View source for Tai Ji



{{Contains Chinese text}}
{{Otheruses1|a concept in Taoism}}
{{Redirect|Taichi|the form of martial art|Tai Chi Chuan}}
{{Chinese|picsize=150px|pic=Yin yang.svg|piccap=A commonly used version of a symbol for Taiji, called [[Taijitu]]|t=太極|s=太极|i=/tɑɪ3 gɪk6/|j=tai3 gik6|p=tàijí|w= T'ai Chi|l="Supreme Ultimate"|kanji=太極|kana=たいきょく|romaji=Taikyoku|hangul=태극|hanja=太極|rr=Taegeuk|mr=T'aegŭk|vie=thái cực}} 
{{Taoism}}
{{Taoism portal}}

'''''Taiji''''' (太極) is a state of being from [[Tao]] and [[Wuji (philosophy)|Wuji]]. It is a state of absolute, and of infinite potentiality.  In [[Tao Te Ching]], Tao manifested as ''One'', which is Taiji<ref>Tao te Ching Chapter 42 : 道生一。一生二。二生三。三生萬物</ref>.  In a Taoist guidance book, the same verse was amplified as out of Tao came Taiji, which then split into [[yin and yang]] or ''Two Aspects'', yin and yang slitting into the ''Four Realms'', [[Wu xing]] the Five Elements, and from there the world was created<ref>Tiantang Yiuchi Chapter 4 : 原由無極 ([[Wuji (philosophy)|Wuji]]) 元始一動而生太極 (Taiji)，太極含兩儀 (''two aspects'') 陰陽 ([[yin and yang]])，而化三才四象 (''Four Realms'') 五行([[Wu xing]])……。</ref>.

Taiji was a state in which the world became intelligible before creation. Taiji may be equated to the ''One'', ''Oneness'', Unity, as in ''attaining One or Unity'' (得一) <ref>Robinet (1981), p. 16.</ref> and as stated in the [[Tao Te Ching]]<ref>Tao Te Ching Chapter 39 : 昔之得一者。天得一以清。地得一以寧。神得一以靈。谷得一以盈。萬物得一以生。</ref>.

==Core concept==
Translated as "the great ultimate,"<ref>Chen, Ellen M. (1989). ''The Tao Te Ching: A New Translation and Commentary.'' St. Paul Minnesota: Paragon House.</ref> the ''Taiji'' is understood to be the ideal of [[existence]]. Yin and yang represent the contrasting qualities within reality and experience. For example, light contrasts with darkness, providing them both with context and therefore meaning. ''Taiji'' is not perceived as a simple list of all things and potential things, but rather a complex interconnection of all things in all possible contexts. This concept is often used to illustrate the doctrine of [[Cosmology|cosmological]] unity. It is also used to explain the creation of the "myriad things" (i.e., everything in existence) through the [[Dialectic|dialectical]] process of alternating polarity between yin and yang. Western proponents of Taoism sometimes conflate ''Taiji'' and the "myriad things," but ''Taiji'' is not only representative of what exists, but also that which has existed, will exist, and could potentially exist. 

==''Taiji'' in historical China==
<!-- Flesh out section. What do these facts mean? How do they fit into Chinese culture and history? -->
The concept of ''Taiji'' was introduced in the ''[[Zhuang Zi]],'' showing its early place in [[Taoism]]. It also appears in the Xì Cí (Great Appendix) of the ''[[I Ching]],'' a fundamental Taoist classic. 

When [[Confucianism]] came to the fore again during the [[Song Dynasty]] as [[Neo-Confucianism]], it synthesized aspects of [[Chinese Buddhism]] and [[Taoism]], and drew them together using threads that traced back to the metaphysical discussions in the ''Book of Changes.''

==See Also==
* [[Taegeuk]]
* [[Tomoe]]
* [[Wuji (philosophy)|Wuji]]
* [[Xiuzhen]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==Reference==
*Robinet, Isabelle. ''Taoism: Growth of a Religion'' (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997 [original French 1992]) page 103. ISBN 0-8047-2839-9.

==External Links==

[[Category:Taoist eschatology]]
[[category:Chinese thought]]
[[Category:Chinese philosophy]] 
[[Category:Chinese culture]]

{{China-stub}}
{{philo-stub}}

[[ar:تاي تشي]]
[[de:Taiji]]
[[es:Taiji]]
[[fr:Tàijí]]
[[zh-classical:太極]]
[[ko:태극]]
[[ja:太極]]
[[pl:Taiji]]
[[ru:Великий предел]]
[[sk:Tchaj-ťi]]
[[sv:Taiji]]
[[zh:太極]]

{{WikiDoc Help Menu}}
{{WikiDOc Sources}}
{{WikiDoc Sources}}