The Encounter of “Yinyang” and “Four-Element”

There existed a lot of knowledge about wind in ancient China, and scholars often explained the principle of wind in terms of the qi 气 of yin 阴 and yang 阳. During the late Ming and early Qing, Jesuits brought in the western Four-Element theory. Under this influence, some Chinese scholars made a break with tradition, from “yang forcing yin to forms wind (yang po yin cheng feng 阳迫阴成风)” to “dry and hot air forms wind (zao reqi cheng feng 燥热气成风)”. Scholars' discussion on the principle of wind was of progressive significance, and they kept as far away from the mystical wind fortune-telling methods as possible. However, both yinyang and Four-Element theories were the pre-modern knowledge paradigm. Compared with Descartes, a French scientific pioneer, Chinese scholars' knowledge of wind was mostly rooted in ancient theories and Western learning, and they showed little interest in exploring new knowledge by scientific methods.