Taijitu is still. In stillness it generates "yin"; yet at the limit of stillness it is also active. Activity and stillness alternate; each is the basis of the other. In distinguishing "yin" and "yang", the Two Modes are thereby established. The alternation and combination of "yang" and "yin" generate water, fire, wood, metal, and earth. With these five [phases of] "qi" harmoniously arranged, the Four Seasons proceed through them. The Five Phases are simply "yin" and "yang"; "yin" and "yang" are simply the Supreme Polarity; the Supreme Polarity is fundamentally Non-polar. [Yet] in the generation of the Five Phases, each one
Yin and yang Proto-Viet-Muong "hlaŋ"); owing to "the different OC initial consonant which seems to have no recognizable OC morphological function". "Yin" and "yang" are semantically complex words. A reliable Chinese-English dictionary gives the following translation equivalents. Yin 陰 or 阴 Noun ① [philosophy] negative/passive/female principle in nature ② Surname Bound morpheme ① the moon ② shaded orientation ③ covert; concealed; hidden ④ ⑦ negative ⑧ north side of a hill ⑨ south bank of a river ⑩ reverse side of a stele ⑪in intaglio Stative verb ① overcast Yang 陽 or 阳 Bound morpheme ① [Chinese philosophy] positive/active/male principle in nature ②the