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Taiji

Also known as: Great Ultimate, Supreme Ultimate, T'ai-chi, Tài jí

Definition

Taiji is a concept used in Chinese thought to describe a unified source or pivotal state from which change unfolds. The Xici commentary of the Zhouyi places it before the Two Modes, Four Images, and Eight Trigrams. Daoist authors also use it in cosmology and as a symbol in some inner-alchemical writings; its meaning varies with the text.

Knowledge guide

Taiji: Unity, Yin–Yang, and the Unfolding of Change

Taiji is not a particular object. In some texts it names an undivided condition; in others it marks the transition from unity to differentiation. Later Daoist, Neo-Confucian, and martial traditions use the same term in their own settings.

What layers does taiji have?

Later diagrams, alchemical interpretations, and martial names cannot be read back as the only original meaning of earlier texts.

Pivot of changeUnity that gives rise to difference

A conceptual source for describing yin and yang, the Four Images, and further change.

Early writings

Zhuangzi and Zhouyi settings

Zhuangzi uses the term for an extreme limit, while the Xici places taiji before the Two Modes and Eight Trigrams.

Cosmology

Undifferentiated qi and generation

Han and later explanations relate taiji to an undivided condition and stages of transformation.

Daoist use

A symbol in scripture and inner alchemy

Daoist writings connect the term to cosmic origins, yin–yang movement, and some alchemical interpretations.

Other traditions

Diagrams and Neo-Confucian readings

Song diagrams and Taijitu shuo gave the term new roles that later influenced techniques and martial culture.

How did the meaning of taiji change?

This is an outline of concept history; the dating and interdependence of individual texts require separate study.

  1. 01
    Pre-Qin

    Early uses enter Daojia and Changes language

    Zhuangzi and the Xici leave distinct accounts of limit and generative sequence.

  2. 02
    Han

    Accounts of qi transformation expand

    Commentaries relate taiji to stages such as taiyi, taichu, taishi, and taisu.

  3. 03
    Wei–Jin to Tang

    Daoist readings reinterpret the term

    Scriptures and commentators consider it alongside Dao, qi, being, and nonbeing.

  4. 04
    Song

    Diagrams and philosophy reshape taiji

    Diagrams linked with Chen Tuan and Zhou Dunyi's Taijitu shuo give it further ontological meanings.

  5. 05
    Ming–Qing onward

    Several uses coexist

    Philosophy, religion, numerological arts, inner alchemy, and martial traditions continue to use the name.

Concept, diagram, or martial art?

Identify which object is under discussion before interpreting the shared name.

01

Taiji as a concept

Meaning
A category for unity, an undifferentiated state, or a pivot of change.
Focus
Texts, cosmology, and transformation.
Distinction
It has no one fixed physical shape or universally agreed meaning.
02

Taiji diagram

Meaning
One of several visual schemes for yin–yang relations or cosmic generation.
Focus
Diagrams and their commentaries.
Distinction
Today's familiar black-and-white motif is not every historical taiji diagram.
03

Taijiquan

Meaning
A martial tradition whose name draws on taiji vocabulary.
Focus
Forms, martial technique, and transmission.
Distinction
A martial practice cannot by itself explain every earlier textual use of taiji.

Where to go next

Start with taiji, yin–yang, and the Two Modes; then compare the Zhouyi, original qi, and taiji diagrams. Read inner-alchemical and martial uses through their own textual histories.

Names and variants

Simplified
太极
Traditional
太極
Other names
Tai Ji, Great Ultimate, Supreme Ultimate, T'ai-chi
Pinyin
Tài jí
English
Taiji

Source material and earlier definitions

English textThe reviewed English overview and source notes remain available below1 section · 149 words

One cosmological account describes an original unity before heaven and earth are differentiated. From this perspective, taiji belongs to the explanation of how contrasting tendencies and the patterned world arise. It is not simply another name for either yin or yang taken alone.

Later thinkers did not give the term a single interpretation. Zhang Zai used it in discussions of qi, while Zhu Xi emphasized principle; Zhou Dunyi brought it into a wider account of cosmic generation. Recognizing these differences helps explain why the same term appears in both Daoist and Confucian discussions without implying identical doctrines.

In Daoist cosmological usage, taiji may be associated with primordial qi or unity as the basis of heaven and earth. The word also appears in unrelated historical names and later cultural contexts. Identifying whether a passage concerns cosmology, a philosophical interpretation or a namesake avoids treating all uses as one religious teaching.

References

  1. [1]
    Dictionary of Daoism