In addition, Yang was also the prime focus of the Confucianism philosophy citing that the symbol pertains to the importance of engagement in life. Dissimilar to Yin, Yang reaches its peak of influence during the summer solstice. It is commonly represented by a solid line trigram, a dragon, or the color blue. Yang, on the other hand, is commonly referred to as masculine and the one who provides forms to all living things in the world. By the same token, it also reaches the height of its influence during the winter solstice. In addition, the Taoists favor Yin over Yang as it emphasizes reclusion and spiritual retreat. Typically, Yin is represented by a tiger, a broken line in the trigrams of the Book of Changes, and the color orange. The earliest evidence of the Yin and Yang symbols has been seen on a variety of animal skeletons that were used in China for divination.Yin is sometimes described as feminine and someone who provides spirit to all things. Legend has it that both Yin and Yang were born from the identical chaos that built the Earth.Īs their elements united, Yin and Yang formed the center of the Earth and subsequently promoted balance and harmony. In general, the Yin Yang principle is a fundamental concept in Chinese culture and philosophy. or earlier simply indicates that all things exist as contradictory opposites and inseparable. The concept which can be traced back to 3 rd century B.C.E. Yin and Yang is a popular Chinese principle that is perhaps best illustrated by the black-and-white circular symbol.

History of yin yang symbol