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The term stands for perpetual change. According to The Book of Changes, shengsheng (生生) can be understood at two levels. First, in regard to the existence of all things, it is the interaction of yin and yang that drives the process of the endless cycle of birth, rebirth, and change of heaven, earth, and all things. This process is a fundamental attribute of the universe, and the source of ethical behavior. Second, as a term in divination, it refers to the alternation of yin and yang lines and the fact that all elements in the symbol system of The Book of Changes are in a perpetual state of change.
The term refers to the fundamental state of the existence of things. Bian (变) and hua (化) may be used as one word or separately. Specifically, bian means manifest change, while hua indicates subtle and gradual change. Ancient Chinese thinkers generally held that all things under heaven and on earth, including humans and society, are all in a state of change. Only through constant change can they permanently exist and develop. Change is caused by constant clash and integration between the conflicting properties with which people and things are endowed. Some scholars believed that change follows a constant law and can thus be understood and grasped, while others maintained that change is unpredictable and therefore difficult to grasp. Buddhism, on the other hand, holds that changes of things are only superficial, and that all things are still and motionless.
Waxing and waning are two ways in which things change. These two ways are opposites, but they also alternate with each other. When something has grown to a certain point, it will begin to decline, and having declined to a certain degree it will begin to grow again. All things between heaven and earth are in a process of waxing and waning in compliance with their internal laws. People need to grasp this law and act accordingly as things wax and wane.
Things grow or wither as time goes by, or advance or retrogress as circumstances change. This term comes from The Book of Changes. Ancient Chinese believed that the world evolved with time, nothing remained unchanged and that people should act in keeping with the circumstances. They stressed that people should observe the way of heaven and “go with the times.”
This term means one should not only have a good command of the basic rules that govern things, but also know how to deal with exceptional situations or problems in a flexible manner. It suggests that one should not just adhere to principles, but also act according to circumstances. Chang (常permanence) and bian (变change) are two opposing concepts in ancient Chinese philosophy. The nature of things that decides what they are, and their basic rules or general principles that are relatively stable are called chang (permanence); but when it comes to specific situations or ways to deal with them, they are different and change in different circumstances, thus they are called bian (change). Relative to change, permanence is what endures within change. Permanence is fundamental while change is a deviation. Therefore, one needs not only to have a good command of the basic rules and general principles of things, but also know how to apply these rules and principles in a flexible manner according to objective circumstances. The mastery of both permanence and change reflects ancient Chinese people’s perception of both generality and particularity as well as principles and flexibility. It also shows their methodology in the application of both.
When things reach their extreme, change occurs, after the change they evolve smoothly, and thus they continue for a long time. This notion comes from The Book of Changes and is a way of understanding the principles of change. According to this text, things are constantly changing and will, when they reach their extreme, develop in the opposite direction. People ought to understand the way of change, look for the turning point when things reach their extreme, and facilitate change so as to effect their smooth and long-lasting development.
Taiji (the supreme ultimate) has three different meanings. First, it refers to the origin of the world. The ancient Chinese saw it either as qi (vital force) or yuanqi (primordial vital force) that permeates the chaotic world, or as a universal principle, i.e. dao or li (理), or as wu (无). Second, it is used as a term of divination, referring to the initial state before divinatory numbers, the odd number one (written as —) and the even number two (written as – –), are applied or before the yarrow stems are divided. Divination is conducted on the basis of taiji. Third, it stands for the highest point or boundary of space.
Things come into being and exist in two modes, which are used to describe how the eight trigrams are formed. As explained in The Book of Changes: “The Book of Changes involve taiji (太极 the supreme ultimate), which produces two modes. The two modes generate the four images, and the four images give birth to the eight trigrams.” Taiji divides itself into two mutually complementary but opposite parts, or modes. Ancient Chinese had different views as to what the modes represented. Some believed that from the point of view of the formation of the universe, the two modes could be understood as heaven and earth or as yin and yang. Others thought that as a term in divination, the two modes could refer to two groups formed by randomly dividing up 49 yarrow stalks used in divination, or the two lines, solid or broken, in the hexagrams of The Book of Changes.
This term means the four images, or features of the four images, which are engendered through the division of the two modes in the process of the formation of the eight trigrams. As explained in The Book of Changes, “Changes involve taiji (太极 the supreme ultimate), which produces two modes. The two modes generate the four images, and the four images generate the eight trigrams.” The four images are distinct from one another while also mutually related. There was no agreement among ancient scholars with regard to what the four images represent. From the point of view of the coming into being of all things, the four images might stand for the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter; or four basic elements: metal, wood, water, and fire. Alternatively, as a term in divination, the four images could refer to the four stalks in each group when the divination stalks are divided in a fortune-telling exercise, or to four line images for divination: greater yin, greater yang, lesser yin, and lesser yang.
The primary meaning of yin and yang is the orientation of things in relation to the sun, with yang meaning the sunny side and yin the shady side. There are two extended meanings: 1) two opposite kinds of qi (气) in nature; and 2) two basic contrary forces or qualities that coexist, thus the active, hot, upward, outward, bright, forward, and strong are yang, while the passive, cold, downward, inward, dark, backward, and weak are yin. The interaction between yin and yang, or yin qi and yang qi, determines the formation and existence of all things. The theory of yin and yang later became the basis for ancient Chinese to explain and understand the universe and everything in it, social order, and human relations. For example, heaven is yang and earth is yin, ruler is yang and subordinates are yin, husband is yang and wife is yin, noble is yang and ignoble is yin, leading is yang and following is yin.
Each of the eight trigrams consists of three lines and each line is either divided (- -) or undivided (—), representing yin or yang respectively. The eight trigrams are: qian (☰), kun (☷), zhen (☳), xun (☴), kan (☵), li (☲), gen (☶), and dui (☱). According to the ancient Chinese, the eight trigrams symbolized basic things and phenomena of nature or society and represented heaven, earth, thunder, wind, water, fire, mountain, and lake respectively. The ancient Chinese also used the interchanges and transformations of the eight trigrams and what they represented to understand and expound on natural and social changes and to explain why and how they took place.
Trigrams / Hexagrams and Component Lines
A gua (trigram/hexagram) is a system of symbols consisting of undivided lines (—) and divided lines (- -). The undivided line (—) is a yang line while the divided one (- -) a yin line. Three lines make a trigram, and there are eight such trigrams. When six lines are put together, they together make 64 hexagram combinations. Trigrams / hexagrams and component lines were created partly for the purpose of divination. Ancient Chinese people used yarrow stalks to make hexagrams, calculated the variations they suggested, and consulted them for the purpose of divination. Later on, people used trigrams / hexagrams and component lines symbolically to explain the changes and the laws regulating the changes that occurred in people and everything else, and why and how these changes took place.
This refers to the emblems and numbers used in divination. Emblems are cracks in baked tortoise shells, and numbers are inferred from stalks used in divination. Emblems and numbers are the basis of foretelling the future. In The Book of Changes, emblems are divination symbols and the things they represent, and numbers refer to the odd and even numbers of yin and yang and the numbers secured from the divination stalks. Some interpreters of The Book of Changes advocate using emblems and numbers to deduce the changes in all things in the universe.
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