4,000 year old Chinese philosophy just as relevant today

While living in France, I was impressed by the collective wisdom of their much older culture.  Growing up, I always assumed that America was the superior World nation.  We seemed to dominate economically and politically.  Also, our Religion professed to have the final say on Spiritual matters.  If we had God on our side, who could be better than us?  In France, despite strong Catholic traditions and heritage, less than 5% of the population are actively practicing or even going to Church.  When I learned that, I was deeply troubled.  I was struggling with my own doubts about God.  Why, I asked do they no longer go to Church?  Because for centuries they told us lies, made us pay money, tried to control us to gain power for themselves.  I looked around at the rest of their society.  They had state of the art medicine and education yet they somehow managed to offer affordable health care and free university to everyone.  Ten years ago, ideas like sustainability and eating organic, locally grown food were novel concepts in the US.  These things have never not been done in Europe.  The French, who entertain fabulously in their quaint apartments, opened my eyes to the fact that a humongous car and a gargantuan house won’t guarantee happiness.  In fact, I began to marvel at how Americans could be astronomically more wealthy than the Europeans, yet have a poorer quality of life.  Maybe we don’t know all the answers after all, I finally mused. 

The US is not even 250 years old, whereas French schoolchildren learn the history of their ancestors going back 10 times as far.  For this article, I researched ancient Chinese wisdom and philosophy dating back 4,500 years to the I Ching or Book of Changes.  Ancient Eastern meditation practices are gaining popularity in the West and I have also heard people swear by Chinese medical practices, such as acupuncture.  Nonetheless, I was amazed by my discoveries in the divinitory arts of Chinese astrology and feng shui, in particular, their relevance for modern day problems of all kinds.  The insights range from the origin of the cosmos to how to cope with the human condition and are eerily similar to the basic tenets of modern Science and Western Religious tradition alike.  To summarize Chinese cosmology as detailed in the Huainanzi (200 BC): first, all was chaos out of which evolved the two fundamental, yet inseparable elements of the Universe: space and time.  These two elements form the basis for the concept of Yin and Yang, respectively.  They continuously interact with one another to the point of being One, just like Space and Time in Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.  Chinese Cosmology continues to fit with the modern scientific view, because both contend that the Universe evolved separately from the Divine, without any intervention from a Spirit Realm.  Both describe the Universe’s evolution as organic, its various parts forming as if by cellular division.  In each stage of the process the cosmos reproduces itself into ever finer microcosms.  Each microcosm in the universe is ether spatial (earthly/yin) or temporal (heavenly/yang), but in perfect symmetry each temporal microcosm is correlated with a spatial counterbalance.  For example yin and yang produce the four seasons (temporal): autumn and winter are yin; spring and summer are yang, they then counter balance with the 4 spatial directions, where west and north are considered yin, thereby correlating with autumn and winter.  On the other hand, east and south are yang and correlate with spring and summer.  The same process envisioned for the creation of  the cosmos is seen to apply on a smaller scale to the formation of the human body.  In fact both are animated by the same vital breath or qi (chi).  This is the life force and is thought of as being synonymous with both matter and energy, which amazingly, thousands of years later, Einstein’s equation E=MC2 proves is in fact the case. 

Just as interestingly, the Chinese share two very similar creation myths with the Bible, even though they arose entirely independently.  Yet the Chinese have contended from the beginning that while man can interact with the forces of nature and thus effect the fate of the Earth, God does not punish or reward, but rather is a Spirit to be consulted for guidance.  In the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden for committing Original Sin.  Later, God sends a terrible flood to punish the sins of man in which all but Noah and his family perished.  According to Chinese mythology, two giants Gong Gong and Zhuan Xu battled for power at the beginning of time, causing the Earth to tilt on its axis and resulting in a cataclysmic flood.  The idea here is that man can disturb the natural order, yet the supreme entity in Chinese cosmology is the Universe itself.  Man’s actions potentially harm heaven and earth, but he is not expelled from paradise.  Rather, he makes paradise imperfect and then both man and cosmos are forever forced to live in the disorder that man created, a very environmentally conscious cosmology with especial relevance today.

In Chinese astrology, time is viewed as cyclical and divided into 12 increments, known as the twelve earthly branches.  Each branch is associated with an hour, a month, and a year of the Chinese Zodiac.  Traditionally the Chinese divided the day into twelve 2 hour segments.  Each of the twelve earthly branches also correspond to one of twelve directions on the compass, such as North (N), NNortheast (NNE), ENortheast (ENE), East (E), etc.  The direction corresponds to the month in which the new moon occurs in that segment of the night sky at midnight.  Each month, the handle of the Big Dipper will also point to the same direction at midnight of the new moon.  Furthering the idea of twelve timely divisions, Chinese astrologers noticed that the planet Jupiter (which completes one full rotation around the Sun in 12 years) moves into a different segment of the sky each year.  Thus the 12 years of the Chinese zodiac correspond to the one in which Jupiter resides for that particular year. 

For over 3,000 years, the Chinese have recorded the passage of time using the sexagenary (60) stem-branch cycle, where one of the 12 earthly branches (mentioned above for designating the hours, months, and years) is paired with one of the 10 heavenly stems.  The heavenly stems correspond to the 5 basic elements in Chinese alchemy: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, also called the 5 processes. There are two stems for each element, one corresponds to its appearance in Nature and the other to its use in the world of Man.  For example, stems 1 (Jia) and 2 (Yi) are linked to trees and hewn timber respectively.  Also, the heavenly stems as well as the earthly branches are considered either odd or even according to their number in the sequence making them either yang (odd) or yin (even).  In the sexagenary cycle used to count hours, days, months, and years the sixty units come from all the possible pairings of odd with odd and even with even from the two groupings of the ten heavenly stems and the twelve earthly branches.  The goal of crafting this complex numerical system based on astronomical observations was to decipher the archetypal patterns believed to be written in the stars.  In fact, the astrological system served as a divine model for China’s written language.  Ancient philosophers used the heavenly patterns to derive the first 22 characters, one for each of the 12 earthly branches and the 10 heavenly stems. 

