Chapter 151: The Daoist

In the impending "apocalyptic catastrophe," Hua Feng devoted increasing time to the Taiji diagram gradually forming in his dantian—the nearly yin-yang dualistic internal elixir. He understood that only by becoming sufficiently powerful could they face challenges with composure and confidence, though such a goal was easier said than done.

In a quiet room, Hua Feng and Yun Meng each immersed themselves in cultivation. Surrounded by a faint golden radiance, Hua Feng entered a meditative state. Deeply attuned to the mark of the Flame Emperor, he was digesting the ancients’ understanding of Taiji.

Taiji, as a concept, elucidates the cosmos’s transition from the boundless void (Wuji) to Taiji, and from there to the genesis of myriad things. Taiji represents the state before heaven and earth opened and yin and yang separated—before duality emerged from the primordial chaos. The I Ching’s commentary states: “Thus the Yi has Taiji, which gives birth to the two forms (yin and yang).” The “two forms” refer to the yin and yang instruments of Taiji.

The earliest extant mention of “Taiji” appears in the Zhuangzi. The Taiji diagram is said to be the fruitful embodiment of Zhuangzi’s Taiji thought, as developed later by Confucianism and Daoism.

Taiji stands as a pivotal concept and category in Chinese Daoist cultural history. According to surviving texts, it first appeared in Zhuangzi: “The Great Way exists above Taiji yet is not lofty; below the Six Extremes yet not deep; it precedes heaven and earth yet is not long-standing; it extends from antiquity yet is not old.” Later, the Yi Zhuan elaborates: “The Yi has Taiji, which births the two forms; the two forms produce the four images; the four images generate the eight trigrams.” After Zhuangzi, scholars gradually refined the mature notion of Taiji based on the Yi Jing’s discourse, absorbing the essence of Zhuangzi’s philosophy of primordial chaos.

Like Zhuangzi’s philosophy of chaos, the concept of Taiji embodies a hazy and elusive attitude toward the phenomena and essence of all things. This mode of thought, though seemingly vague, contains profound and lucid philosophical insight. Its ultimate aim is to harmonize human activity with the Great Way (Dao), supreme virtue, and natural law, to avoid being constrained by external forces, and to achieve “non-action yet nothing left undone,” culminating in a spiritual realm of all-encompassing tranquility and harmony.

The Yi Xi Ci Zhuan (a Han dynasty text unearthed from Mawangdui) records: “In ancient times when Fuxi ruled the world, he looked up to observe the celestial phenomena and down to study the laws of the earth, observing the patterns on birds and beasts and the suitability of the land; he took inspiration both from near and far, from himself and from things, and thereby began creating the eight trigrams.” This describes the formation of the trigrams: beginning with Taiji, before the division of yarrow stalks used in divination, after which yin and yang lines emerged—the two forms. Combining two lines produces four possible images, called the four symbols. Adding a line to each forms the eight trigrams. Originally, these corresponded to astronomical, meteorological, and geographical directions, later philosophically interpreted by Song dynasty Neo-Confucians.

In Daoism, Taiji generally denotes the universe’s primordial orderly state, emerging after the undifferentiated chaos of Wuji, and serving as the origin of all things.

Early uses of the Taiji concept appear in Zhuangzi and the Yi Zhuan, often in cosmology and philosophy. The Yi Jing has long been regarded as a treatise revealing the mysteries of heaven and earth; its analysis of hexagram formation is essentially an overview of cosmic creation. Taiji giving birth to the two forms represents the differentiation of heaven and earth, or yin and yang. The concept of Taiji frequently appears alongside Yi studies. Daoist Yi has its own unique system; Taiji is a foundational concept for its cosmology and cultivation theory.

There exist many versions of the Taiji diagram: such as Zhou Dunyi’s Taiji diagram, the Pre-Heaven Taiji diagram (originally called the “Diagram of Heaven and Earth’s Natural Order,” popularly known as the “Yin-Yang Fish Diagram”), the Ancient Taiji Eight Trigrams diagram (with the Pre-Heaven Taiji diagram surrounded by eight trigram symbols), Lai Zhide’s Taiji diagram, and the Qing dynasty’s Duanmu Guohu Taiji diagram.

Among these, only the Pre-Heaven Taiji diagram and the Ancient Taiji Eight Trigrams diagram are widely known today. Thus, modern references to “Taiji diagram” usually mean the “Yin-Yang Fish Diagram” or the “Diagram of Heaven and Earth’s Natural Order.” The “Taiji Eight Trigrams diagram” refers to the Ancient Taiji Eight Trigrams style, often simply called “Taiji diagram” as well.

Nowadays, people tend to call the simple Yin-Yang fish symbol the “Taiji diagram,” and the Yin-Yang fish symbol with the eight trigrams the “Taiji Eight Trigrams diagram.”

Taiji is a category in ancient Chinese philosophy used to explain the world’s origin. The term “Taiji” originates from Zhuangzi: “The Great Way exists above Taiji yet is not lofty; below the Six Extremes yet not deep; it precedes heaven and earth yet is not long-standing; it extends from antiquity yet is not old.” “Tai” means great; “ji” means the utmost point or limit. When things reach their extreme, they transform; transformation is the source of change, which lies in Taiji.

There are several interpretations of Taiji’s meaning:

One describes it as the primordial unified vital energy of the cosmos. Tang Yingda’s commentary on the Yi Jing states: “Taiji refers to the time before heaven and earth were separated, when the original qi was mixed as one.” The Yi Wei’s Qian Zao Du posits that “the manifest arises from the unmanifest,” proposing four stages—Great Change, Great Beginning, Great Origin, and Great Element—to explain “Yi has Taiji.”

