Fan (Daoism)

Fan
Shang-era oracle bone script for ; fǎn
Chinese name
Chinese
Literal meaningreturn, reverse, repeat
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinfǎn
Wade–Gilesfan
Hakka
Romanizationfán
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingfaan2
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese/pjonX/
Old Chinese
Baxter–Sagart (2014)/*Cə.panʔ/
Vietnamese name
Vietnamesephản
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Transcriptions
Revised Romanizationban
McCune–Reischauerpan
Japanese name
Kanji
Hiraganaはん
Katakanaハン
Transcriptions
Revised Hepburnhan

In ancient China, the term fan (; fǎn; 'return'', ' 'reversion'', ' 'inversion') became associated with a basic concept within Daoism: the Daodejing remarks "Reversal is the movement of the Way ... Being is born from nonbeing." Daoist texts use fan in three interconnected meanings: as 'return to the root', 'cyclical return', and 'return to the contrary'. In Chinese cosmology, everything in the universe emerges from the primordial Dao, continually transforms, and inevitably returns to it, which parallels the eternal return in philosophy or cyclic model in physical cosmology. Fan is also significant in Chinese alchemy and Daoist meditation.