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''Taiji'' () is a Chinese cosmological term for the "Supreme Ultimate" state of undifferentiated absolute and infinite potential, the oneness before duality, from which Yin and Yang originate, contrasted with the ''Wuji'' (無極, "Without Ultimate"). The term ''Taiji'' and its other spelling ''T'ai chi'' (using Wade–Giles as opposed to Pinyin) are most commonly used in the West to refer to ''Taijiquan'' (or ''T'ai chi ch'uan'', 太極拳), an internal martial art, Chinese meditation system and health practice. This article, however, refers only to the use of the term in Chinese philosophy and Taoist spirituality. == Etymology == The word 太極 comes from ''I Ching'': "易有太極，是生兩儀，兩儀生四象，四象生八卦，八卦定吉凶，吉凶生大業。" ''Taiji'' (太極) is a compound of ''tai'' 太 "great; grand; supreme; extreme; very; too" (a superlative variant of ''da'' 大 "big; large; great; very") and ''ji'' 極 "pole; roof ridge; highest/utmost point; extreme; earth's pole; reach the end; attain; exhaust". In analogy with the figurative meanings of English ''pole'', Chinese ''ji'' 極 "ridgepole" can mean "geographical pole; direction" (e.g., ''siji'' 四極 "four corners of the earth; world's end"), "magnetic pole" (''Beiji'' 北極 "North Pole" or ''yinji'' 陰極 "negative pole; anode"), or "celestial pole" (''baji'' 八極 "farthest points of the universe; remotest place"). Combining the two words, means "the source, the beginning of the world". Common English translations of the cosmological ''Taiji'' are the "Supreme Ultimate" (Le Blanc 1985, Zhang and Ryden 2002) or "Great Ultimate" (Chen 1989, Robinet 2008); but other versions are the "Supreme Pole" (Needham and Ronan 1978), "Great Absolute", or "Supreme Polarity" (Adler 1999). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Taiji (philosophy)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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