What is yin and yang? And the five elements?

Yin and yang are philosophical conceptualization, a means to generalize the two opposite principles which may be observed in all related phenomena within the natural world. They may represent two separate phenomena with opposing natures, as well as different and opposite aspects within the same phenomenon.

For example, day belong to yang, night belong to yin.

• Heat – yang, cold – yin
• Upward – yang, downward – yin
• Male – yang, female – yin
• Movement – yang, stillness – yin
• Bright – yang, dark – yin

In the illustration at the top of all our pages, you see the white color indicates yang and the dark red color yin. The opposition and interdependence of yin and yang are illustrated by the curved line showing the inter-consuming, supporting relationship.

The white yang area contains a dark red spot (yin) and the dark red spot contains a white spot (yang) indicating the potential for inter-transformation, yin within yang and yang within yin. This illustration shows that all phenomena are not isolated but interconnected, developing and changing.

The pathological changes of disease are complicated and changed, but they can be generalized and explained by: imbalance of yin and yang, excess of yin leading to cold syndromes, excess of yang leading to heat syndromes, deficiency of yang leading to cold syndromes, deficiency of yin leading to heat syndromes.

The five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, water