五行

Wu Xing the Five States of Change Whereas Western thought developed the idea of elements as subtsances, and Indian thought as emenations, Chinese philosophy conceived of the five elements, or Wu Xing, as dynamic states of change. The concept of Wu Xing is central to all elements of Chinese thought, including science, philosophy, medicine, astrology, andFengshui. Although the term is generally translated as "five elements", this is  incorrect. The word Wu does indeed mean "five".  But there is no simple translation for Xing.  Translations such as "five elements", "five agents", "five qualities", "five properties" "five states of change", "five courses", "five phases" and "five elementals", are all used.  As Master Joseph Yu explains "Wu Xing" is actually the short form of "Wu zhong liu xing zhi chi" or "the five types of chi dominating at different times". Water dominates in winter, wood in spring, fire in summer, metal in autumn. At the intersection between two seasons, the transitional period is dominated by earth. It is customary in Chinese writing to summarize a longer phrase into a couple of characters. Sometimes the meaning is completely lost in the abbreviated form if the original phrase is not referred to. Wu Xing is one such example. and The names "water", "wood", "fire", "metal" and "earth" are only substances whose properties resemble the respective chi in the closest possible way. They do help us understand the properties of the five types of chi but they also mislead us if we take everything in the literal sense. The following table gives but a few of the many correspondences associated with Wu Xing. Wu Xing number and polarity Colour Season weather Direction yin and yang organs emotion taste shape movement quality Earth 5/10 - Tao yellow, brown late summer humid center Spleen and Stomach meditation sweet cubic attracts and concentrates stable Metal  4/9 - senior yang white, Golden, Silver autumn  dry west Lungs and Large Intestine worry, sorrow pungant Spherical pierce inwards sharp and pointing.  Wood 3/8- junior yin green or blue  spring windy east Liver and Gall Bladder anger sour Rod like or beam like grows upwards enduring Fire 2/7 - junior yang red, Orange, Purple, Pink  summer hot south Heart and Small Intestine joy bitter Triangular spreads in all directions,  radiant and hot Water 1/6 senior yin black, dark blue winter cold north Kidney and Bladder fear salty wavy runs downwards liberal Note that qualities such as winter, cold and north only apply to the northern hemisphere.  In the southern hemisphere winter and cold would be associated with the south (antarctic) Because these five qualities are dynamic, they interact in various ways.  There are three cycles in traditional Chines ethought: cycle relationship with wood on top relationship represented clockwise description The Creative or Producing or Enhancing cycle Moving clockwise from the top: Water produces wood. When a tree is watered, it grows better.  When wood burns, we get fire. Fire reduces things to ashes which becomes part of the earth. Earth is mined for metal, which then changes to liquid (water) under heat. Finally, water provides nourishment for trees to grow, producing wood The Weakening Cycle e.g. Wood is burned by fire and hence weakened (reduced to ashes) Destroying or Controlling Cycle e.g., a metal knife can cut wood and shape or control it