Chinese astrology offers insights into lucky and unlucky times for different activities.  The art of Feng shui helps people identify both lucky and unlucky spatial positions and orientations relative to the 12 points on the traditional Chinese compass.  According to Chinese cosmology, time was born first in the space time pairing, it is superior to space and thus astrology and the measurement of time factors importantly into the practice of feng shui (spatial positioning).  Along with yin yang and the five Processes, the concept of progressive stages of the life cycle also factors importantly into Chinese astrology and feng shui.  In ancient times people were very lucky to live for 60 years, which the philosophers designated as a sexagenary life cycle, divided into 5 stages, where each lasts 12 years and corresponds to one of the 5 processes.  They are as follows: 1 = Wood, a time of physical and intellectual growth; 2 = Fire, a time of greatest strength and passion; 3 = Earth, a time to settle down and establish one’s place in between family generations (parents and children);  4 = Metal, marked by striving for socioeconomic power and dominance; 5 = Water, marked by physical decline tempered by attainment of wisdom and serenity.  The complex yet symmetrical relationships between the elements of Chinese philosophy, finding meaning in the mathematical correlations between Nature and man’s existence is for me, another example of a divinely inspired intuition into the meaning of life.

As a 21^st century American, I see through a significantly different cultural lens than an ancient Eastern philosopher.  I was raised to think of a message from God as a burning bush accompanied by exact commandments, literally written in stone.  The ancient Chinese thought in more subtle, naturally occurring terms.  It was up to man to formulate a code for living after careful observation.  Therefore, the two heavenly inscribed patterns, known as the Yellow river diagram and the Luo river diagram are nowhere near as easy to interpret as the Ten commandments.  The legend of the yellow river diagram is set 4,500 years ago.  It purports that a “dragon” horse arose out of the Yellow River and emperor Fu Xi was inspired by the pattern on its back to devise the eight trigrams.  These three lined patterns consist of a combination of solid (yang) and broken (yin) lines, where the bottom line represents Earth, the middle line represents Humanity and the top line designates Heaven.  The eight possible combinations are pictured above.

 The eight trigrams provide the basis for the divinatory capabilities of the I Ching or Book of Changes, China’s ultimate philosophical text and primary source of inspiration for Lao Tsu and Confucius.  Similarly, the Luo river diagram appeared on the back of a turtle who emerged from the Luo river, 4,000 years ago.  This diagram inspired the Lo Shu magic square, very important to the practice of Feng Shui.  The fact that every line, whether horizontal, vertical, or diagonal adds up to 15 is of especial numerical significance in the Chinese calendar, because it takes 15 days for the new moon to become a full moon. Interestingly, the magic square is remarkably similar to the Hebrew symbol the Sigil of Saturn which is also used for the determination of auspicious timing and locations in Kabbalistic rituals.  In Chinese Feng Shui, the magic square is used in conjunction with the trigrams in two different octagonal arrangements known as Pa Kua.  The former Heaven Pa Kua arrangement represents the ideal universe and is used in connection with the spirit realm.  For example, it is consulted in order to select burial sites or to ward off bad luck (evil spirits).  In it, the trigrams are situated across from their exact opposite, where three solid lines (Heaven / Yang) are placed across from three broken lines (Earth / yin).  The second Pa Kua is known as the Latter Heaven arrangement and represents the realm of man.  Here each trigram is designated as a family member, the three solid (yang) lines are Father and the three broken (yin) lines are mother.  This Pa Kua is more important for the earth’s chi and is used to arrange the interior of one’s living space. 

Former (top) and Latter (bottom) Heaven Arrangements

The I Ching (Book of Changes) is the oldest and most important book of ancient Chinese philosophy.  As mentioned earlier, it laid the foundation for the ideas and teachings of both Confucius and Lao Tsu (Daoism).  To consult The Book of Changes, you roll three coins.  Heads is assigned a value of 3 and tails is 2.  With each roll, you add the three resulting numbers and if the sum is odd you draw a solid line (yang), if it’s even you draw a broken line (yin).  You record six lines starting at the bottom and working your way upwards.  When you have six lines or two trigrams stacked one on top of the other to make a hexagram, you consult a table where each of the 64 possible combinations of the 8 trigrams is assigned a number 1-64.  The book of changes is composed of 64 verses, one for each of the 64 possible hexagrams.  Each verse offers insights on how to proceed through various life circumstances.  Acceptance is the most fundamental principle in the I Ching.  The reader is always urged to align himself with the positive forces in nature, to strive for better communion with the Sage (Higher Power, Spirit of the Universe).  Some people may think of a particular question or situation before they roll.  Others may seek an overall reading.  You can consult it as often or as infrequently as you choose.  Some use it as a way to start each day, while others may consult it only when a problem arises. 

The message of acceptance and humility, paired with reliance on a higher power is at the heart of all religions, as well as 12 step programs.  The main difference is that the ancient Chinese wisdom predates its western counterparts by more than 2000 years.  The use of math as a way to seek understanding of the universe is also a revolutionary concept, especially for its time.  Some modern scientists draw parallels between physics and the teachings of eastern mysticism.  After studying it myself, I am reminded that my human consciousness is not able to know all of life's mysteries, which in turn, keeps me humble.