Yin-Yang

Yin-Yang East Asia
The two interacting forces that sustain the Chinese cosmos, ‘the ten thousand things’. They are not thought of as being in conflict, but existing together in precarious balance, which if disturbed will bring disasters to mankind. The harmony of the universe depends on this balance—Yin, negative, female, dark, the earth; Yang, positive, male, light, heaven. As the source of weather, Heaven was looked upon by the ancient Chinese as the greater, the realm of Shang Ti, whose benevolence had to be entreated with sacrifices made by the ruler, the Son of Heaven. This perception of the natural forces stemmed from the everyday experience of early agriculturalists in the loess country of the Yellow River valley, where a sudden downpour could alter the landscape dramatically. Nature was a single intricately balanced organism, undergoing continuous alterations, with which man had to learn to respond correctly. It was always a question of attunement...

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