

For instance, the Taoists were in favor of Yin, whereas the Confucianists kept Yang at the center of their philosophical discourse. There were also differences of opinion when it came to the adoption of Yin and Yang philosophy within the Chinese religion sub-segments. After the concept spread throughout the streams of medicine, art, government, astrology, and divination in China, it also propagated to Japan as early as 675 CE. The world’s first gods, Fuxi, Nuwa, and Shennong, are also believed to be born out of Yin and Yang. After they were born, they existed in harmony at the center of the Earth, and by achieving a balance, they facilitated the birth of the world’s first human known as Pangu or P’an Ku. Chinese mythology proposes that Yin and Yang were born out of the chaos during the creation of the universe. The synergy of these two in complementing each other is what signifies the actual process of the universe. In terms of codes and symbols, Yang is signified through odd numbers, the color azure, the symbol of a dragon, and an unbroken line. It signifies light as opposed to darkness, activity against passivity, and penetration as opposed to absorption. It represents heaven as the other end of the heaven-earth duality, and masculinity as the binary opposite of femaleness. Yang signifies the exact opposite poles of Yin. Cryptologically, Yin is represented by the Tiger, the color Orange or a broken line. Yin symbolizes earth, femininity, darkness, passivity, and absorption. Yin and Yang have distinct connotations or significance in terms of what they stand for and what they represent. Therefore, it’s the proper yin and yang balance between the two extremities that can bring harmony to this world and the order of things. One increases with a decrease in another. None of these opposites is superior to the other. In nature, there is this duality of darkness and light. Among humans, there are the binaries of male and female or the old and the young. One can find yin and yang examples of such opposites in every possible paradigm existing in this world. The proponents of this theory believe that everything exists in this world as inseparable and contradictory opposites. The principle of Yin and Yang highlights the inherent duality in everything. So, what is this principle? Let’s delve deeper into the topic. Each of these five phases interchanged as per the principle of Yin and Yang. According to Zou Yan, life passed through the five phases of fire, water, metal, wood, and earth. Cosmologist Zou Yan or Tsou Yen played a key role in disseminating this philosophy. The Chinese school of Yinyang propagated the concept extensively while making advancements in philosophy and cosmology. The notion of Yin and Yang can be traced back to the 3rd century BCE.
