CHAPTER ONE YIN-YANG AND THE FIVE ELEMENTS The theories of yin-yang and the five elements originated in ancient China, and are the perspectives and methodologies applied to understand nature. They possess the ideological characteristics of dialectic materialism. Yin-yang and the five elements date back quite far in Chinese philosophic history.The earliest proposal of these concepts can be traced to "Yi Jing" and "Shang Shu. " The ancients held that the material world was generated and developed in the opposite movement between yin-qi and yang-qi. Yin and yang represent not only the two opposite material forces in the natural world, but also the two aspects of contradiction. This ancient proposal developed into the theory of yin-yang, which is used to explore the movement and change of things. The five elements refer to the five basic materials i. e. , wood, fire, earth, metal,and water. These are the necessary five material elements that constitute the world.Moreover, however, there are relationships of mutual generation and mutual restraint among these five elements, and they are in a condition of constant movement and change.The theory of the five elements is used to explore the constitutional form of all things,and the way in which they move and change. These two theories exerted a great deal of influence on the development of various kinds of science in ancient China, such as astronomy, meteorology, calendar, agronomy,biology, chemistry, medicine, and so on. They even were assimilated by specific subjects, and became the theoretical basis of academic development. TCM is one of these subjects. The theories of yin-yang and the five elements are deeply ingrained in the field of TCM. They combine closely with TCM's medical perspective and have become important component parts of the theoretical system of TCM. In TCM, the theories of yin-yang and the five elements are used mainly to explain the entire relationship between a human body and nature, the organization, and both physiology and pathology, thus guiding clinical diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, one should master the theories of yin-yang and the five elements in order to facilitate the further study of TCM. The theory of yin-yang is a perspective and methodology that originated in ancient China,and which has as its central premise the unity of opposites.Yin-yang is the generalization for the two opposite aspects of some things or phenomena which are interrelated in the natural world. Yin and yang represent not only two inter-opposite things or forces, but also the two inter-opposite aspects existing within one object or person. Things said to have a yin-yang relationship must possess both relativity and property stipulation. Relativity refers to the fact that the things must have an interrelationship within the same unity. For example, water and fire are different states and phenomena of material existence in the natural world, and they are interrelated and inter-opposed. Water is cold in nature, and it flows downward, while fire is hot in nature and it flames upward. So the water pertains to yin and the fire to yang. Another example is qi and blood,qi has functions of warming and promoting movement, and is stipulated as yang, while blood has functions of nourishing and moisturizing, and thus is stipulated as yin. The reason that water and fire, and blood and qi, can be divided into yin and yang respectively is that both of them represent a unity of opposites. But fire and blood cannot be divided into yin and yang, because they are not a pair of interrelated things. Therefore, the yin and yang in the theory refer only to abstract conceptions of properties. The property stipulation means that yin and yang also may be used to represent certain properties of opposing two aspects. In fact all opposite aspects objectively possess two completely different properties: "Yang" represents the properties of activeness, progressiveness, and firmness. "Yin" represents inactiveness, decline, and softness. But the properties of yin and yang possessed by opposite two aspects cannot he distributed arbitrarily or inverted randomly. They are stipulated according to certain principles under specific conditions. Generally speaking, the property of yin-yang of opposite aspects is a relative concept which is determined by factors such as nature, position, and tendencies. Thus, Chapter 5 of Plain Questions states, "Heaven and earth are the upper and lower of all things; yin and yang are the male and female of blood and qi; the left and right are the roads of yin and yang; the water and fire are the manifestations of yin and yang; and yin and yang are the active beginnings of all things. "
Property
Yang
Yin
Space
up and outside
down and inside
Time
day
night
Season
spring and summer
autumn and winter
Temperature
warm and hot
cool and cold
Humidity
dry
moist
Weight
light
heavy
Brightness
bright
dim
State of Movement
ascending motion;excited or hyperactive
descendingmotion;quiescence ,inhibition,decline
Thus, in summary, yin and yang represent the two opposite material properties as well as the two kinds of opposite tendencies or states of specific movement. TCM holds that yin-yang is the fundamental law in the natural world and also is the origin of generation, development, change, and decline. For example, the entire life process of the human body i. e. , generation, growth, robustness, aging, and death is merely the result of the joint effects of the body's yang-qi and yin-essence. So the unity of opposites between yin and yang is the general principle of movement and change in the material world. As it is said in Chapter 5 of Plain Questions," Yin-yang is the law of heaven and earth, the guiding principle of everything, the parent of changes, the root and beginning of life and death, and the house of spirit. "The house of spirit" refers to the fact that the unlimited changes of all things are due to the movement of yin and yang. It thus is clear that the ancients realized that although the development and change of everything in the natural world and universe is complex, its root source is the inter-opposition and inter-struggle between yin and yang. The law of yin and yang is a kind of intrinsic law of movement and change of things in the universe and natural world.
