Today we went to the National Defense University here in Taiwan to learn from the military men there. It was a brand new campus, quite impressive. We walked through a large and bright building and into a large conference room, with tall windows on three sides. And there on the wall in the most prominent point in the room was the seal of the university. It was a bit of a surpirse:
Yes, that's right, it includes the taiji, the symbol of the yin and yang forces that I associate with the I Ching. It seemed rather incongruous: a symbol that is related to broad metaphysical ideas front and center on the seal of a military organization.
After the preliminary niceties, the first question raised by my colleagues was precisely about this seal. Why did they chose to use the taiji? Our host said that it was meant to remind the military students there of the broad context that surrounds questions of war and peace. In war is the next peace, and in peace is the next war, he said. Also, in a more focused manner it was also a reminder that in offense is defense and in defense is offense. Not quite the notions I usually associate with taiji, but obviously ones that are in the minds of Taiwan's military.
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