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Taiji (philosophy)
In Chinese philosophy, ''taiji'' () is a cosmological state of the universe and its affairs on all levels—including the mutually reinforcing interactions between the two opposing forces of yin and yang (a dualistic monism), as well as that among the Three Treasures, the four cardinal directions, and the Five Elements—which together ultimately bring about the myriad things, each with their own nature. The concept of ''taiji'' has reappeared throughout the technological, religious, and philosophical history of the Sinosphere, finding concrete application in techniques developed in acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine. Etymology ''Taiji'' () is a compound of ''tai'' ( 'great', 'supreme') and ''ji'' ( 'pole', 'extremity'). Used together, ''taiji'' may be understood as 'source of the world'. Common English translations of ''taiji'' in the cosmological sense include "Supreme Ultimate", "Supreme Pole", and "Great Absolute". Core concept Scholars Zhang and Ryden e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wuji (philosophy)
In Chinese philosophy, ''wuji'' (, meaning 'without limit') originally referred to infinity. In Neo-Confucianism, Neo-Confucian cosmology, it came to mean the "primordial universe" prior to the "Taiji (philosophy), Supreme Ultimate" state of being. Definition In Chinese language, Chinese, the word ''wuji'' is a compound (linguistics), compound of Mu (negative), ''wu'' (meaning nothingness) and ''ji''. ''Ji'' () is a word with several meanings. Most often used to mean "pole" or "roof, ridgepole", it can also be used in the same figurative as in English to mean "geographical pole", "poles of astronomical bodies#Magnetic poles, magnetic pole", etc. In Traditional Chinese medicine it is the ''Chong mai'' () or the central Meridian of the Eight extra meridians, eight extra Meridians. Common English translations of the cosmological ''wuji'' are "ultimateless" or "limitless", but other versions are "the ultimate of Nothingness", "that which has no Pole", or "Non-Polar". Usage ''Wu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taijitu
In Chinese philosophy, a ''taijitu'' () is a Character (symbol), symbol or diagram () representing ''Taiji (philosophy), taiji'' () in both its monist (''Wuji (philosophy), wuji'') and its Dualism in cosmology, dualist (yin and yang) forms in application is a deductive and inductive theoretical model. Such a diagram was first introduced by Neo-Confucianism, Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhou Dunyi of the Song Dynasty in his ''Taijitu shuo'' (). The ''Daozang'', a Taoism, Taoist canon compiled during the Ming dynasty, has at least half a dozen variants of the ''taijitu''. The two most similar are the ''Taiji Xiantiandao'' and ''wujitu'' () diagrams, both of which have been extensively studied since the Qing period for their possible connection with Zhou Dunyi's ''taijitu''. Ming period author Lai Zhide simplified the ''taijitu'' to a design of two interlocking spirals with two black-and-white dots superimposed on them, became synonymous with the ''Yellow River Map''. This version wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monism
Monism attributes oneness or singleness () to a concept, such as to existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished: * Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., in Neoplatonism everything is derived from The One. In this view only the One is ontologically fundamental or prior to everything else. * Existence monism posits that, strictly speaking, there exists only a single thing, the universe, which can only be artificially and arbitrarily divided into many things. * Substance monism asserts that a variety of existing things can be explained in terms of a single reality or substance. Substance monism posits that only one kind of substance exists, although many things may be made up of this substance, e.g., matter or mind. * Dual-aspect monism is the view that the mental and the physical are two aspects of, or perspectives on, the same substance. * Neutral monism believes the fundamental nature of reality to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Power Of Two
A power of two is a number of the form where is an integer, that is, the result of exponentiation with number 2, two as the Base (exponentiation), base and integer as the exponent. In the fast-growing hierarchy, is exactly equal to f_1^n(1). In the Hardy hierarchy, is exactly equal to H_(1). Powers of two with Sign (mathematics)#Terminology for signs, non-negative exponents are integers: , , and is two multiplication, multiplied by itself times. The first ten powers of 2 for non-negative values of are: :1, 2, 4, 8, 16 (number), 16, 32 (number), 32, 64 (number), 64, 128 (number), 128, 256 (number), 256, 512 (number), 512, ... By comparison, powers of two with negative exponents are fractions: for positive integer , is one half multiplied by itself times. Thus the first few negative powers of 2 are , , , , etc. Sometimes these are called ''inverse powers of two'' because each is the multiplicative inverse of a positive power of two. Base of the binary numeral sy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Confucius
Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the philosophy and teachings of Confucius. His philosophical teachings, called Confucianism, emphasized personal and governmental morality, harmonious social relationships, righteousness, kindness, sincerity, and a ruler's responsibilities to lead by virtue. Confucius considered himself a transmitter for the values of Ancient China, earlier periods which he claimed had been abandoned in his time. He advocated for filial piety, endorsing strong family loyalty, Ancestor veneration in China, ancestor veneration, the respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives. Confucius recommended a robust family unit as the cornerstone for an ideal government. He championed the Silver Rule, or a negative form of the Golden Rule, advising, "Do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xici
''Xici'' or ''Xi Ci'' (''Great Commentary'', ) is one of the Ten Wings, a collection of Confucian books traditionally included in the ''I Ching'' written during the fifth century BC. Its origins are unknown, but it is suspected of being the product of scholars who did not believe prevailing Daoist thought. A silk manuscript version of it dating from 168 BCE was found at the Mawangdui site in Changsha in 1973. It's one of the most important sources about early Chinese cosmology. Among the mythologies stressed in the book is that of Fuxi Fuxi or Fu Hsi ( zh, c=伏羲) is a culture hero in Chinese mythology, credited along with his sister and wife Nüwa with creating humanity and the invention of music, hunting, fishing, domestication, and cooking, as well as the Cangjie syste ..., the emperor-god. References External linksDictionary of Asian Mythology on HighBeam.com I Ching {{China-myth-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Sun And Moon Mirrors
