Yin and yang Da Cidian") enter "yangyin" *陽陰. While "yang" and "yin" can occur together in context, "yangyin" is not synonymous with "yinyang". The linguistic term "irreversible binomial" refers to a collocation of two words A-B that cannot be idiomatically reversed as B-A, for example, English "cat and mouse" (not *"mouse and cat") and "friend or foe" (not *"foe or friend"). Similarly, the usual pattern among Chinese binomial compounds is for positive A and negative B, where the A word is dominant or privileged over B, for example, "tiandi" 天地 "heaven and earth" and "nannü" 男女 "men and women". "Yinyang" meaning "dark and
Chinese sun and moon mirrors respond with fire: the pure essence of "yang". When placed before the moon—the ultimate "yin" 陰 phenomenon in the world—they respond with water: the pure essence of "yin". Thus mirrors offer the paradigm for "proper responsiveness": they reflect the true essence of the ultimate "yin" and "yang"—the alpha and omega of phenomena in early Chinese cosmology." (Carr and Ivanhoe 2000: 56) Erin Cline says the early Chinese attributed mirrors to have a mysterious power and great religious significance. The ceremonial bronze "fusui" 夫遂 and "yangsui" 陽燧 mirrors were seen as active, responsive objects because they could be used to produce