Page 95 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

OVERVIEW 55

Formless (wuxing ~%) to form (*xing). Then there appears the first and ulti-
mate "line," or limit, the *taiji (Great Ultimate), which generates the division
into two (Yin and Yang, or Heaven and Earth). These two basic principles
do not give birth to a dualistic view of the world because they do not apply
to the human world, but merely delineate its frame. The human world lies
between these two limits, and Taoism is concerned with their mingling and
fluctuation.
Numerical and geographical patter11.S. Unlike the cosmologists, Taoists privilege
the number 3 instead of the number 4, which evokes the four seasons and
the four major trigrams. As stated in Daode jing 42, the number 3 represents
the recovered Original Unity that gives birth to the "ten thousand things."
Accordingly, the main structures of the world are threefold and fivefold (see
*sanwu). The vertical structure is threefold and is mainly associated with three
realms above, below, and in the middle. These are variously called Yin, Yang,
and Central Harmony (zhonghe r:p;fQ, the median pneuma); or Heaven, Earth,
and Humanity; or (by the early *Tianshi dao) Heaven, Earth, and Water (see
under *sanguan). The horizontal structure is fivefold, with the wuxing as the
main mark-points.
The combination of the four cardinal directions with above and below
constitute the traditional six directions of the world mentioned in Taoists
texts. The *Lingbao texts in turn borrow from Buddhism the notion of ten
directions, or the eight directions of the compass plus above and below.
The fantastic aspect of the Taoist world can be observed in its view of the
underworld, the heavens, and what is above the heavens. North is the land of
death and hells, while south is the land of salvation and paradise. The poles of
the earth, where Taoists like to roam, are traditionally believed to be dangerous
and inhabited by barbarians and monsters, but for the Taoists they abound in
propitious pneuma and deities (see *yuanyou).
For the Taoists, finally, the Heaven and Earth that we know and inhabit are
not eternal. They have a beginning and will undergo an apocalyptic end, only
to be replaced by others.
IsabeHe ROBINET

m Bokenkamp 1997, 15- 20, 165-66, and 234-37; Lagerwey I98Ib, 33-38, 40-42, and
80-82; Major 1993; Robinet 1984, I: 130-40 and 221-27; Robinet I997b, 7-14, 42-46,
92 - 94, 158-62, and 234- 39; Robinet forthcoming; Schipper and Wang 1986

* COSMOGONY; DIVINATION, OMENS, AND PROPHECY ; MACROCOSM AND
MICRO COSM; NUMEROLOGY; TAOIST VIEWS OF THE HUMAN BODY; for other
related entries see the Synoptic Table of Contents, sec. 11.1 (''Doctrinal Notions")
and sec. HA ("Cosmos and Cosmology")