Wu Xing
Wu Xing | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 五行 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Wu Xing (Chinese: 五行; pinyin: Wǔ Xíng), also known as the Five Elements, Five Phases, the Five Agents, the Five Movements, Five Processes, the Five Steps/Stages and the Five Planets[1] is the short form of "Wǔ zhǒng liúxíng zhī qì" (五種流行之氣) or "the five types of chi dominating at different times".[2] It is a fivefold conceptual scheme that many traditional Chinese fields used to explain a wide array of phenomena, from cosmic cycles to the interaction between internal organs, and from the succession of political regimes to the properties of medicinal drugs. The "Five Phases" are Wood (木 mù), Fire (火 huǒ), Earth (土 tǔ), Metal (金 jīn), and Water (水 shuǐ). This order of presentation is known as the "mutual generation" (相生 xiāngshēng) sequence. In the order of "mutual overcoming" (相剋/相克 xiāngkè), they are Wood, Earth, Water, Fire, and Metal.[3][4][5]
The system of five phases was used for describing interactions and relationships between phenomena. After it came to maturity in the second or first century BCE during the Han dynasty, this device was employed in many fields of early Chinese thought, including seemingly disparate fields such as geomancy or Feng shui, astrology, traditional Chinese medicine, music, military strategy, and martial arts. The system is still used as a reference in some forms of complementary and alternative medicine and martial arts.
Names
Xing (Chinese: 行) of 'Wu Xing' means moving; a planet is called a 'moving star'(Chinese: 行星) in Chinese. Wu Xing (Chinese: 五行) originally refers to the five major planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Venus, Mars) that create five dimensions of earth life.[1] "Wu Xing" is also widely translated as Five Elements and this is used extensively by many including practitioners of Five Element acupuncture. This translation arose by false analogy with the Western system of the four elements.[6] Whereas the classical Greek elements were concerned with substances or natural qualities, the Chinese xíng are "primarily concerned with process and change," hence the common translation as "phases" or "agents".[7] By the same token, Mù is thought of as "Tree" rather than "Wood".[8] The word 'element' is thus used within the context of Chinese medicine with a different meaning to its usual meaning.
It should be recognized that the word phase, although commonly preferred, is not perfect. Phase is a better translation for the five seasons (五運 Wǔ Yùn) mentioned below, and so agents or processes might be preferred for the primary term xíng. Manfred Porkert attempts to resolve this by using Evolutive Phase for 五行 Wǔ Xíng and Circuit Phase for 五運 Wǔ Yùn, but these terms are unwieldy.
Some of the Mawangdui Silk Texts (no later than 168 BC) also present the Wu Xing as "five virtues" or types of activities.[9] Within Chinese medicine texts the Wu Xing are also referred to as Wu Yun (五運 wǔ yùn) or a combination of the two characters (Wu Xing-Yun) these emphasise the correspondence of five elements to five 'seasons' (four seasons plus one). Another tradition refers to the Wǔ Xíng as Wǔ Dé (五德), the Five Virtues (zh:五德終始說).
The Phases
The five phases are usually used to describe the state in nature:
- Wood/Spring=(72 days) a period of growth, which generates abundant wood and vitality
- Fire/Summer=(72 days) a period of swelling, flowering, brimming with fire and energy
- Earth=(72 days=4x18days (4 transitional seasons x 18days each) the in-between transitional seasonal periods, or a separate 'season' known as Late Summer or Long Summer - in the latter case associated with leveling and dampening (moderation) and fruition
- Metal/Autumn=(72 days) a period of harvesting and collecting
- Water/Winter=(72 days) a period of retreat, where stillness and storage pervades
Cycles
The doctrine of five phases describes two cycles, a generating or creation (生, shēng) cycle, also known as "mother-son", and an overcoming or destruction (剋/克, kè) cycle, also known as "grandfather-nephew", of interactions between the phases. Within Chinese medicine the effects of these two main relations are further elaborated:
- Inter-promoting (mother/son)
- Inter-acting (grandmother/grandson)
- Over-acting (kè cycle)
- Counter-acting (reverse kè)
Generating
The common memory jogs, which help to remind in what order the phases are:
- Wood feeds Fire
- Fire creates Earth (ash)
- Earth bears Metal
- Metal collects Water
- Water nourishes Wood
Other common words for this cycle include "begets", "engenders" and "mothers".
