Figures of Taoism: Yang Shangshan 杨上善

A philosopher and medical scientist of the Sui Dynasty. During the Daye period of the Sui Dynasty, he served as the Imperial Physician-in-Chief, skilled in curing severe and lingering diseases, and was praised as a "divine doctor." Philosophically, he adhered to Taoist viewpoints, believing that the "One" (representing the primeval chaos), as well as heaven and earth, yin and yang, and all things, were all derived from the "Dao." He stated: "From the Dao comes the One, which is called the uncarved block; the One divides into two, which are heaven and earth. From the two comes the three, which are yin, yang, and the harmonious qi. From the three come all things, dividing into the nine regions, the four seasons, the sun and moon, and even all creatures." (Annotation to Taisu·Knowledge of Acupuncture and Stones)

He equated the "Dao" with "non-being," asserting that taking the "Dao" as the origin of the world was equivalent to taking "non-being" as such. He said: "The non-being of the primeval beginning is called the Dao." (Annotation to Five Zang Organs and Their Vitality, same book)

He put forward the proposition of "flowing movement generates things" (same book), affirming that all things and life are in a state of motion and change, and emphasizing the absoluteness of movement. From this, he became the first in Chinese philosophical history to explicitly propose the concept of "one dividing into two." He stated: "The One divides into two, which are heaven and earth." (Annotation to Knowledge of Acupuncture and Stones, same book)

He understood "...dividing into two" as a continuous process of movement within things themselves, believing that yin and yang could each further divide into two. He explained: "The principles of yin and yang are so vast that they have no outer bounds and so subtle that they penetrate all gaps. Even the tiniest forms are shaped by yin and yang; thus, their numbers are innumerable. Hence, within yin there is yin, within yang there is yang, within yang there is yin, and within yin there is yang." (Annotation to Union of Yin and Yang, same book)

However, his thought of "one dividing into two" carried the color of cyclical theory. He said: "The single qi separates into yin and yang, serving as the foundation of generation and nourishment; it further divides into the four seasons, thus functioning in growth, flourishing, 收敛 (shōuliǎn, 'gathering' or 'withering'), and storage. It ends and begins again, like a ring without a end." (Same book) His deeds are recorded in Xu Chunpu’s Comprehensive Compendium of Medical Traditions Past and Present of the Ming Dynasty.

His works included Laozi (2 volumes), On the Essentials of Laozi’s Dao and De (2 volumes), Zhuangzi (10 volumes), Treatise on the Six Realms of Rebirth (6 volumes), and A Critical Balance of the Two Capitals (10 volumes), all of which are lost. He also compiled Huangdi Neijing Mingtang Leicheng (13 volumes), of which only the first volume and fragmented prefaces survive. His main extant work is Annotations on Huangdi Neijing Taisu (26 volumes), which originally consisted of 30 volumes. Having long been lost in China, the 26-volume version now available in China was successively discovered in Japan.