Generally speaking, in I Ching, numbers aren’t just numbers. They are also elements of a language, which can bring out abstract ideas that connected with numbers themselves. Same fractal mathematics was also used in I Ching to encode information into Bagua [eight trigrams], which the binary numbers were used for interpreting its quaternary divination technique. Eight trigrams are eight interrelated concepts. Daoism uses eight trigrams to represent the fundamental principles of reality. Moreover, hexagram is like advanced eight grams, which composed of 6 yao (stacked horizontal lines). By performing the eight trigrams in different combinations, one can obtain the hexagram finally. The lines stand for yin (broken lines with gap in the middle) …show more content…
According to Zhuang Zhou, life is limited but knowledge to be gained has no limits. And it is foolish to use limited to pursue unlimited. In his writing Zhuangzi, he mentioned “If from a stick a foot long you every day take the half of it, in a myriad ages it will not be exhausted.” (Zhuangzi, Chapter. Tianxia). This is a representative of ancient Chinese dialectical thought of the limit. Moreover, the most famous sentence from Daoism also has deep connection with mystification of number “Dao begets One (nothingness; or reason of being), One begets Two (yin and yang), Two begets Three (Heaven, Earth and Man; or yin, yang and breath qi), Three begets all things. All things carry the femals and embrace the male. And by breathing together, they live in harmony...” This is a quote from Tao Te Ching [The Classic of the Way and the Natural Virtue by the Old …show more content…
A partial reason is that the ancient Chinese mathematics values pragmatism but the society doesn’t value math. Although China does not lack mathematical writings and mathematicians at ancient times, the educational organizations at that time didn’t teach mathematics at all. They were basically private schools, which rephrase intellectuals to teach literature. For years and years, they mainly focus on the “Four Books and Five Classics” (Four Books are Great Learning, Doctrine of the mean, Analects, and Mencius. Five Classics are Classic of Poetry, Book of Documents, Book of Rites, I Ching, and Spring and Autumn Annals).
Chinese mathematics actually has declined after 14th century. The mathematical works after 14th century basically had no innovation. Most of them are annotations of former works or put lots of efforts on the abacus like creating songs for remember the performance of abacus easier. In my opinion the essence of the decline of Chinese mathematics is lack of theoretical support. Pragmatism is the strength but also the weakness of it. So is mysticism: it inspires people with its mathematical approach to solve unknowns but also restricts their
Thoughts regarding math was on a very basic level and was simple for the Yupiaq. The Yupiaq do not think in additive or qualities of things. Since the Yupiaq were a tribe of hunter-gatherers, to use fish as an example, they would estimate what could fulfill their needs by acquiring enough that could fit in a box. They knew that the women could not clean any more fish than that in one day, so there was no need to take more than that. They also used math in the concept of time for traveling, basically how long it would
You’ve really got to hand it to Malcolm Gladwell in the sense that he can take two completely different things and make them seemingly connect in a way that makes his argument plausible. He does this, yet again, in Chapter 8, “Rice Paddies and Math Tests.” He uses the cultural legacy of rice farming in China to explain why Chinese children/students appear to dominate/succeed in math, as seen in math testing. Gladwell explains that the Chinese numbers system is highly regular. It follows simple rules without exceptions. Because it is very logical, it is easier to understand. It is referred to as “transparent.” Therefore, Chinese kids can learn how to count to 40 two entire years earlier than their American counterparts. Because of this, children who group up speaking an Asian
In the beginning of the course, we discussed “NGD”. The two areas of “NGD” that we focused on were number and geometry. Number is discrete, finite, time, or sound. Geometry is continuous, infinite, space, or vision. Bronowski mentioned how “it’s said that science will dehumanize people and turn them into numbers” (374). This tragically became true during the Holocaust where people were no longer considered human beings, but rather numbers. We discussed various mathematical topics concerning numbers like the well-ordering pair. In the well-ordering pair, ever subset has a least member. There are also figurative numbers, squared numbers, and even Pythagorean triples.
