Yin and yang

A very well known symbol, yin and yang are fundamental to Taoist practices and represents the balance in nature. Yin is feminine and centers around the dark, negativity, and coldness. But also passivism, softness, and the earth. Yang is masculine principle and represents light, hardness, heat, and heaven.Taoism eventually adopted temples and began doing rituals, they believed everything…

nature spirits. The forest is a huge forest habitat that was created and cared for by the nature spirits. There are no humans and nearly all who have entered never came back, and were probably killed inside. The two environments could represent Yin & Yang. The humans and Lady Eboshi seem to be portrayed as more ‘evil’ than the forest spirits, but they still do some good, making them the…

The theory of yin-yang claims that women are yin and men are yang. Yin relates to the moon and the earth while yang relates to the sun and the heavens. This belief meant that, “one is high and the other is humble, and there are many men who take this idea as the absolute rule of nature. Confucian ideas kept women out…

Confucius was born around 550 BC and little did people know he would change the entire ideology of China. His teachings of moral goodness as the law of everyday man were essential and China needed it more than she knew. Criminal punishment up until Confucianism was rather harsh and unforgiving. Confucius on the other hand urged the Chinese to exercise restraint in the imposition of law upon the people (Duhamie). The lash and the Five Punishments gave no restraint and Confucius saw the…

Robert Weller, in chapter 7 of “Chinese Religious Life,” notes that the Chinese word tian was once translated as “heaven,” but is now more commonly translated as nature. The Chinese conception of nature is unparalleled in the English language, as it encompasses “all the forces that shape the cosmos” (Weller, 125). Further, he explains that this term implicates that humans are a part of nature because humans play an integral role in the “anthropocosmic world,” a world in which the heavens and…

The problem of other minds, one-way causation, non-interaction and difference in qualities of experience has meant that the mind-body problem has yet to find a single theory solution. While scholars such as Smart (1959), Foster (1991), and Graham (1998) argue that the principles of parsimony and simplicity “decide overwhelmingly in favour of the [identity] theory” (Smart, 1959, p. 156), others have taken a different approach leading to ‘mind-body pessimism’, or the idea that philosophy and human…

Within every novel, the author uses their voice to send specific messages to the reader. These conscious and subconscious decisions give authors their own unique and distinct style. Mo Yan definitely had a voice of his own and knew how to use it. When reading Mo’s Red Sorghum, readers will begin to pick up on his subtle techniques. Mo’s heritage bleeds through in his work with the strong influence that folk culture has had on him. He creatively weaves past and present tense within his nonlinear…

About a month ago, I learned about the three ancient Chinese philosophies: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. When people think of Daoism, they usually picture the half black, half white circle. It might just like a random shape, but this, I believe. I’ve had a countless number of good days in my life. However, like everyone else in the world, I also had some not-so-great days. One of those days took place quite recently. It was the twenty-sixth day of April. It was the day when the doctor…

The Yin and Yang of stories: Good vs. Evil behavior In order for there to be an equal balance in life, there must be an equal balance between what is considered right and wrong first. Propriety and iniquity go hand in hand, in other words, no one would know what is considered benevolent if there was not any evil to counteract it. Anonymous poet’s Beowulf, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and John Gardner’s Grendel are strong paradigms in proving this case. Specifically, when Dr. Frankenstein…

With different beliefs and practices, various religions and philosophies possess key characteristics that are significant in their cultures but are meaningless in other cultures. These distinctions result in contrasting perspectives on one’s lifestyle. Some people agree with the practices presented in Taoism, while certain individuals disagree, since its beliefs target a limited group. Taoism presents the idea of living in harmony with nature and educating the followers about the flow of life.…