Characters in Chinese medicine: yin or yang, which one are you?

This month, we are going to talk about the different characters in TCM. There are six characters more or less assigned at birth. I am writing this article to give you a tool to understand yourself better, and maybe love yourself as you are.

Yin and yang

What we are and what we feel are the consequences of an imbalance of the energies within us.

The notion of yin/yang is complex and very often misused.

The important thing to remember about yin/yang is, first of all, that the only thing that does not change is that everything changes. This is the notion of impermanence, so important in Buddhist philosophy.

What is present at this moment will not be in the next instant. And it will manifest itself in a different way.

You have to remember that it is a notion of duality and complementarity between two concepts. For example, you cannot know heat without knowing cold. We would not know day without night, joy without sadness, and so on.

To finish on yin and yang (and this is another very important notion) it is also a way to compare two things. It is said that the sun is more yang than the moon. That men are more yang than women. The visible face of the mountain is more yang than the invisible face. The emerged face of the iceberg is more yang than the submerged face. And we could go on like this for a long time.

The external climates

The Chinese people, through observation of nature, classified the weather into six different climates.

• The hot climate.
• The dry climate.
• The restless climate.
• The cold climate.
• The damp climate.
• The windy climate.

Moreover, the climates have an influence on us and on our health. Look at the damage that a "chill" or sunstroke can do.

Internal climates influence our character

There is also a system of internal climate, within and generated by our body. This has the effect of protecting us from climatic hazards.

Without it, we would be cold, or always hot, and so on.

They protect us up to a certain point. For example, in a strong heatwave, our energies are not enough.

To simplify the explanation, I gave small names to the internal energies. As far as I know, these terms are only used by me.

• The cold yang.
• The restless yang.
• The luminous yang.
• The damp yin.
• The warm yin.
• The wind yin.

And they are also the ones who will influence our character.

Temperaments and characters in TCM

The six internal climates certainly protect us, but they also forge our character, our temperament and our physique. This is what is called the morphotype. The long introduction is finally over.

Here I give a list of each internal climate, so that you can identify with it or not.

The yangs

The cold yang

Their silhouette is a rectangle. At first glance, this person seems cold and distant, even haughty. Their upright posture gives the impression that they do not want to be approached, nor have their thoughts guessed.

The restless yang

Their silhouette is a triangle. This one is the best known, because when they are in a room, you hear them from afar. They like to attract attention. They are very sanguine and lose their temper quickly.

The luminous yang

Their silhouette is an inverted triangle. These are people who are naturally very luminous. Others like to be around them, because they bring them joy through their simple presence.

The yins

The wind yin

Their silhouette is an hourglass. These people hold grudges for a long time. They are very quick-tempered. They are not people to annoy or betray, because they will remember it years later.

The warm yin

Their silhouette forms an eight. The warm yin is interesting, because in Chinese medicine we distinguish gentle warmth (in fact, rather yin) from strong heat (rather yang). The warm yin personality is someone warm-hearted, a hopeless romantic… who lives a lot in their emotions and whose heart is often broken.

The damp yin

Their silhouette is round. These are the most anxious people. Their thoughts are blocked. It is a bit like wading through a swamp. It takes a lot of energy not to move forward. They are also very family-oriented. They are physically rather plump. They tend to put on weight quickly. Faced with their excess of thoughts, they take refuge in food.

Internal relationships and characters in TCM

At the beginning of the article, I introduced you to the notion of yin and yang: two elements that are not in duality, but which complement and temper each other.

We find this same notion in the external and internal climates. For example, when it is too hot, what will temper it is the cold. When it is too dry, we will have to temper it with dampness. And so on.

Inside each of us, two climates coexist (in reality, all six coexist, but two are more expressed, and this comes particularly from our birth).

And the relationships are as follows:

• The cold yang and the warm yin.
• The restless yang and the wind yin.
• The luminous yang and the damp yin.

If you see in front of you someone with the luminous yang typology, there will necessarily be a damp yin hiding.

Relationships with others: the compatibility of characters

And here is where it becomes interesting: our predominant climates will react with the climate present in others. Our TCM character will be compatible or not with other TCM characters.

Generally speaking, if the two of you are both yang, in friendship or in love, it will cause problems, because there will be nothing to calm that yang in the relationship. The problem is the same for two yin personalities. There is no yang to set the relationship in motion.

So generally speaking, if you are the yang, relate above all with yin and vice versa.

From the point of view of the climates, for the relationship to be at its best, find someone who has in them the associated climate I mentioned above.

This interpretation is also very useful for working on our judgment, or rather our non-judgment.

Indeed, if at first glance we see a cold yang person, then we know that beneath this coldness there is a person who has love to give and who is sensitive.

Curious to learn more about Chinese medicine? Discover more blog articles on traditional Chinese medicine.