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The Combination of Yin-Yang and Five Elements in Lu's Spring and Autumn - Focusing on the Rules of Four Seasons Thought in the Twelve principle (『여씨춘추(呂氏春秋)』에서의 음양(陰陽)과 오행(五行)의 결합(結合) - 십이기(十二紀)의 월령사상(月令思想)을 중심으로 -)

  • Cho, Jueun;Yun, Muhak
    • The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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    • no.42
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    • pp.133-164
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    • 2014
  • In "Lu's Spring and Autumn", the ideas of all the schools before Qin Dynasty were compiled and the diagram of the Trinity of heaven, earth and man using the category of Yin-yang and the five elements of the universe since the ancient times was established. This can be assessed to be the blueprint for a unified empire closely connecting time and space, and objects in heaven and on earth centered around human beings. In specific, Yin-yang and the five elements of the universe were combined to categorize and schematize all things in the universe, and connect them to human affairs at the same time. Its contents convert almost all academic fields including politics, economics, society, military, astronomy, geography, medical science, education and history. Particularly, the documents popular during the age of civil wars and the ideas of Jikha scholars were synthesized and specified. Yet, it went beyond simple collection of the thoughts and documents since the ancient times in terms of contents and forms, and the method of 12 months for 1 year was selected and prescript was expanded to the various fields of politics and the society. In the Twelve principle, Yin-yang and the five elements, and the ten celestial stems and the earthly ones were combined, the contradiction from the process was solved, and the Rules of Four Seasons Thought was completed. Therefore, even though some parts of the idea of Yin-yang and the five elements in "Lu's Spring and Autumn" is found here and there from other documents, the unificative systematization of the whole has an important meaning in the history of thought. In summary, it has been proved that the Rules of Four Seasons Thought in "Lu's Spring and Autumn" was not limited to the physical unity of Yin-yang and the five elements of the universe, but qualitatively specified particularly in the aspects of agriculture from the people's side and politics from a leader's position.

A Study on the Changing Perception of Queen Mother of the West from the Perspective of Yin-Yang Theory (음양론 관점에서 본 서왕모(西王母) 인식 변화 고찰)

  • Jo Min-hwan
    • Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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    • v.42
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    • pp.45-73
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    • 2022
  • The phenomenon of veneration for Queen Mother of the West [西王母 Chn: Xiwangmu Kr: Seowangmo] is a 'cultural flow' that has garnered great interest not only in China but also in Korea for many years. To properly understand the cultural trend regarding the Queen Mother of the West, it is essential to view the related mythology as it corresponds to East Asian women as well as the transformation of society's view of women. In addition to the outcomes that result from the establishment of a patriarchal society, the relationship between goddesses and gods gradually becomes a relationship of discrimination based upon differences. Accordingly, as women change into objects that are given meaning rather than subjects that give meaning, the de-sacredization of the goddess occurs. This paper focused on the changes in the perception of the Queen Mother of the West from the view of Yin-Yang theory. This approach shows a transition process of transforming wherein she has morphed into an assistant or spouse of a god as part of a trend that deemphasizes the divinity of her as a stand-alone goddess. Yin-Yang theory is the key to understanding culture, history, and art as well as Chinese philosophy. This key can be further applied to the theme of women in mythology. What is particularly noteworthy about the process by which the Queen Mother of the West was defined as a goddess is that she was original described as half-human and half-beast and yet by the time her depictions became fully human and fully woman, she was described instead as an absolute beauty endowed with great artistic talent. In this paper, it will be revealed that the perception of the Queen Mother of the West, as an absolute beauty and artistic talent, is embedded with the male societal desire for an image of the feminine as understood via Yin-Yang theory. Queen Mother of the West as she was depicted in the Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海經 Chn: Shanhaijing Kr: Sanhaegyeong) had a half-human half-beast form that instilled people with fear of disasters and punishments from heaven. However, in the Han Dynasty, her religious significance became that of an object to ward off evil and attain blessings. By the time of the novel, Tales of the Strange (志怪小說 Chn: Zhiguaixiaoshuo Kr: Jigoesoseol), from the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, she was transformed into a goddess in the image of beautiful woman in charge longevity and immortality. From the perspective of Yin-Yang theory, the changes in the perception of Queen Mother of the West was found to contain the following meaning: as an extension of the establishment of a patriarchal system and subordinate laws, her new form was made to be pleasing to the male gaze and Yin-Yang theory was brought in to support those changes later.