Seasons, activity and moods

We can see a correlation with activity and mood with the four seasons of the year (summer, autumn, winter and spring): people are more active in the hot weather and more inactive in cold weather (winter depression, hibernation, etc.). But we shouldn’t act with inactivity (yin) against activity, heat (yang), like we act with defense against offence, and heat with coldness (in the Dao de Jing 道德经 (道德經) Lao zi 老子 wrote: “Constant action overcomes cold; being still overcomes heat”.

This show the principle of adaptation: although we can see that the body seeks the balance shaking in the cold (mechanic movement generates attrition, therefore heat and energy) and you remain extended motionless when you feel hot. In summer animals can eat more plants and there’s more game, therefore our body probably was programmed for active doing in the hot climates, If weren’t the plants using the sun for the photosynthesis we could see the contrary; probably not because the advantage of vision of light, but it is an interesting theory. We can see the contrary, for example in the Saharan desert, where snakes and scorpions remain in caves and under rocks during the day and go out during the night.

We must adjust our diet and lifestyle accordingly.

Complete Dao (Tao) 道

The Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching) 道德经 (道德經) offers one of the most fantastic paths to our civilization, and is one of the books most difficult to understand of The hundred school period 诸子白家 (諸子白家) (the Ancient classics as the poetry shi jing诗经 (詩經) and of the changes Yi jing 易经 (易經) are more difficult because they do not speak directly what they want to say). Someone can really misunderstand the concepts presented on it, principally of the much used yin and yang theory 阴阳 (陰陽), and think that is a book that overemphasize the yin aspects ( and maybe it is) but acting so has its times to be used and prices to be paid, I not want to say Lao zi 老子was wrong, I will only show the other part that is not shown in the book, and, I imagine, obvious to Lao zi, and probably because of that left out of the book; I will show the Dao as a whole. If you really wish to understand this theory I recommend studying the originator and two hundred and fifty times more complex than this theory, the Yi Jing.

Let’s see some of the more clear examples of the dao that Lao zi wrote:

“It is easier to carry a vessel unfilled”; and what purpose would a vessel have than to carry something? Carry a vessel that will not be filled would be a waste of time. But Lao zi was right, we should avoid unnecessary doing.

“The parts that are cut of the house is where its use depends”; someone could misunderstand that we should base our lives on the empty, but what this empty parts would have use if wasn’t for the firm part that constitute the house? We need both yin and yang.

“We cannot protect a hall full of jade from thieves”; We would live better if we not praise anything, but imagine that Laozi would still alive, wouldn’t Daoists try to protect them? Or if we had one only copy of the Dao De Jing, we should not try to protect it? This idea does not mean that you should not praise anything, just that it will be cause of worry.

“Act as not acting” 為無為 (为无为) wei wu wei: Maybe Lao zi should act not acting and wait that the Dao De Jing wrote by itself, that their disciples would learn by themselves; probably that was not the complete idea that Lao zi had about the world.

Adapting after remembering the hanzi to more serious studies of Chinese characters

If you want to move from more serious studies after completing the remembering the hanzi, should not be difficult, since, you will learn that most of the techniques used by James Heisig are the same used to really form the characters. Of course you will have to maintain a vivid idea what is invention and what is really used to form the characters, like亠 is nothing related with a cap, but you could make an association with the head that generally means this component and a lid, that likewise covers something like the cap to the head. The same for 寸cun that not represents glue, but a hand, but you can make an association: when you hold something, is like having glue in your hands and you don’t let them fall. The 㐱 zhen cocktail means thick hair, you can imagine there’s nothing more unpleasant then finding a thick hair in your beverage. 攵pu a taskmaster, is the component form of 攴 pu, strike, a right hand and a branch of wood used to strike, what a severe taskmaster would do to correct his subordinates.

Of course the study of Chinese characters is highly speculative and will not really make you any harm a story that is not considered the truth (generally there is multiple explanations for the construction of a character), but if you really want to study the history of Chinese characters, it will be more useful to learn less “colorful” images, although they are more difficult to remember; if you just want to talk in Chinese the mnemonics methods of the remembering the hanzi are good.

The division of an hexagram 卦 gua of the Yi jing (I ching) 易经 (易經) into three四象si xiang four images

According to my theories, although I prefer seeing the hexagram 卦 gua as taiji 太极（太極），a whole, I see no reason to believe the division into three four images四象si xiang (the two first lines, the third and fourth lines, and the two last lines) are less important than the division in two ba gua八卦(symmetry, perfect division); if these divisions are really important, this would help immensely to understand better the Yi jing (I ching) 易经 (易經).

The disadvantage of this is that the four images are not exhausted in their meanings as the ba gua (although I have critics how this knowledge about the bagua was obtained); that is why I will start a series of texts to understand better the four symbols, this part of the Yi jing so neglected, that would finally culminate in a view of the hexagrams divided as three four images, although, as I said, is not a path that I think should be followed and probably will not be one of my priorities.