Taiji corresponds to the undifferentiated state of qi, the initial formation of qi, the beginning of form, and the start of substance. This mixed state of qi, form, and substance is called chaos. The chaotic entity is what the ancients called original qi. Taiji marks the state before qi divides, embodying its primordial material essence. This view was common in the Han dynasty, as seen in Liu Xin’s statement: “Taiji is the central original qi,” and Wang Chong’s reference to Yi scholars: “Original qi remains undivided; chaos is one.” Zheng Xuan explained Taiji as “pure and undivided qi.”

Another interpretation sees Taiji as the void or non-being, as Wang Bi explains: “The number of the Great Expansion is one, which is unused.” The “unused” is the Dao that acts without acting; it is not a number but becomes a number. This is Yi’s Taiji. The “one” is Taiji, not as a number but as “non-being,” the basis of the numerological systems. Han Kangbo comments on “Yi has Taiji which gives birth to the two forms”: “All existence begins from non-existence; thus Taiji produces the two forms.” The undivided forty-nine numbers of the Great Expansion represent Taiji. Cui Jing says: “The undivided forty-nine numbers symbolize Taiji. When divided into two, they symbolize the two forms. Dividing the yarrow stalks uses fours to symbolize the four seasons.” Cui Jing’s discourse on the Great Expansion and Taiji, which views the undivided numbers as the Great Extreme and finds the eight trigrams contained therein, holds important significance in Yi philosophy history, providing a method for Song dynasty Yi scholars to transform Han dynasty cosmology into ontology.

A further interpretation defines Taiji as the undifferentiated combination of yin and yang. Zhou Dunyi’s Taiji Diagram Explanation states: “From Wuji comes Taiji; when Taiji moves, yang is born; when movement reaches its extreme, it becomes still; when still, yin is born; when stillness reaches its extreme, it moves again; movement and stillness alternate, mutually rooting each other, dividing yin and yang. Thus, the two forms stand.” After Zhou Dunyi, Taiji interpretations diverged into three major schools:

a) Represented by Shao Yong, who explained Taiji numerically. He claimed: “Taiji is one; the unmoved produces two; this is spirit.” He explained that one divides into odd and even to produce the two forms. For humans, “the heart is Taiji”; for heaven and earth, “the Dao is Taiji.”

b) Represented by Zhu Xi, who interpreted Taiji philosophically. “Taiji is the ultimate principle, encompassing the principles of heaven, earth, and all things.” (From Zhuzi Taiji Diagram Explanation) “Taiji is principle itself.” (From Yi Jing Ben Yi, Xi Ci Shang) Taiji is the sum of the principles of all things in heaven and earth; it also appears within individual things. Hence, “Everyone has a Taiji; everything has a Taiji.” (From Zhuzi Yulei)

c) Represented by Zhang Zai, who argued: “One thing with two aspects—this is the great extreme.” He denied the absolute existence of yin and yang, positing that their unity is endlessly variable and their opposition mutually transformative, illustrating that Taiji is the source of all movement and change in heaven and earth. Wang Fuzhi elaborated Zhang Zai’s theory, insisting that Taiji and the two forms are related as substance and function, not as parent and child. He held that Taiji is the unified entity of yin and yang qi, inherently possessing movement and change laws, permeating all things; all phenomena are manifestations of this yin-yang unity, expressing the idea that “Great Harmony Qi” is the world’s origin.

Taiji also refers to “the Dao of one yin and one yang.” What is Dao? It means the Dao of heaven, earth, and humanity. Everything has two sides, constantly changing and interconnected. The Dao of heaven and earth is understood and scientifically verified; the Dao of humanity chiefly concerns thought, which determines behavior and attitude. It stresses respecting one’s mind and natural law, learning to control emotions, avoiding evil thoughts, and not fearing them. The pursuit of correct methods is our true endeavor.

Taiji is a Daoist philosophical concept influencing Confucianism, Daoism, and other Chinese cultural traditions. The Liezi discusses the five cosmic stages: Great Change, Great Origin, Great Beginning, Great Element, and Taiji. Song Confucian Zhou Dunyi opens his Taiji Diagram Explanation with “From Wuji comes Taiji,” imbuing the Wuji concept of Laozi and Zhuangzi with Neo-Confucian meaning, linking Wuji and Taiji.

The Qing dynasty’s Imperial Medical Academy compiled the Medical Mirror of the Golden Chamber, adopting the five-stage theory: “Wuji is the principle within the void qi; Taiji is the qi within the void principle. Qi’s movement and stillness give rise to yin and yang; the division of yin and yang produces heaven and earth. Before the universe’s qi formed shapes, there existed the universe’s shapes containing qi. Investigating shapes reaches qi as yin and yang; observing qi’s principle reveals Taiji.”

Zhuangzi states: “The Great Way exists above Taiji yet is not lofty; below the Six Extremes yet not deep; it precedes heaven and earth yet is not long-standing; it extends from antiquity yet is not old.” The Yi Jing says: “Yi has Taiji, which first produces the two forms; the two forms produce the four images; the four images produce the eight trigrams.” Kong Yingda’s commentary explains: “Taiji refers to the time before heaven and earth separated, when original qi was mixed as one—this is Taichi, the Great Origin, or the Great One.”

Volume seventy-five of Zhuzi Yulei states: “Taiji is simply a profound and chaotic principle encompassing yin and yang, hardness and softness, odd and even—containing all things.” Qing dynasty scholar Wang Fuzhi in his Zhangzi Zhengmeng Commentary on Great Harmony wrote: “Dao is the universal principle of heaven, earth, and humanity; it is precisely what Taiji means.”