On examining the general course of events, the Yellow Emperor can predict people’s good or bad fortune by telling whether they have the Yin or the Yang mentality.

    The Yang mentality is characterized by pride, pretentiousness, arrogance, and aggressiveness, while the Yin attitude by modesty, respectfulness, gentleness, and self-restraint. The Yang character is born of self-complacency whereas the Yin of open-mindedness. One might benefit from his Yang aggressiveness once a while, but the benefit is not necessarily a blessing to him. The Yin self-restraint may bring about temporary losses, but it should be rewarding in the long run. If the Yang person keeps reaping benefits by being aggressive, he is actually sowing seeds for future disasters or self-destruction. A Yin person might suffer repeated losses for a time, but she is accumulating merits for the future. If she sticks to her Yin principle, she will surely be blessed with unexpected happiness. 

    Whenever there is a conflict, those who initiate it are always putting themselves in a suicidal position in the long run while those forced to defend themselves will gain support sooner or later. If punishments do not come upon the offensive persons at first, it is because their wrongdoing is atoned by their merits accumulated from their past Yin practice. If the defensive ones cannot escape an ill fortune, that must be the lingering effect of their long years of Yang conduct in the past. If both the offensive and the defensive share a happy ending, that is because both have been practicing the Yin principle before. If both are destroyed together, the cause is in the previous Yang practice on either side.

    Whoever is obsessed with the Yang mentality is harmful to people’s livelihood: a ruler will destroy the country; a commoner, himself. He cannot protect people from danger, cannot accomplish what he attempts, cannot procure what he pursues, cannot win when he fights, cannot survive for long himself, cannot multiply his descendents -- in a word, the Yang mentality is an ominous one as it dissipates whatever merits one might have accumulated.

    Whoever adopts the Yin attitude is blessed with good fortune: the rich can stay rich; the poor will have enough to live on. Whoever adopts the Yin attitude is blessed with good fortune: the rich can stay rich; the poor will have enough to live on. She can protect people from danger, can accomplish what she attempts, can procure what she pursues, can win when she fights, can enjoy a long life, can multiply her descendents  – in a word, the Yin attitude is a propitious one as it accumulates merits.