Chinese 10: Questions COSMOLOGY NAME:
1. For ancient Chinese, rather than Just being created out of nothing, how did the world (or universe) evolve? For ancient Chinese, what was "qi"? What is made out of "qi"?
2. Besides "material energy," what have been three possible translations in English of the world "qi"?
3. According to Zhu Xi, what are two aspects of everything? What is Ii ( ) understood to be?
4. What were the two modalities (modes) that qi moved or operated through?
5. Since the sun has not yet warmed the yin side of the mountain, what is this side of the mountain like? What is the yang side of the mountain like?
6. How did the ancient Chinese conceive of "health" for the individual? What happens when the two modes depart from their natural course?
7. What happens to the yin part of a person, called "earthly souls" (po), upon one's death? What happens to the yang parts of a person, called "heavenly souls" (hun) upon death? What do they (the hun) do as they "rise" from the body?
8. What could the first meaning of the Chinese word "shen" be translated as? How can the second meaning of the word "shen" be rendered?
What are shen (which are yang energy) opposed to? What can the third meaning of the word "shen" be translated as? In what sense is an entity "spiritual"?
9. In the Eight Triagram (Ba Gua) what are the continuous lines considered to be? What is the broken line classified as being?
10. After inventing the 8 triagrams, how did the legendary Fuxi arrange them? What is this arrangement (called Prior Heaven or Xian Tian) associated with? What is the Zhou founder King Wen's arrangement (called Houtian or Posterior Heaven) used in?
In what three ways can divination maybe benefit a person?
Primary Sources: Click on only the First (Ch'ien) and Second (Kun) Triagrams of Yi ling
11. Click on Hexagram #1 Ch'ien (Qian) the Creative (6 Unbroken Lines). In relation to the universe, what does this hexagram express? In relation to the human world, what does this hexagram denote?
12. Click on #2 K'un (Kun) The Receptive (6 Broken Lines). As applied to human affairs, where can the principle of complementary relationships (between Qian and Kun) be found? When is the Receptive productive or good? When is the Receptive evil?