Taijitu

Image:Yin yang.png Image:TaiJiTu.png The Taijitu ??? (Wade-Gilest'ai⁴ chi² t'u² Pinyintaìjítú) or diagram of the supreme ultimate, is a well known symbol deriving from Chinese culturewhich represents the principle of yin and yangfrom Taoistand Neo-Confucianphilosophy. The term Taijitu itself refers to any of several schematic diagrams representing these principles.

Wu Jianquan, a famous Chinese martial artsteacher, described the name of the martial art Taijiquanthis way at the beginning of the 20th century:

"Various people have offered different explanations for the name Taijiquan. Some have said: 'In terms of self-cultivation, one must train from a state of movement towards a state of stillness. Taiji comes about through the balance of yin and yang. In terms of the art of attack and defense then, in the context of the changesof full and empty, one is constantly internally latent, not outwardly expressive, as if the yin and yang of Taiji have not yet divided apart.' Others say: 'Every movement of Taijiquan is based on circles, just like the shape of a Taijitu. Therefore, it is called Taijiquan.' Both explanations are quite reasonable, especially the second, which is more complete."

See also

• Chinese philosophy
• Five elements (Chinese philosophy)
• I Ching
• Tao Te Ching
• Traditional Chinese medicine
• Zhuangzi

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It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taijitu Wikipedia article Taijitu.