Wuji

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The empty circle as a symbol for Wuji

Wuji or Wújí ( Chinese  無極  /  无极 ) is a term from Chinese philosophy . It can be translated as "infinite", "summit of nothing" or the "non-highest". The character 無  /  无 , wú represents a negation, 極  /  极 , jí was originally the "roof ridge" and later took on the meaning of "pole, extreme, extreme, highest"; as a verb it can also mean “exhaust” or “reach”. Wuji can be understood as a description of an undifferentiated state of the universe, which represents pure potentiality, does not yet contain any different objects and is at the same time the origin of all objects. Wuji thus refers to a shapeless primal ground to which everything also returns. Wuji is invisible, unconditional, limitless, attributeless and incomprehensible.

Wuji as the source

In its undifferentiated absoluteness, the non-highest is at the same time the highest emptiness, which was already there before all beings. The Wu (nothingness) all being (is You ) as a metaphysical level ahead, because the entity has its origin necessary to nothing. Ultimately, everything can be traced back to the Wuji: The five phases of change, water, fire, wood, metal and earth, arise in the change of yin and yang . Yin and Yang are one in Taiji , the Most High. Taiji is an undifferentiated structuring principle that shapes the wholeness of the manifold things. The Taiji is the original force of all cosmic manifestations that emerge from the emptiness of the Wuji. Wuji precedes Taiji. Taiji is rooted in Wuji, the summit of nothing.

Wuji er Taiji

Wuji er Taiji is the idea of ​​unity in the ever-changing diversity, the indivisible one in the changing differentiation. The term is traced back to Daodejing and has a systematic central function for Zhou Dunyi . Wuji er Taiji can be translated as Wuji "and at the same time" Taiji in the sense of an additive sequence. The particle “he” can also be displayed in a contrasting way with “but also”. Von der Gabelentz translated Wuji Taiji as: “Without principle, with the original principle.” This equation follows an interpretation by Zhu Xi , who regards Wuji and Taiji as two aspects of the one Li (the absolute as the principle of cosmic order, a universal order structure).

Taij has its roots in Wuji and at the same time the absolute truth of Wuji and the essence of the two archetypes from which Yin and Yang arise. Wuji er Taiji is the starting point of the universe. But it also has an ethical dimension, because it is also the reason for what is good in people. The human mind is also structured by Taiji, which is rooted in Wuji. Unity and difference are therefore not only cosmological , but also epistemological principles. This correspondence between the human spirit and the material world is the prerequisite for the highest knowledge:

"If he (the learner) is based on the fact that the structuring principles are already in the cognition, exhausted them extensively and thereby goes to the extreme ... one day he will suddenly experience complete penetration ... whereby the overall structure and comprehensive function of the human spirit is completely illuminated. "

- Zhu Xi, Sishu jizhu

On the level of this highest knowledge, the human being simultaneously gains access to humanity, a sense of duty, rituality, loyalty and wisdom. The dualism of unity and difference finds its abolition in moral action.

Graphical representation

The unity of Wuji is traditionally symbolized by an empty circle. It points to the original, primordial one. It is emptiness from which the fullness of creation emerges. The circle as a perfect form also stands for absoluteness. Wuji remains an abstract concept if the learner does not empty his or her intellect and emotions on the path of knowledge. The experience of Wuji becomes possible in the silence of meditation.

In Korean

The equivalent of Wuji in Korean is haneul ( Kor. 하늘 [hanəl] , from MR hanŭl ). There the word is composed of ha (na) - 하 (나) = one - in the sense of undivided , the whole and neul ( 늘 , MR nŭl ) = always. So together, for example: the all-encompassing, everlasting . It is also translated as heaven or the divine . From this primordial reason haneul the polarity eumyang ( 음양 , MR ŭmyang - Yin and Yang ) emerges, from this the five phases of change o haeng ( 오행 , MR o haeng ) and from this the innumerable facets of reality. In Korean symbolism, there is also a point in pictorial representations of Haneul , and sometimes a circle with a point in the middle.

literature

  • Georg von der Gabelentz (Ed.): Thai-kih-thu. The Tscheu TSI panel of Urprinzipes, with Chu-hi's commentaries after Hoh-pih-sing-li . RV Zahn, Dresden 1876.
  • Michael Leibold: Taiji. A transcendental term in Confucian philosophy? In: Wiebke Schrader u. a. (Ed.): Perspektiven der Philosophie. New yearbook . Volume 28, 2002, ISSN  0171-1288 , pp. 329ff.
  • Wolfgang Ommerborn: The unity of the world. The Qi theory of the neo-Confucian Zhang Zai (1020-1077). Grüner, Amsterdam a. a. 1996, ISBN 90-6032-344-0 ( Bochum Studies on Philosophy 23).
  • Lexicon of the Eastern Wisdom Teachings . Patmos, Düsseldorf 2005, ISBN 3-491-96136-X .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Philip J. Ivanhoe: Art. Neo-Confucian Philosophy , in: Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy ; Lexicon of Eastern Wisdom , Art. Wuji , p. 444.
  2. ↑ Christian Unverzagt: Taijiquan and Wuji , University of Heidelberg, 2016, p. 2.
  3. ↑ Ivanhoe, lc
  4. ^ Leibold, Taiji , p. 337
  5. ↑ Leibold, Taiji , p. 340
  6. ↑ Rodney L. Taylor: Art. Zhou Dunyi , in: Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 4, 9966-9968, here 9967
  7. ↑ Von der Gabelentz, Thai-khi-thu des Tscheu-tsi , p. 31
  8. ↑ Ommerborn, Die Einheit der Welt , p. 189 in footnote 517
  9. ^ Leibold, Taiji , p. 341
  10. ^ Leibold, Taiji , p. 347
  11. ↑ See the translation from Sishu jizhu in Leibold, Taiji , p. 348 and Daniel K. Gardener: Chu Hsi and the Ta-hsueh . Harvard 1986, p. 104 f.
  12. ↑ Leibold, Taiji , p. 349 f.
  13. ↑ 하나 = Korean one (in the sense of the undivided, the whole ) http://www.koreanisch-deutsch.de/search.php?Action=doSearch&keyword=%ED%95%98%EB%82%98 (accessed 21 August 2013)
  14. ↑ 일 = Korean one (in the sense of the individual or the one or the other ) http://www.koreanisch-deutsch.de/%EC%9D%BC (accessed August 21, 2013)
  15. ↑ 늘 = Korean always http://www.koreanisch-deutsch.de/search.php?Action=doSearch&keyword=%EB%8A%98 (accessed August 21, 2013)
  16. ↑ 하늘 = Korean, other translations http://www.koreanisch-deutsch.de/search.php?Action=doSearch&keyword=%ED%95%98%EB%8A%98 (accessed August 21, 2013)
  17. ↑ Ko. Myong, movement for life. Shinson Hapkido, ISBN 3-9804195-0-9