The Yin-Yang Philosophy Behind Radical Feminism
Chinese healing is based on a holistic, somatic, and energy-oriented approach, and vibration is often considered an important aspect. The concept is relatively simple: many conditions are understood as disruptions or turbulence in the body’s internal energy patterns, and healing aims to gently soothe and regulate these vibrations, bringing them back into a more stable and harmonious state.
In the current “Chinese maxxing” trend, people often start drinking hot water, because it is seen as a simple way to calm and soften internal energy turbulence, helping the body return to a more settled and balanced vibration.
In ancient times, Taoist doctors used multiple methods to support healing, including sound-based practices. The guqin was a well-known instrument associated with meditation and subtle sound cultivation, traditionally played by scholars or hermits. They believed that certain tones and vibrations could influence the body’s internal state and help regulate its energetic patterns. Later, herbs were also used, understood to carry subtle energetic qualities and vibrational effects that interact with the body. In Chinese characters, the word for medicine (藥) includes the radical for “herb” (艹) and a phonetic component (樂), which is related to sound or music.
The Yin-Yang symbol reflects this idea: it is not about black-and-white thinking, but about coexisting balance and dynamic harmony.
The following is a simplified, abstract model of Chinese medicine.
Each herb can be understood as addressing a specific vibration imbalance in terms of yin and yang. For example, if a person has 70% yang and 30% yin, practitioners may use a formula with stronger yin qualities (e.g. 30% yang and 70% yin) to soothe and rebalance internal vibration. However, continuing the same formula after recovery, without adjustment, can create a new imbalance. If a formula is exactly 50% yin and 50% yang, it may not be strong enough to shift the imbalance.
In the I Ching system, there are ten Heavenly Stems (天干) used to describe cyclical patterns in the universe. The first, 甲, symbolizes a seed breaking through its hard shell to grow. It can be loosely associated with Kali, the transformation goddess who destroys the old to make way for the new.
However, Kali is considered a powerful and intense force, not always advised to be invoked casually, as she represents continuous transformation and destruction. This is similar to Chinese medicine: within the correct dosage, it heals; when overused, it can become toxic. There is a Chinese idiom, 以毒攻毒, meaning “using poison to counter poison.”
Radical feminism can be understood as “using poison to counter poison.” Without it, many women might not wake up or find the force to break the system. Soft girl energy alone is often not enough to break the shell. There is a reason why “The Tower” and “Death” appear in tarot—they represent disruption and transformation.
But a feminist movement cannot rely only on the radical. If it were an army, radical feminism would be the vanguard, while gentler forms of feminism stand behind, helping to repair what remains and integrate change, rather than blocking the way forward.
Moderates can stand behind radicals, offering gentle correction, rather than standing in front of them and asking them not to be so radical. Without radicals, there would be no space for moderates to exist. When the balance is tilted, neutrality becomes complicity; only opposition can be truly neutral, and only radical action can create change.
— Chinese radical feminists
温和派可以站在激进派身后，温和的纠错，而不是挡在激进派前面, 要求她们别那么激进，没有激进派就没有温和派生存的空间，当天平倾斜的时候， 中立就是帮腔，反对才是中立，激进才是争取。
Different contradictions in nature can only be resolved by different methods in nature. Concrete problems require concrete analysis. — Mao Zedong, On Contradiction
不同质的矛盾，只有用不同质的方法才能解决。具体问题具体分析。 - 《矛盾論》 毛澤東
There is a Chinese idiom that says, “if the old is not removed, the new cannot come,” reflecting an aspect of Asian philosophy: the cycle of the universe is birth – maintenance – death. If authority tries to hold on to the maintenance phase to avoid death, the only result is rot and corruption.
旧的不去新的不来
