Research on Idea, Theory, and Inference Principles of Yin Yan and Five Elements

• Main Authors: Kuan-ming Chen, 陳冠明
• Other Authors: I-Feng Chen
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/05566273571170458214

碩士 === 國立臺南大學 === 社會科教育學系碩士班 === 93 === In the cultural system of ancient China, the understanding of the universe is rooted on “Tao” of metaphysical ideology. To describe the pattern of creation of the universe, the natural philosophers analogically analyze the abstract concept of Tao of metaphysical ideology with Yin-Yan symbol system. Therefore, Yin and Yan represents Yin and Yan respectively in the ”Yi-Ji”, and by such two symbols the Four Images, Eight Trigrams, and Sixty Four Trigrams are evolved. Using these trigrams and lines, the meanings of natural and human activities in the universe, climate, and mankind’s affairs may be explained. After observation on substance and physical world over a long period of time natural philosophers discover physical and chemical mutual promotion and constrain principles among materials. Such principles may function with the Five Elements of “Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth”.In the theory that man is an integral part of nature, sky, earth, and mankind are all parts of the universe of "Ci", and they are therefore of the same kind. One same kind may interact and sense with each other by" Ci". In such symbolic analog idea, everything in the universe is compared with the “symbols of the Five Elements”. Everything in the world may also be divided into Yin and Yan. Yan-Yan symbols represent the “Theory of Universe of "Ci" ”, and the “Five Elements Analogy” generalizes all things into five major categories. Therefore, it may be concluded that the entire thinking of Chinese culture constructs its mythology, religion, arts, politics, and history with the symbols of Yin- Yan and Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth; they influence all forms of life and activity. The meaning of such symbol system may include all physical world and spiritual world. When the spirit of such symbol system becomes a guideline, it defines a framework for all human activities that mankind is inevitably influenced. Even people not accepting this symbolic system are influenced without realizing, because it has become part of the cultural life. The system of Yin-Yan and Five Elements ideology constructs the “time” and “space” of the universe, and “symbolize” its ideology. The Concept of Time is constructed by symbols of Yin, Yan, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth with associations of the Ten Heavenly Stems (Jia, Yi, Bin, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Sin, Ren, Kuei) and the Twelve Earthly Branches (Zih, Chou, Ying, Mao, Chen, Sih, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai). The Concept of Space is constructed by East, West, South, North, Central, Heaven (Sun, Moon, Stars) and Earth (nine states and nine lands). All symbols are defined within the ideology of Yin-Yan and Five Elements. The functions of mutual promotion and mutual restraint are used to explain the reasons of decline and growth, promotion and restrain for everything. This research aims to discover its development of ideology, the operational principles that it constructs, and the process of inference method from the principles. Discussions in this research are primarily based on medicine theory in “Classic of Internal Medicine”, “Chou Yi”, He Luo divination, and fortune-telling calculation. Supporting literature covered in this research also includes such classics as “The Book of Poetry”, “The Book of History”, “Da Dai Liji”, “The Rites of Literati”, “The Conversations of the State”, “Mo-zi”, “Guan-zi”, “Lyu''s Annals of Spring and Autumn”, “Luxurious Dew of the Spring and Autumn”, and “Huainanzi”. This research analyzes these books’ relationship with Yin-Yan and Five Elements and ideology theory they develop, and attempts to analyze and construct a complete theoretical system of the Yin-Yan and Five Elements system.