The Concepts of Yin and Yang

The concepts of Yin and Yang are often embraced by Westerners who see it as the struggle between good and evil, however, viewing this element of Chinese thought this way misses the point. In Christianity, Islam, and Zoroastrianism good and evil fight each other and one side will eventually win out.

Yin and Yang are not necessarily good or evil, but opposing forces whose interplay provides necessary forces. It is common to view (at least among Western New Agers. As I speak no Chinese and cannot read the language, my viewpoint must be necessarily somewhat skewed by my reliance on the translations of others who bring their own interpretation into the mix.) And of course, as the author of the Tao Te Ching states "he who speaks doesn't know. He who knows does not speak." But the interplay of Yin and Yang is good and having too much of one or the other is bad. The forces may oppose each other, but if Yin and Yang are not in balance, harmony is not possible.

Christian missionaries who in many cases were the first people to bring Chinese religious texts like the Analects and the Tao Te Ching to the west often made comparisons to the ideas of their religion. Yin and Yang were of course assumed to be the struggle between good and evil, although in Christianity good will be the eventual winner. Such an idea would bring about disharmony and ruin rather than be viewed as a good thing. This may have been done as a conversion tool to aid the missionaries, but it also had the effect of giving those who would study it later a cultural handle which those in the West could understand and eventually correct.

Yin and Yang should not be seen as good or evil, but perhaps more easily seen as opposing elemental forces or according to Wikipedia as "Heaven and Earth." A similar idea is found in Wicca and Neo-Paganism which deals with the balance of all forces. It may be that Wicca along with other movements that former New Agers have infiltrated borrowed this idea, or it may have developed as part of their religion independently.

The concepts of Yin and Yang will probably continue to be misunderstood by people in the West (like myself) for many years. The Yin and Yang symbol however is well known and is a popular pendant for necklaces.