Unity of Human and Heaven: The Fundamental worldview of ancient Chinese
Ancient Chinese believe that Humanity, Society, and Nature form a unified whole, each part similarly constituted and governed by the same laws. This principle, traditionally referred to as the "Unity of Human and Heaven"(天人合一), is fundamental to both ancient Chinese philosophy and traditional Chinese medicine.
This holistic concept was first developed in China's earliest philosophical treatise, The Book of Changes (Yijing)(c. 11th century BC)1. The Book of Changes consists of two parts – the Text, written during the early Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 1000-771 BC), and the Commentary, written by Kongzi (Confucius) (551-479 BC) and his students. The Book of Changes is an oracle, or book of divination, that is based upon the transformation of yin and yang, the two fundamental aspects of being. It utilizes pictographic signs called the Eight Trigrams, images of possible combinations of yin and yang, to analyze and predict the affairs of Human and Heaven. The Eight Trigramsrepresent the eight essential elements that constitute the world2, and their continually changing interaction3.To consult the oracle, two trigrams are castusing a numerical method of throwing coins or counting yarrow stalks. The two trigrams are combined to form signs known as hexagrams, images of the current and future situations. The Text and Commentary are then consulted for an explanation of the hexagrams, and advice concerning the changing situations they represent.
The Eight Trigrams use broken and solid lines to express the various combinations of yin and yang. Each trigram consists of three lines, broken lines (¬¬ ) representing yin, and solid lines (▬) representing yang. Kun (the Receptive, Earth), composed of three yin lines, is the most intensely yin trigram, while Qian (the Creative, Heaven), composed of three yang lines, is the most intensely yang trigram. Because Chinese holistic philosophy holds that all things are produced by the interaction of Earth and Heaven, or yin and yang, these two trigrams are considered the most fundamental images of The Book of Changes. When the Eight Trigrams are further combined into pairs to create the Sixty-Four Hexagrams, images are created of every possible configuration in the world of being4. For instance, the combination of the trigrams Kun (the Receptive, Earth) on the top and Qian (the Creative, Heaven) on the bottom produces the favorable hexagram Tai (Peace)5.
Figure of Taiji and Eight Trigrams
The Book of Changes forecasts social change and human fortunes by analyzing the interaction of the natural elements, as represented by the Eight Trigrams. Just like the babies, the progenitors of civilizations were very curious about the world they lived. After thoroughly observing natural phenomena, human activities, and the relationship between them, the Chinese ancestors realized that all life is completely dependent upon Nature. Recognizing that the laws of Nature also apply to Society and Humanity, they were able to draw parallels between the constantly changing physical world and changes in human society6. Because the divinatory practices of The Book of Changes are based upon careful study of the objective world and the changes it is constantly undergoing, it is believed that human beings may successfully accomplish their undertakings by following the oracle's instructions7.
The holistic concepts that had their source in ancient Chinese divination were distilled by later generations of thinkers to provide the fundamental worldview of traditional Chinese culture, and the foundation of ancient Chinese philosophy8. The proponents of both Taoism and Confucianism, the two major schools of ancient Chinese thought, believed that all things in the universe have the same origin. They called this source Taiji (the Great Extreme), Taiyi (the Great One), the Dao (the Way), all referring to the primeval state of the universe (Chaos)9. Confucius (Kongzi) (551-479 BC), the founder of Confucianism, summarizes, "Taiji (the Great Extreme; Chaos), gave rise to yin and yang, yin and yang gave rise to the four seasons, and the four seasons gave rise to the Eight Trigrams [representing all things]."10 As all the things arise from one origin, it is reasonable to consider that they are essentially similar and follow the same laws. Human beings are no exception. Laozi (c. 6th century BC), the founder of Taoism, states: "Humanity is modeled upon Earth, Earth is modeled upon Heaven, Heaven is modeled upon the Tao, and the Tao is Nature itself."11 Humanity, Earth, and Heaven are all modeled upon the Dao or the laws of Nature, of which the Law of Yin and Yang is the most important. The Suwen section of the Neijing (c. 104-32 BC), the seminal work of traditional Chinese medicine, states: "The Law of Yin and Yang is the Tao of Heaven and Earth, the rule of all things, the mother of all changes, the root of life and death."12
The Chinese ancestors also applied the holistic model of thinking to the field of medicine. The early philosopher-physicians believed that the processes of the human body may be recognized by observing and analyzing the phenomena of the universe, and that the disorders of Human and Nature can therefore be managed using the same principles. This idea, referred to in the Neijing as the "Correspondence between Human and Heaven," was crucial to the development of traditional Chinese medicine13. Healers of the human body were instructed to "Know Heaven above, know Earth below, know Humanity in the middle."14 Studying the universe and then applying its structures and laws to the human body is known in the Neijing as "Referring the Human to Heaven and Earth."15 The invention of acupuncture arose directly from the holistic application of the analogy between the human body and the features of Nature – the microcosm and macrocosm. More importantly, by using the laws of the macrocosm (Nature) to cure the ills of the microcosm (the human body), acupuncture offers a tangible expression of the concepts of Chinese holistic philosophy. It is nothing less than holism made visible.
Notes and references
1. The standard English language version of The Book of Changes (Yijing) is the Wilhelm-Baynes translation, with a foreword by C. G. Jung. See The I Ching or Book of Changes, the Richard Wilhelm Translation, rendered into English by Cary F. Baynes, foreword by C. G. Jung. Princeton University Press: Princeton, New Jersey, Third Edition, 1967.