By rethinking the history of philosophy as a single narrative, one might come closer to the movements related to the levels of consciousness that were activated in philosophical undertakings in various Asian philosophical schools. In this regard Japanese and Chinese philosophical traditions might be instructive, since from the beginning through the various stages of their development they have attempted to put into words the inexpressible. The awareness of the insufficiency of words brought many original solutions. In the Song dynasty, for instance China produced a variety of diagrams (tu), by which the philosophers and practitioners represented their theories, which often arose on the basis of meditation techniques and could not be fully transmitted by means of language alone. The illustration of the nine step process (known in Japan as kuso) is one such representation and it is taken here as a starting point for approaching the concept of impermanence and death in the Japanese philosophical
The concepts of Yin, Yang, and Dao are beliefs the early Chinese had to better understand the order of nature and its elements. Yang is male energy, and is understood to stand for dry and warm elements in nature, as well as for active and expansive elements. Yin is the female energy, and is therefore the opposite of yang; it is wet and cold, slower and regressive in nature. Furthermore, yang objects (males) are seen as positive, heavenly and more important elements then yin objects (females). Objects in nature may at times have both yang and yin characteristics, or can even change from yin to yang and visa versa, depending on the circumstances they are placed in. Dao goes beyond the concepts of yin and yang in that it seeks to understand nature as a whole in harmony and cooperation with all. The belief in the way of Dao is also the belief in a Golden Age. To illustrate, if people everywhere followed the way of Dao then true peace and harmony would reign throughout the earth. (Noss and Grangaard 226-227)
Taoism is an ancient Chinese religion, a religion of peace focused on universal balance. The religion itself, though generally surviving today, was almost entirely wiped out in ancient times. Taoism’s primary symbol is still visible on the global market in modern times, though it tends to carry somewhat different meanings then it necessarily did previously. An incredibly life-structure oriented religion, it has permeated through society and is more easily understood through analysis of Taoism’s historical origins and leaders, its types and beliefs, ethics, and the modern influences of Taoism on society.
Over the course of history, individuals have questioned the universe in which we live in and searched for a purpose of our existence. The belief in a higher presence, other than our own, has existed since man can remember. From this belief, religion was established and can survive and flourish. Buddhism and Taoism are two great religious and philosophical traditions in Chinese history. For hundreds of years, these two have shaped Chinese lifestyle and thought. Readings from the Tao Te Ching, Buddhists scriptures, and Herman Hesse’s Siddharta explain the various aspects of Buddhism and Taoism, but in the end there is only one common belief, and that is the existence of a Supreme Being.
Over the entire period of the Qing dynasty, there have been many other rules and reforms. Some of those rules had to do with education. In China at that time, the main subject in schools was the “Sayings of Confucius”. These “sayings” had to be memorized and were taught almost every day. Other subjects, that were taught at schools in other countries, included math, science, logic, and foreign languages. Those subjects were forbidden in the Qing dynasty. The people weren’t really learning anything. Books weren’t given ...
Daoism, also known as Taoism, is one of the major religions of China. The main belief is the learning and practice of "The Way" (Dao), which is the ultimate truth of the universe.The Dao has several meanings. It is the basis of all living things, it governs nature, and is a method that people want to live by. The Dao is everlasting, without beginning or end. Since it has no beginning, it is therefore the oldest thing in the universe. The Dao is neither good nor bad, and is the source of all things.The Dao has no desires, and creates the universe, but does not dominate or regulate it. This idea of no manipulation by the Dao is an example of wu-wei. Wu-wei is one of the central tenets of Taoism and literally means the act of non-being / not action.This does not mean that people are lazy and passive as people might think. This means acting on instinct, and to go with your gut and to not over-think someone's actions and words, basically it means to just go with the flow. To act through wu-wei you shouldn’t think about what actions you are going to take and the consequences and outcome of those actions, you just let your actions control you, you don’t control your actions. The most useful action is one that is not conscious. De is the Taoist concept of virtue. It can be described as a way to live in unity with the Dao and it emerges from one's own inner nature. All things acquire De and it is De that guide the productions of the Dao. Our De appears as we follow the path of the Dao. Daoists see no greatness in violence because of their high respect for peace and their value of all human beings, even those who are their adversaries. Daoists believe that we need to fight only when absolutely necessary, and even then with a heavy heart. ...
