Chinese sun and moon mirrors water. (Laufer 1915: 221-222). Owing to the similarities of Chinese "yangsui" and "fangzhu" mirrors with Indian "sūryakānta" and "candrakānta" stones, Tang (1935) proposes a trans-cultural diffusion from China to the Mughal Empire. Chinese sun and moon mirrors The yángsuì 陽燧 or sun-mirror was an ancient Chinese burning-mirror that concentrates sunlight to ignite tinder and the fāngzhū 方諸 or moon-mirror was a device that collects nighttime dew by condensation. These two bronze implements are literary metaphors for yin and yang, associating the ""yang"-mirror" "yangsui" with the sun (a.k.a. "tàiyáng" 太陽 "great "yang""), fire, dry, and round, and the ""yin"-mirror" "fangshu" with
Taijitu the 16th century. The original description of a "taijitu" is due to Song era philosopher Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073), author of the "Taijitu shuo" "Explanation of the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate", which became the cornerstone of Neo-Confucianist cosmology. His brief text synthesized aspects of Chinese Buddhism and Taoism with metaphysical discussions in the "Yijing". Zhou's key terms Wuji and Taiji appear in the opening line , which Adler notes could also be translated "The Supreme Polarity that is Non-Polar". Non-polar ("wuji") and yet Supreme Polarity ("taiji")! The Supreme Polarity in activity generates "yang"; yet at the limit of activity it