The sun-mirror () and moon-mirror () were bronze tools used in History of China#Ancient China, ancient China. A sun-mirror was a burning-mirror used to concentrate sunlight and ignite a fire, while a moon-mirror was a device used to collect nighttime dew by condensation. Their ability to produce fire and water gave them symbolic significance to Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosophers, and they were often used as metaphors for the concepts of yin and yang (the sun-mirror representing ''yang'' and the moon-mirror representing ''yin''). Terminology There are numerous Chinese names for the fire-producing "sun-mirror" and water-producing "moon-mirror". These two bronze implements are literary metaphors for yin and yang, associating the "''yang''-mirror" ''yangsui'' with the Sun (a.k.a. ''tàiyáng'' wikt:太陽, 太陽 "great ''yang''"), fire, dry, and round, and the "''yin''-mirror" ''fangshu'' with the Moon (''tàiyīn'' wikt:太陰, 太陰 "great ''yin''"), water, wet, and square ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhenren
''Zhenren'' ( zh, c=真人, p=zhēnrén, w=chen-jen, l=true/ upright/ genuine person or 'person of truth') is a Chinese term that first appeared in the '' Zhuangzi'' meaning "a Taoist spiritual master" in those writings, as in one who has mastered realization of the Tao. Religious Taoism mythologized ''zhenren'', having them occupy various places in the celestial hierarchy sometimes synonymous with ''xian''. Zhenren has been used in various ways depending on the sect and time period. Linguistics of ''Zhen'' The common Chinese word is linguistically unusual. It was originally written with an ideogram (one of the rarest types in Chinese character classification) depicting "spiritual transformation". It originated in the Taoist ''Tao Te Ching'' that has similar characteristics to the Ancient Chinese term Jūnzǐ () that appears in the early Confucian classics. Characters The archaic Chinese character was reduced into , which is the Traditional Chinese character, Simplified Chin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huainanzi
The ''Huainanzi'' is an ancient Chinese text made up of essays from scholarly debates held at the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, before 139 BCE. Compiled as a handbook for an enlightened sovereign and his court, the work attempts to define the conditions for a perfect socio-political order, derived mainly from a perfect ruler. With a notable Zhuangzi (book), Zhuangzi 'Taoist' influence, including Chinese folk religion, Chinese folk theories of yin and yang and Wuxing (Chinese philosophy), Wu Xing, the ''Huainanzi'' draws on Taoist, Legalism (Chinese philosophy), Legalist, Confucian, and Mohist concepts, but subverts the latter three in favor of a wu wei, less active ruler, as prominent in the early Han dynasty before the Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Wu. The early Han authors of the Huainanzi likely did not yet call themselves Taoist, and differ from Taoism as later understood. But K.C. Hsiao and the work's modern translators still considered it a 'principle' example of Han ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nadir
The nadir is the direction pointing directly ''below'' a particular location; that is, it is one of two vertical directions at a specified location, orthogonal to a horizontal flat surface. The direction opposite of the nadir is the zenith. Etymology Although it entered English via other European languages, the word “nadir” is ultimately an Arabic loanword. It comes from the Arabic word “nazir”, meaning “opposite to”. More specifically, it originated from the Arabic phrase “nazir as-samt”, meaning “ heopposite direction”. Hebrew (whether ancient or modern) is a related language to Arabic, as they are both Semitic languages. Hebrew also has a word “nadir” (נדיר), but with a somewhat different meaning: it is an adjective meaning “rare”. However, the same word also has a specialized usage to match its meaning in other languages like English. Definitions Space science Since the concept of ''being below'' is itself somewhat vague, scientists define ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cardinal Directions
The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are the four main compass directions: north (N), south (S), east (E), and west (W). The corresponding azimuths ( clockwise horizontal angle from north) are 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°. The four ordinal directions or intercardinal directions are northeast (NE), southeast (SE), southwest (SW), and northwest (NW). The corresponding azimuths are 45°, 135°, 225°, and 315°. The intermediate direction of every pair of neighboring cardinal and intercardinal directions is called a secondary intercardinal direction. These eight shortest points in the compass rose shown to the right are: # West-northwest (WNW) # North-northwest (NNW) # North-northeast (NNE) # East-northeast (ENE) # East-southeast (ESE) # South-southeast (SSE) # South-southwest (SSW) # West-southwest (WSW) Points between the cardinal directions form the points of the compass. Arbitrary horizontal directions may be indicated by their azimuth angle value. Determinatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhuangzi (book)
The ''Zhuangzi'' (historically romanized ) is an ancient Chinese text that is one of the two foundational texts of Taoism, alongside the ''Tao Te Ching''. It was written during the late Warring States period (476–221 BC) and is named for its traditional author, Zhuang Zhou, who is customarily known as "Zhuangzi" ("Master Zhuang"). The ''Zhuangzi'' consists of stories and maxims that exemplify the nature of the ideal Taoist sage. It recounts many anecdotes, allegories, parables, and fables, often expressed with irreverence or humor. Recurring themes include embracing spontaneity and achieving freedom from the human world and its conventions. The text aims to illustrate the arbitrariness and false dichotomy, ultimate falsity of dichotomies normally embraced by human societies, such as those between good and bad, large and small, life and death, or human and nature. In contrast with the focus on good morals and personal duty expressed by many Chinese philosophers of the per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
