Yin and yang

High school (ages 12+)
Philosophy & Big Questions

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/yin-and-yang

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the philosophical school?Yin-Yang School (Yinyangjia), influential in Taoism and Chinese cosmology
2. What is the key textual association?The I Ching (Book of Changes) extensively utilizes Yin and Yang principles
3. Why do Yin and Yang have a circle and a line in their symbol?The circle shows the Tao, the big unity that creates all differences. The line splits the circle into black and white, showing Yin and Yang are connected and each contains the other.
4. How does Yin and Yang help people stay healthy?In traditional Chinese medicine, doctors look for when Yin and Yang are out of balance and then use herbs or treatments to bring them back together, making the body feel better.

Tao: The fundamental, ineffable principle underlying all reality in Taoism.
Wu Xing: The Five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), often correlated with Yin and Yang.
Dialectical: Relating to the process of resolving contradictions between opposing ideas or forces.