“The whole character of Chinese popular religion flows in the direction of plethora of rituals and obligations without much discernable doctrinal underpinning” (Corduan, 2012, p.410). The Chinese popular religion has gravitated away the gods of Buddha and Daoism and captured the philosophy of luck and materialism (Corduan, 2012), while it “is less concerned with philosophical issues and
Taoism has less of an earthly focus and places “harmony with the Tao” as the ultimate reality, forming the universe and everything around us. Taoism looks inward to improve the individual. Taoism is also a religion or philosophy that revolves around a single master, and relies heavily on the direct writings of Lao Tzu, the founder. The “Tao Te Ching” is the main text in poem form. These readings guide a practitioner to contemplate himself and the universal energy using the following four themes as described in the textbook Religions of the World. 1. The basic unity behind the universe is a mysterious and indefinable force called the Tao. 2. Life is the greatest of all possessions. 3. Life is to be lived simply. 4. Pomp and glory are to be despised. The reward, improved social order, is gained not only in this life but mainly the life
The Tao Te Ching is the second most revised book in the world; the bible is the only one that has been revised more. It was written sometime between the sixth and the third century BC when china descended into chaos of rival kingdoms. It was supposedly written by Lao Tan, a possible mythical figure, who has said to have lived till he was 160 to 200 years old, but some believe that he is still alive and is wonder out in the woods.
Although Daoism and Hinduism are two completely separate religions with the former indigenous to China and the latter to India, both of them encompass striking similarities that undeniably make it seem that one influenced the other. However, no known relations between the two religions exist. Comparing the small, but contextually vital part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata known as Bhagavad Gita with the central text to Daoism, Tao Te Ching offers an unparalleled journey of knowledge and understanding. Tao Te Ching emphasizes the crucial concept of Dao, which is translated as the “Way” while Bhagavad Gita stresses the all-encompassing Brahman. Since no sufficient language can express the full meaning of Dao, the most suitable example that shows its operations is the movement of water (TTC 8). Water simply flows with unity with nature – it can transform itself into whatever form is needed to flow. Dao is essentially an indescribable eternal energy and origin of the entire universe. Fully arriving at the Dao is the main goal of Daoism. Similarly, Brahman is the ultimate end to everything in the universe. In the Bhagavad Gita, Brahman is described as the source from which all beings originate from and eventually return. The fundamental principle of both concepts is, therefore, one and the same. I will specifically focus on vital parts of the two concepts in order to illustrate the parallelism of the eventual goal of the Dao and the Brahman. The emphasis on action with no desire for the “fruit” of the action, Dao and Brahman’s inexpressible essence, and following one’s own duty in order to complement the movement of the universe. These concepts illustrate the similarity between Dao and Brahman and ultimately demonstrate that they are ide...
...ina. However, the influence of Confucianism is still deep in Chinese soil even though it is not a dominant one. With the foundation of Neo-Confucianism, which “was the emergence of a new Confucian metaphysics that was influenced by Buddhism and that borrowed freely from Taoist terminology while rejecting both religions” (China), Confucius is still revered as China’s greatest teacher.
This has taught Buddhist followers to appreciate the qualities of life by cherishing and not taking anything for granted. It is often misinterpreted as a negative form of appreciation, seeming as though there is no acknowledgment of an end. However, it is supported by further philosophies to appreciate what life has to offer by “living each day as if it were the last” (unknown). The third Noble Truth is referred to as Nirodha, the acknowledgment that there is a source of mental development.... ...