The Chinese View of the Cosmos Sanpao Li

The Chinese View of the Cosmos San-pao Li, Ph. D. Department of Asian and Asian American Studies California State University, Long Beach California, U. S. A. February 12, 2004

Preface n. A macrohistorical and holistic approach n New inspirations from an age-old theorum 2

The Anthropocosmic Unity: Heaven, Earth, and Man êHeaven-----Religion êEarth -------Cosmology êMan-----Ethics 3

The Anthropocosmic Unity: Heaven, Earth, and Man 4

An Outline n Cosmos/Cosmology n Folk mythology n The Book of Changes n The yin-yang theory n The five dynamic forces 5

An Outline n Cosmos/Cosmology n Folk mythology n The Book of Changes n The yin-yang theory n The five dynamic forces 6

Cosmology The branch of learning that treats the universe as an ordered system. Kosmos (order/harmony) + logos (word/discouse) =cosmology 7

Cosmology Cosmos The universe is considered as a harmonious and orderly system. 8

Cosmology *Values (what the world ought to be) *Value system/pattern (a set of values organized into a distinctive pattern) *World view/Weltanschauung (people’s conception of what the world is) 9

Cosmology The value structure of a people which provides the basis for their existence. 10

Cosmology The resulting cosmology will accordingly reflect the sociological, philosophical or scientific predilections of the individual and his group. 11

An Outline n Cosmos/Cosmology n Folk mythology n The Book of Changes n The yin-yang theory n The five dynamic forces 12

Folk Mythology êPan Gu (see picture) êThe Story of the Stone ê 36, 501 - 36, 500 = 1 13

An Outline n Cosmos/Cosmology n Folk n The mythology Book of Changes n The yin-yang theory n The five dynamic forces 14

The Book of Changes *Things are constantly in flux or in the process of change. *There is no isolated occurrence in this cosmos but only concurrence. 15

The Book of Changes ( A repository of abstract concepts ( A spiritual medium, a moral manual, and a handbook of the religious Daoist ( A cosmological treatise of awesome obscurity ( A Confucian classic ( Yijing -- the book of CHANGES ( Yin-Yang ( The Eight Diagrams 16

The Book of Changes /Things are groups of relations /The multifarious phenomena are reduced to unity and harmony /Translation of all natural phenomena into a mathematical language 17

An Outline n Cosmos/Cosmology n Folk mythology n The Book of Changes n The yin-yang theory five dynamic forces 18

Dialectical Pattern of the Cosmic Forces 19

Yin (-) and Yang (+) /Eternally interacting with each other /Form the very basis of Chinese cosmology /YIN = all the negative qualities /YANG = all the positive qualities 20

Yin (-) and Yang (+) `In this “cosmic duet” neither the one nor the other ever permanently triumphs. `They are mutually dependant and supplementary. 21

The Eight Diagrams /See graphic /coincidentia opppositorum (reconciliation of the opposites) 22

An Outline n Cosmos/Cosmology n Folk mythology n The Book of Changes n The yin-yang theory n The five dynamic forces 23

Dialectical Pattern of the Cosmic Forces ê Harmonized opposites--Book of Changes ê Mutually creative yet destructive G G wood, fire, earth, metal, water wood, earth, water, fire, metal ê The Yin and the Yang ê Confirmation by modern physics 24

Dialectical Pattern of the Cosmic Forces Water Wood Metal Earth Fire 25

Earth---Cosmology ê Cosmology---Weltanschauung ê Pan Gu--the only cosmogonic myth ê Yin-Yang and the Five Cosmic Forces ê Things of the same genus activate each other ê microcosm-macrocosm 26

The Anthropocosmic Unity: Heaven, Earth, and Man 27

Earth---Cosmology n Existential continuum (ontology) n Organismic whole (microcosmmacrocosm) n Dialectical pattern of cosmic forces (epistemology) 28

Existential Continuum ê Harmony of the opposites ê The absence of cosmogonical myths ê Absence of interest in the “First Cause” ê Unity of the spiritual and the material, the subjective and the objective, the secular and the sacred ê An existential continuum 29

Organismic Whole ê Joseph Needham, Science and Civilisation in China ê “Heaven and I are one” ê The law of conservation ê The fear of Nature 30

Dialectical Pattern of the Cosmic Forces ê Harmonized opposites--Book of Changes ê Mutually creative yet destructive G G wood, fire, earth, metal, water wood, earth, water, fire, metal ê The Yin and the Yang ê Confirmation by modern physics 31

Earth---Cosmology `There always three dimensions involved in any given pattern of matter -- the cosmic triangle `There is no isolated occurrence, only concurrence. `Everything is a matter of coincidence. 32

Thank you! Your comments and questions are welcome! 33