2. The Eight Trigrams are Qian (The Creative, Heaven), Kun (the Receptive, Earth), Zhen (the Arousing, Thunder), Xun (the Gentle, Wind), Kan (the Abysmal, Water), Li (the Clinging, Fire), Gen (Keeping Still, Mountain), and Dui (the Joyous, Lake).
3. In his introduction to the Book of Changes,Richard Wilhelm states: "[The] eight trigrams were conceived of as images of all that happens in heaven and on earth. At the same time, they were held to be in a state of continual transition, one changing into another, just as transition from one phenomenon to another is continually taking place in the physical world. Here we have the fundamental concept of the Book of Changes. The eight trigrams are symbols standing for changing transitional states; they are images that are constantly undergoing change... The eight trigrams therefore are not representations of things as such but of their tendencies in movement." The I Ching or Book of Changes, the Richard Wilhelm Translation, rendered into English by Cary F. Baynes, Foreword by C. G. Jung. Princeton University Press: Princeton, New Jersey, third edition, 1967, p. l.
4. The Book of Changes states: "Heaven and Earth give rise to all things in the universe; all things in the universe then give rise to man and woman." Sun Zhensheng, Modern Interpretations of the Book of Changes (Yijing Jin Shi). Haikou: Hainan People's Press, 1988, p. 414. For a list of the sixty-four hexagrams (using the Wade-Giles system of romanization, rather than the modern Hanyu Pinyu system), see The I Ching or Book of Changes, the Richard Wilhelm Translation, rendered into English by Cary F. Baynes, foreword by C. G. Jung. Princeton University Press: Princeton, New Jersey, third edition, 1967.
5. "Tai (Peace) : Above [is] Qian (the Creative, Heaven); below [is] Kun (the Receptive, Earth). The Receptive, which moves downward, stands above; the Creative, which moves upward, is below. Hence their influences meet and are in harmony, so that all living things bloom and prosper." The I Ching or Book of Changes, the Richard Wilhelm Translation, rendered into English by Cary F. Baynes, Foreword by C. G. Jung. Princeton University Press: Princeton, New Jersey, third edition, 1967, p.48, 52.
6. "In ancient times, the Emperor of Baoxi [a predecessor of Huang Di, the Yellow Emperor, legendary writer of the Neijing] looked upward to observe the phenomena of Heaven, and looked downward to observe the laws of the Earth. He studied the movements of the birds and beasts, and the environment suitable for their living. He then created the Eight Trigrams by modelling human activities close at hand and natural changes at a distance, in order to thoroughly understand the changing rules of the universe and apply these rules to all things on the Earth." Sun Zhensheng, Modern Interpretations to the Book of Changes (Yijing Jin Shi).. Haikou: Hainan People's Press, 1988, p. 377.
7. "The hexagrams and lines in their movements and changes mysteriously reproduced the movements and changes of the macrocosm. By the use of the yarrow stalks one could attain a point of vantage from which it was possible to survey the condition of things. Given this perspective, the words of the oracle would indicate what should be done to meet the need of the times." The I Ching or Book of Changes, the Richard Wilhelm Translation, rendered into English by Cary F. Baynes, Foreword by C. G. Jung. Princeton University Press: Princeton, New Jersey, third edition, 1967, p. liv.
8. Both Taoism and Confucianism, the two most important Chinese schools of philosophy, include this doctrine. The difference is that Taoism emphasizes the merging of Human with Nature, while Confucianism strives for the control of Nature by Human.
9. The Tao encompasses three aspects: the Tao of Substance, considered to be the origin of all existence and the primordial natural force of the world; the Tao of Nature, referring to all rules and regulations of the universe; and the Tao of Conduct, referring to human ethics and morality. Here Tao refers to the Tao of Substance. Laozi said, "The Tao [of Substance] gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, Three gives birth to all the things of the universe." Laozi: Annotation and Appreciation of Laozi (Laozi Zhushi Ji Pingjie), ed. Chen Guying. Beijing: China Book Company, 1984, p. 232. This commentary is based on the Laozi (Daodejing), a collection of the ideas of Laozi (c. sixth century BC) and his followers, compiled during the early Warring States Period (475-221 BC).
10. Sun Zhensheng, Modern Interpretations of the Book of Changes (Yijing Jin Shi). Haikou: Hainan People's Press, 1988, p. 368.
11. Laozi: Annotation and Appreciation of Laozi (Laozi Zhushi Ji Pingjie), ed. Chen Guying. Beijing: China Book Company, 1984, p. 163.
12. Suwen – The Simple Questions: The Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor (Huang Di Neijing Suwen) (c. 104-32 BC), annotated by Wang Bing, 762 AD. Beijing: People's Health Press, 1963, 5: 31. The Suwen is the later part ofthe Neijing – The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine (Huang Di Neijing) (c. 104-32 BC), the seminal work of traditional Chinese medicine.
13. Lingshu – the Spiritual Pivot (Lingshujing) (c. 104-32 BC). Beijing: People's Health Press, 1963, 71: 126;. Suwen, 27: 169. The Lingshu is the earlier part of the Neijing – the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic of Medicine (Huang Di Neijing). This version of the Lingshu was first published by the Jujingtang Publishing House during the Ming Dynasty (1522-1566 AD).
14. Suwen, 75: 547
15. Lingshu, 12: 41.
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