The four trigrams are heaven ☰, earth ☷, the moon ☵ and the sun ☲. The Korean flag, showing four positioned around a version of the yinyang symbol ( taegeuk, 태극, 太極), is heavy in Daoist symbolism, despite the strong Confucian orientation of the peninsula for the past many centuries. The combinations of broken and solid represent the elements, so ☲ which is yang, yin, yang, represents the element of fire or, in other contexts, the sun.

Where the line is broken that's yin, and where solid it's yang. The trigrams/bagua that you see on the Korean flag are based on the idea as well. The notion of yin and yang predate the Laozi, but it hasn't always been with the symbol you have in mind. The idea of opposition and alternation between yin and yang were fundamental to their worldview. This was a philosophical school/creed which attempted to explain the world in terms of these opposing forces, yin and yang. Two centuries later there was also a scholar in the Warring States period named Zōu Yǎn 鄒衍 (died 240BCE) who headed the Ying-Yang School (陰陽家). Throughout the Daoist texts you find references to this sense of dualism.

Imagine it spinning, going from light to dark and back again. The turning of the yin-yang symbol represents this. The idea behind this is that there will always be a cyclical back-and-forth. The terms as describing forces in opposition are fundamental to a Taoist outlook on life, and a core part of Chinese philosophy.Ī well known verse (chapter 40) of the Daodejing 《道德經》 says that 'reversal is the movement of Tao' (反者道之動). The simplest way to look at it is dark (陰 yin) and light (陽 yang). The original meaning was basically what the meaning is today, unless you have a different sense of the meaning today than I do. Previous AMAs | Previous Roundtables Featuresįeature posts are posted weekly. May 25th | Panel AMA with /r/AskBibleScholars Please Subscribe to our Google Calendar for Upcoming AMAs and Events To nominate someone else as a Quality Contributor, message the mods. Our flaired users have detailed knowledge of their historical specialty and a proven record of excellent contributions to /r/AskHistorians. Please Read and Understand the Rules Before Contributing. Report Comments That Break Reddiquette or the Subreddit Rules. Serious On-Topic Comments Only: No Jokes, Anecdotes, Clutter, or other Digressions. Provide Primary and Secondary Sources If Asked. Write Original, In-Depth and Comprehensive Answers, Using Good Historical Practices. Questions should be clear and specific in what they ask, and should be able to get detailed answers from historians whose expertise is likely to be in particular times and places. Nothing Less Than 20 Years Old, and Don't Soapbox. Be Nice: No Racism, Bigotry, or Offensive Behavior. Downvote and Report comments that are unhelpful or grossly off-topic.Upvote informative, well sourced answers.New to /r/AskHistorians? Please read our subreddit rules and FAQ before posting! Apply for Flair

Yin and yang symbol what does it mean