Religion and Theology

Among the Chinese, particularly those who practice Taoism, their faith can be summed up in a symbol that is rather uniquitous to all  the yin and the yang.  This symbol is represented in a disk with two separate colors, black and white with a dot of a different color found on the opposite sides.  This symbolizes the two opposing poles that are prevalent in every aspect of life  light and dark, strong and weak, male and female, sun and moon and so on (Asia for Educators).  What this emphasizes is that there will always be two opposites one will have and encounter in daily life and in nature.

Furthermore, the two sides appear to be equally balanced.  What this means is that neither is superior over the other, thereby creating a balance and that too much of one can be unhealthy (Ellwood and McGraw 190-191).  Nothing is absolute as shown by the two small dots that appear on the opposite sides of the poles. 

In the purview of religion, there is no such thing as good and evil in the sense that there is no external influence that make an individual commit good or evil deeds.  It is within.  Among those who are good, they are prone to error as well such as indulging in vices and those who are considered bad like criminals still possess some good within them.  It can be further inferred that positive and negative traits are something the Chinese recognize and they never attempt to eliminate one, especially the evil.  Instead, what they simply do it curb it to maintain balance.  When one does too much good, it can be assumed they are allowed to commit errors for maintaining an upright personality is difficult and one would eventually falter in the long run.

All in all, yin and yang emphasizes the need for balance of the two opposites.  It is unrealistic to keep one extreme while eliminating the other.  To do so would create an imbalance or loss of harmony in the universe.  The Chinese accept this because they saw them as natures essentials for they complement each other and do not try to dominate one another.  Nature provides the model to follow in showing how the two opposites are balanced and it is the challenge of people to emulate it.