Yin-yang chia Chin., lit. “School of Yin Yang”; Chinese philosophical school that flourished at the end of the Warring States Period (3d century B.C.E.). Originally yin-yang chia referred only to teachings that were based on the premise that the universe arises from the interplay of yin and yang. During the Han Dynasty, the meaning of the concept was widened, when the followers of the yin-yang chia began to incorporate the teachings about the five elements (wu-hsing).
The theoretical basis of the Yin-Yang School is to be found in the commentaries on the Book of Change(s) (I-ching) the so-called Ten Wings (Shih-i) which tradition attributes to Confucius.
According to the yin-yang chia, the universe arises from the fusion of the masculine and the feminine i.e., yang and yin which in the I-ching are symbolized, respectively, by the trigrams ch’ien (Heaven) and k’un (Earth), from which all other trigrams arise. Each trigram corresponds to a particular natural energy (pa-kua).
Specifically, the doctrine of the yin-yang chia is based on the eight trigrams of the I-ching, which correspond to different natural phenomena and interhuman relationships:
Ch ‘ien is Heaven, the Ruler and Father, and repre
sentative of pure yang.
K ‘un is Earth, the Mother, and representative of pure yin.
Chen is Thunder, the eldest son.
Sun is Wind and Rain, the eldest daughter.
K ‘an is Water and Clouds, the second son.
Li is Fire and Lightning, the second daughter.
Ken is the Mountain, the youngest son.
Tui is the Lake, the youngest daughter.
The Yin-Yang School also tried to explain the mys
tery of the universe numerologically, allocating to
Heaven (yang) the odd numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 and to Earth (yin) the even numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10, which are said to complete each other. Later, the yin-yang chia made use of numbers to relate the energies of yin and yang to the five elements.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Yin-yang chia documents
Books on Yin-yang chia
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