Yin Yang History and Gifts

According to Chinese philosophy in Chinese culture, yin yang is two opposite principles in nature working together in balance and harmony. These two elements of nature rely on each other and need each other to exist. Without the one, the other does not exist. Nothing is totally yin or totally yang, there must be both.

According to about.com:chinese culture Yin characterizes the feminine or negative nature of things and yang represents the masculine or positive side.

Some examples of yin yang pairings are female and male, dark and bright, wet and dry, fire and water, rest and activity, hot and cold, heaven and Earth. To have yin yang, the elements cannot be two random and separated things. The nature of yin yang relies on the relation between the two subjects. Can you tell which characterizes feminine or negative and the masculine or positive side?

The concept of yin yang can be dated back to the Yin Dynasty (about 1400-1100BC) and the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100-771BC). The oldest known yin yang symbol was transcribed into stone and found in Korea. Because of this it is used in the modern day Korean flag. The origin of the Korean flag is derived from the oriental philosophy called Eum-Yang or Yin-Yang in Chinese pronunciation.

The red and blue yin yang symbol is prominent in the center of the Korean flag and is referred to as the 'taeguk' or the origin of all things in the universe. It symbolizes opposites working together in harmony and balance.

The background of the Korean flag is white to signify peace.

In the corners you will find broken and solid bars. Each of these patterns has a specific meaning. In the upper left corner you will find three solid black bars representing heaven, and in the bottom right is the opposite with three broken bars representing Earth. The upper right corner has a grouping of broken, solid and broken black bars representing water and the opposite in the lower left corner with solid, broken and solid black bars representing fire.

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