Li: dynamic form in nature
Author: David Wade Publisher: Publish Date: 1941 Review Date: Status:💥
Annotations
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I
NTRODUCTIO
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archetypal modes of action, the traces of w
hich may be found throughout the natural world. They present, in a
traditional Chinese view at least, an order that arises directly o
ut of the nature of the universe
p. 2
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According to the great Sung philosopher Chu Hsi (
1130-1200 C.E.): ?The term tao refers to the vast and great; the term /i i
ncludes the innumerable veinlike patterns included in the Tao… . Li i
s like a piece of thread with its strands, or like this basket. O
ne strip goes this way, and the other goes that way. It is also like t
he grain in bamboo. On the straight it is of one kind, and on t
he transverse it is of another kind. So also the mind possesses v
arious p
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A
GGREGATION the collocation of e
lement
p 4
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According to the early Greek philosopher Empedocles all t
he change and movement in the universe, including all the p
rocesses of creation and destruction, stem ultimately from two g
reat principles of attraction and r
epulsion. Clearly, form of any kind depends on its component parts hold- ing together, just as its ultimate dissolution is a result of f
alling a
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The /i opposite, characteristic of the tenuous, temporary a
lliances seen on the surface of a liquid medium as particulate c
lustering (opposite, top) or suds (opposite, bottom), have only the m
inimal requirement for a recognizable structure. And yet form is a
pparent here, to an extent that is not discernible in, say, the swirls of a
n entirely liquid m
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Structural formality becomes even more apparent when a
n aggregation forms around a nucleic center, particularly where, a
s in the examples of a soot cluster (below, left) and a bacterial g
rowth pattern (below, right), an elementary branching formation a
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B
RANCHA branching p
attern
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Branching systems provide an elegant solution where there is a
need to access every part of a given area in the most efficient a
nd economical way. That is why these patterns are so widespread i
n nature and are quite essential to the workings of complex organ- isms, where the dynamics of efficient distribution (involving ener- gy in one form or another) is at a p
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The almost universal characteristic of these forms, whether t
hey are conveying water, oxygen, nutrients, or just electrical impuls- es, is that they consist of a system of finer and finer r
amifications, which is another expression of their e
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C
ELLULAR basic organic a
rrangement
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By virtue of their highly regulated internal structure, cells a
re endowed with an almost crystalline orderliness, but they are a
lso possessed by a dynamic sense of purpose; they are f
unctional entities, working to supply the organism with all of its n
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The dynamic organization within cells is paralleled by t
heir relations with their neighbors, with whom they usually coexist i
n very close p
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In essence, all living things are symbiotic at heart; the p
roperties of complex organisms are an expression of the separate a
ctivities of their component cells, and each cell lives in the s
pecific environment created by this a
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The /i of cell structures, like the vascular cambium (the a
ctive layer of tree cells) of Juglans and Robinia (opposite and b
elow), indicate this elegant and sensitive division of space and f
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C
RACKLE shrinkage patterns and crazing n
etwork
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The hairline cracks in ceramics (opposite, top) occur as a result o
f the shrinkage differential between the glaze and the body of t
he pottery. They are closely related to the cracks that appear i
n parched earth (below), and to those in dried-out paints and g
els (opposite, b
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R
IVAS river drainage s
ystem
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It is clear that these are representations not of mere c
onduits, but portray the most active part of the Earth?s hydrological c
ycle, and as such are important energy distribution p
attern
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V
ASCULUM leaf vascular p
attern
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Leaves of all kinds are involved in the world?s single m
ost important chemical transaction: converting the Sun?s energy i
nto food. Their veining systems play a critical role in this p
rocess, supplying water and mineral salts to every part of the leaf a
nd efficiently removing the elaborate food compounds created b
y photosynthesis. In addition, vascular systems provide a sup- porting skeleton for the leaf, so they are a proficient p
lumbing system and superstructure combined. These are very a
ttractive forms, in all their great variety and s
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There are obvious similarities between these plant c
irculatory systems and the venous and nervous systems of animals?but t
hey are also strangely evocative of river drainage complexes. T
he common factor in all of these processes is, as ever, the transfer o
f energy; these delicate forms should also be seen as e
nergy p
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That complexity can arise almost of itself, and that there is a
connectedness between every part of the self-created cosmos i
s, of course, a central tenet of the Chinese philosophy of T
aoism. The Tao te Ching, its principle text, affirms t
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is: ?The Way (Tao) is a thing incommensurable, i
mpalpable, Yet latent in it are forms (L