I ching: what is yin and yang? What are the five elements? What is the ultimate meaning?

Yin and Yang refer to the state of unity of opposites of all things in the world, and the five elements refer to the changing law of things. The ultimate significance of the Book of Changes is to explore the changing laws of all things in the universe, guide life to look at problems from a macro perspective, solve problems with holistic thinking, and keep pace with the times to solve all kinds of puzzles and problems faced by life.

The Book of Changes, known as the "head of the group classics", is said to have been created by Fuxi, the ancestor of human beings, according to the eight natural phenomena in nature, namely, heaven, earth, wind, thunder, water, fire, mountains and rivers. Later, after Zhou Wenwang's interpretation, the Eight Diagrams were translated into sixty-four hexagrams, which were handed down by Confucius and passed down to later generations. The Book of Changes we see today is the crystallization of the wisdom created and developed by these three saints, and the iconic figure of the Book of Changes is the man who embraces Yin and Yang. It represents two characteristics of everything in the universe, in which Yang represents the external, expanding, moving and bright side, while Yin represents the introverted, shrinking, static and dark side. But yin and yang are not absolute, but are transformed into each other according to different situations. The Yin-Yang diagram in the Book of Changes represents the complementarity and mutual transformation of Yin and Yang, with Yang in Yin and Yin in Yang.

The strict meaning of the five elements does not belong to the content of the Book of Changes. It is only a further deduction of the changing law in the ideological system of the Book of Changes. Various material elements in nature are divided into five attributes of Jin Mu: fire, water and earth. These five substances are complementary to each other according to the law of mutual resistance. The theory of five elements still affects people's lives. Some parents ask to push the eight characters when naming their children, which is the five-element theory.

The Book of Changes is profound and profound, and many people can only glimpse it, so it is difficult to really understand it. Some folk magicians use the Book of Changes to calculate divination, while those who are familiar with the Book of Changes regard it as a philosophical wisdom to enhance their minds, horizons and wisdom. When people really have the wisdom to grasp the changing law of things, they can grasp their own destiny to a greater extent. As the saying goes, "Those who are good at the Book of Changes do not anticipate" means this.