人 rén, a person, with open arms becomes 大 dà great. Another horizontal line placed above becomes 天 tiān, the sky, which is indeed right up there. Chinese culture likes to talk about “sky 天 tiān". Confucianism and Taoism consider “sky 天 tiān" as the supreme existence. By the way, instead of saying “My god!”, the Chinese say “我的天 wǒ de tiān！ My sky! “
天理 tiānlǐ, are the principles from heaven. Indeed, Chinese culture also believes that many principles of the human world cannot be created by man, which is why it turns to the "sky 天 tiān" - the "nature" for help. . In the eyes of the ancient Chinese, "sky 天 tiān" and its principles are more noble and authoritarian than human beings.
The emperor in China is also called 天子tiānzǐ ， the child of the sky, the one who transmits heavenly messages. 天才tiāncái ， the gift from the sky, is a talented person. 天人 tiānrén, the person from the sky, is someone who has beauty or ability from another dimension.
In traditional Chinese culture, “sky 天 tiān” is the dominant life force, belonging to 阳 “Yáng”, “Earth 地 dì” is the carrying factor of life, belonging to 阴 “Yīn”, and both are inseparable. 天坛 tiān tán, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, is the place where the Emperor thanks Heaven every year during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The initial name of this temple is 天地 坛 tiān dì tán ， a ritual place to thank both Heaven and Earth. Besides, the northern walls have a round shape representing the sky 天 tiān, and the southern ones are square representing the Earth 地 dì.
Many sayings used by the Chinese are related to “sky 天 tiān”. According to statistics, there are over two hundred idioms containing the word "天 tiān". 天长地久 tiān cháng dì jiǔ ， as long as the existence of sky and earth, is often cited at weddings; 天 不怕 tiān bù pà ， 地 不怕 dì bù pà, not to be afraid of neither heaven nor earth, describes unparalleled courage; 天下一家 tiān xià yį jiā, a family under the sky, expresses the wish to be united all together in this world.
The expression 天人合一 tiān rén hé yī, sky and man united in one, is the one which best expresses the vision of Confucianism and Taoism of "the harmony between man and nature", considering the "sky 天 tiān" as the ultimate destination of life. To meditate.
Xiao Ling and Lao Long explain more détails in the vidéo hereunder.
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