taiji philosophy meaning
Definition & Meaning
Key Takeaway: The 'Supreme Ultimate' or 'Great Pivot' in Chinese philosophy — the ultimate source and ground of all reality from which yin and yang arise.
The 'Supreme Ultimate' or 'Great Pivot' in Chinese philosophy — the ultimate source and ground of all reality from which yin and yang arise. First articulated in the Yijing (I Ching) and systematically developed by Song dynasty Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhou Dunyi (周敦颐), Taiji is the undifferentiated unity that precedes the division into yin and yang, the 'ten thousand things,' and the entire phenomenal world. Zhou Dunyi's Taijitu (太极图 — 'Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate') visually represents this cosmology: from Nonpolar (Wuji) comes Taiji, from Taiji comes yin-yang, and from their interaction comes all existence.
Within the Chinese philosophical tradition, as recorded in the classical texts that have shaped East Asian thought for millennia, The 'Supreme Ultimate' or 'Great Pivot' in Chinese philosophy — the ultimate source and ground of all reality from which yin and yang arise.
— Oriens
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Frequently Asked Questions
taiji philosophy meaning
The 'Supreme Ultimate' or 'Great Pivot' in Chinese philosophy — the ultimate source and ground of all reality from which yin and yang arise..
what is taiji
First articulated in the Yijing (I Ching) and systematically developed by Song dynasty Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhou Dunyi (周敦颐), Taiji is the undifferentiated unity that precedes the division into yin and yang, the 'ten thousand things,' and the entire phenomenal world..
太极 definition
Zhou Dunyi's Taijitu (太极图 — 'Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate') visually represents this cosmology: from Nonpolar (Wuji) comes Taiji, from Taiji comes yin-yang, and from their interaction comes all existence..