The Yellow Emperor said:
"Yin/Yang are the way of Heaven and Earth, the great principle and outline of everything, the parents of change, the root and source of life and death, the palace of gods. Treatment of disease should be based upon the roots (of Yin/Yang)."
HUANGDI NEIJING, first century BC.
Yin and Yang
The ancient Chinese concept is the foundation of Chinese philosophies and practices such as, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chinese metaphysics. It was in 4th BC that the theories of Yin and Yang and, the Five Elements developed. In the beginning, Yin and Yang was said to symbolise the shady and sunny sides of mountains. This principle was later advanced to represent as polar opposites of interrelated phenomena. Yin described as the structural and material qualities of the universe, while Yang is the functional energetic qualities of the universe.
Yin and Yang are complementary, contradictory and cannot exist without each other. They signify interdependence and change.
YANG
sun
day
dry
warming
thoughts
active
protective
masculine
Qi and mind
YIN
moon
night
moist
cooling
feelings
passive
nutritive
feminine
cells, tissue, organs