两仪

兩儀

liǎngyí

noun

Meanings

1 heaven and earth
2 yin and yang
3 the two primal forces (in Yijing cosmology)

Characters

Examples

《易经》说：太极生两仪，两仪生四象。

"Yìjīng" shuō: tàijí shēng liǎngyí, liǎngyí shēng sìxiàng.

The Book of Changes says: "The Supreme Ultimate gives rise to the Two Forms, the Two Forms give rise to the Four Symbols."

古人认为两仪代表阴阳。

Gǔrén rènwéi liǎngyí dàibiǎo yīnyáng.

The ancients believed the Two Forms represent yin and yang.

Tips

culture

From the Yijing (《易经》, Book of Changes) cosmogony: 太极生两仪 (tàijí shēng liǎngyí) — the Supreme Ultimate produces the Two Forms (yin and yang). The full sequence is 太极 → 两仪 → 四象 → 八卦, generating progressively more differentiated patterns. Foundational to Chinese metaphysics.

Stroke Order

两 liǎng

仪 yí