yin yao; broken line in a trigram
Technical term in Chinese philosophy and divination (I Ching). Refers to the broken line representing yin, one of the two types of lines that make up trigrams and hexagrams. Contrasts with 陽爻 (yang yao, solid line).
See also: 爻
Each of the eight trigrams consists of three lines, and the yin yao is represented by a broken line.
From Chinese 陰爻 (yīn yáo), combining 陰 (yin) and 爻 (line in a trigram). The term is used in the context of the I Ching and traditional Chinese cosmology.