to some other thing. No matter where you bisect the diameter of the whole circle, each half will always contain some Yin and some Yang. The small dots within each of the two energies (represented by black and white) symbolize that there is always some Yin (black) within Yang (white) and vice versa. This inseparable and interpenetrating relationship is reflected in the form of the Yin-Yang symbol.

Both create a totality, a complete whole. (Night is Yin and day is Yang.) Night looks and is very different than day, yet it is impossible to have one without the other. For example, night and day form a Yin-Yang pair. Yin and Yang cannot exist without the other they are never separate. What does this really mean? Although they are totally different-opposite-in their individual qualities and nature, they are interdependent. They are two opposite yet complementary energies. They are literally and figuratively a world apart from Western thinking.Įverything contains Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang are distinctively Chinese in terms of perception of profound fundamental principles and as an expression of a unique way of viewing the world and the greater universe. to the I Ching ( The Book of Changes, a text Universal in its understanding and representation of the dynamic balance of opposites and the processes of unfolding events and change). Unbelievably, references to Yin and Yang date back as far as 700 B.C.E. Yin and Yang, like TCM’s Five Element theory, are integral to the Chinese culture and have been so for thousands of years. Integral to Chinese Culture for Thousands of Years What Yin-Yang points to and represents is so vast it encompasses everything in the universe! Like Einstein’s famous equation, E = mc², the Yin-Yang symbol describes something very elemental and incredibly complex. As far as symbols go, it just doesn’t get more fundamental than Yin-Yang. This symbol, which most people have seen in a variety of contexts, pares things down to one clear and elegant image.

Yin and yang theory test