In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Chapter 6 Discourse on the Division and Unity of yin and yang1 6-48-6 Huang Di asked: “I have heard: heaven is yang, the earth is yin; the sun is yang, the moon is yin. longer months and shorter months, 360 days constitute one year,2 and man corresponds to this too.3 now, the three yin and the three yang [of man] do not correspond to the [one] yin and [one] yang [of heaven]. What is the reason for this?” Qi Bo responded: “as for the yin and yang [correspondences in man], count their [associations] and [you] can [reach] ten; expand these [associations] further4 and [you] can [reach] one hundred. Count these [associations] and [you] can [reach] one thousand; expand them further and [you] can [reach] ten thousand. The [associations] exceeding ten thousand are countless, and still their essential [principle] is one.5 1 from the following text it is obvious that 離 refers to the countless applications of a yin and yang categorization of all phenomena, while 合 refers to the idea that all these countless applications, despite their seeming disparity, never leave the unity of yin and yang. 2 lin yi et al.: “The passage from 天為陽 through 成一歲 appears in Su wen 09 too.” 3 see 1166/14 for an examination of this statement in the light of ancient calendar systems in China. see also 1371/13. 4 Huang sanyuan/33: “推 stands for 推廣演繹, ‘extend and deduce.’ ” 5 Wang Bing: “ ‘one’ is to say 離合,‘division and unity.’ ”Wu Kun: “This is to say, the Way of yin and yang begins with one.Inferences may result in ten,hundred,thousand, ten thousand, or innumerable [applications], but the essential [principle] originates from one yin and one yang.” Zhang Jiebin: “The Way of yin and yang, all in all it is one, applied individually it reaches ten, hundred, thousand, or ten thousand [applications ], all of them did not exist if it were not for the changes and transformations of 128 Huang Di nei jing su wen 6-48-10 Heaven covers [the myriad beings]. The earth carries [them]. When the myriad beings just come to life,6 before they emerge from the earth, {this is called the location of yin,}7 this is called yin in the yin.8 When they emerge from the earth, then this is called yang in the yin.9 yang [qi] provides the [myriad beings] with proper [qi]; yin [qi] rules them.10 yin and yang. Hence, the obvious and the subtle, the large and the small, the countless appearances and bodies, there is none which did not contain this principle. The changes and transformations may be many, but the essential [principle] is one; ‘one’ is the basic principle, 理, and nothing else.” 6 Zhang yizhi et al.: “方 is 將, ‘about to,’ here.” 7 Wang Bing: “They exist in the yin, hence this is called 陰處.” 8 Wang Bing: “When the physical appearance does not move yet and has not emerged yet, this too is yin. Because the yin resides in the yin, this is called yin in the yin.” 9 Wang Bing: “When the physical appearance moves and emerges, this is yang. Because the yang exists in the yin, this is called yang in the yin.” yu yue: “則 should be 財, in the sense of 才出地者 ‘when they are just emerging from the earth.’ ” shen Zumian: “yu yue is wrong. 則 should be 如. above the text says ‘not yet emerged from the earth,’ here it states: ‘even though they have emerged, their appearance is not complete yet.’ ” 10 Wang Bing: “When the yang confers the proper qi, the myriad beings come to life. When yin holds the control, then all physical appearances stand up.” In contrast , 2685/41: “[This passage] uses 正 and 主 to explain the mutual relationships and the individual functional characteristics of yin and yang within the laws of their interactions.yin is the 主 ‘being in charge’of yang; yang is the 正,‘regulator,’ of yin.主 means ‘to support’, ‘to take charge of;’ that is, yin is the material basis for the dynamics between yin and yang. 正 is to prevent any excess or insufficiency. Guan zi, 法法, states: ‘as for 正, it is that which stops excess and does not allow insufficiency.’ That is, yang is the guiding factor in the dynamics of yin and yang.”Gao Jiwu/553: “予 and 為 have identical meanings here: ‘to provide with.’ 之 is identical with 其 and refers to the myriad beings. 正 refers to 元氣, ‘the principal qi;’ 主 is to be interpreted as the ‘major substance of all things,’ i.e., yin...

Share