Harmony Between Yin and Yang

Yin and yang are two basic concepts of ancient Chinese philosophy. Their primary meanings came from the idea that "the sunny side is yang and the shady side is yin" in ancient times. The idea expressed the ancients' most intuitive understanding of those contrasting yet harmonious phenomena in nature such as the rotation between the sun and the moon, between day and night, between winter and summer, and between cloudy and sunny days, and the existence of two genders. Since the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), the meanings of yin and yang had been further extended, from being mere descriptions of natural phenomena to two highly abstract philosophical concepts in dichotomy. Yin and yang are thus not only concepts depicting the state of things in nature, but also basic concepts for describing social phenomena, becoming philosophical concepts regarding opposite phenomena in general. It can be said that the concepts of yin and yang constitute a basic way of thinking of the ancient Chinese and a basic framework for them to understand the world.

Harmony between yin and yang is the most optimal and ideal relationship between the two. The Chinese people often say that "yin or yang will not grow when they are isolated," indicating that it is their interaction that creates the entire world. According to the Chinese classic Lao Zi, "All things stand, facing yang and against yin. The interaction between yin and yang creates a state of harmony." It suggests that all things are generated from the interaction between yin and yang, and the balance or harmony between yin and yang is the most ideal state of this interaction. Therefore, the pursuit of harmony is actually pursuing the harmony between yin and yang.

陰陽和合

陰、陽，是中國古代哲學(xué)的基本范疇，其本意來自上古“向日為陽，背日為陰”觀念，表達(dá)了上古先民對自然界天地百象、日月輪轉(zhuǎn)、晝夜交接、寒暑更替、陰晴變換、男女雌雄等對立而和諧現(xiàn)象的直觀體認(rèn)。戰(zhàn)國時(shí)期以來，陰陽概念得到進(jìn)一步引申，從概括自然矛盾現(xiàn)象的概念高度抽象成一種二分法的哲學(xué)范疇。至此，陰陽不僅是表征自然萬物狀態(tài)的概念，也是描述社會(huì)現(xiàn)象的基本概念，成為泛指對立現(xiàn)象的一個(gè)哲學(xué)范疇。可以說，陰陽的觀念代表著中國古人的一種基本思維方式和認(rèn)識世界的基本框架。

陰陽和合，是對二者關(guān)系的最高揭示，也是對一種理想境界的塑造。中國人通言道“孤陰不生，孤陽不長”，意思是陰陽的共同作用造就了世界萬物。《老子》提出“萬物負(fù)陰而抱陽，沖氣以為和”，認(rèn)為萬物由陰陽而來，其最理想狀態(tài)就是陰陽之間的平衡、和諧。所以，對“和”的追求，實(shí)際上就是追求陰陽理想狀態(tài)，即陰陽和合。