Overcoming
- Wood parts Earth (such as roots or trees can prevent soil erosion)
- Earth dams (or muddles or absorbs) Water
- Water extinguishes Fire
- Fire melts Metal
- Metal chops Wood
This cycle might also be called "controls", "restrains" or "fathers".
Cosmology and feng shui
According to Wu Xing theory, the structure of the cosmos mirrors the five phases. Each phase has a complex series of associations with different aspects of nature, as can be seen in the following table. In the ancient Chinese form of geomancy known as Feng Shui practitioners all based their art and system on the five phases (Wu Xing). All of these phases are represented within the trigrams. Associated with these phases are colors, seasons and shapes; all of which are interacting with each other.[10]
Based on a particular directional energy flow from one phase to the next, the interaction can be expansive, destructive, or exhaustive. A proper knowledge of each aspect of energy flow will enable the Feng Shui practitioner to apply certain cures or rearrangement of energy in a way they believe to be beneficial for the receiver of the Feng Shui Treatment.
Movement | Metal | Metal | Fire | Wood | Wood | Water | Earth | Earth |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trigram hanzi | 乾 | 兌 | 離 | 震 | 巽 | 坎 | 艮 | 坤 |
Trigram pinyin | qián | duì | lí | zhèn | xùn | kǎn | gèn | kūn |
Trigrams | ☰ | ☱ | ☲ | ☳ | ☴ | ☵ | ☶ | ☷ |
I Ching | Heaven | Lake | Fire | Thunder | Wind | Water | Mountain | Earth |
Color | Silver | White | Red | Green | Purple | Black | Blue | Yellow |
Season | Fall | Fall | Summer | Spring | Spring | Winter | Intermediate | Intermediate |
Cardinal direction | West | West | South | East | East | North | Center | Center |
Chinese medicine
The interdependence of zang-fu networks in the body was said to be a circle of five things, and so mapped by the Chinese doctors onto the five phases.
Movement | Wood | Fire | Earth | Metal | Water |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Planet | Jupiter | Mars | Saturn | Venus | Mercury |
Mental Quality | idealism, spontaneity, curiosity | passion, intensity | agreeableness, honesty | intuition, rationality, mind | erudition, resourcefulness, wit |
Emotion | anger, determination | hatred, love | anxiety, trust | grief, bravery | fear, gentleness |
Zang (yin organs) | liver | heart/pericardium | spleen/pancreas | lung | kidney |
Fu (yang organs) | gall bladder | small intestine/San Jiao | stomach | large intestine | urinary bladder |
Sensory organ | eyes | tongue | mouth | nose | ears |
Body Part | tendons | pulse | muscles | skin | bones |
Body Fluid | tears | sweat | saliva | mucus | urine |
Finger | index finger | middle finger | thumb | ring finger | pinky finger |
Sense | sight | taste | touch | smell | hearing |
Taste[11] | sour | bitter | sweet | pungent, umami | salty |
Smell | rancid | scorched | fragrant | rotten | putrid |
Life | birth | youth | adulthood | old age | death, conception |
Animal | scaly | feathered | human | furred | shelled |
Celestial stem
Movement | Wood | Fire | Earth | Metal | Water |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heavenly Stem | Jia 甲 Yi 乙 | Bing 丙 Ding 丁 | Wu 戊 Ji 己 | Geng 庚 Xin 辛 | Ren 壬 Gui 癸 |
Year ends with | 4, 5 | 6, 7 | 8, 9 | 0, 1 | 2, 3 |
Ming neiyin
In Ziwei, neiyin (纳音) or the method of divination is the further classification of the Five Elements into 60 ming (命), or life orders, based on the ganzhi. Similar to the astrology zodiac, the ming is used by fortune-tellers to analyse a person's personality and future fate.
Order | Ganzhi | Ming | Order | Ganzhi | Ming | Wuxing Element |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jia Zi 甲子 | Sea metal 海中金 | 31 | Jia Wu 甲牛 | Sand metal 沙中金 | Metal |
2 | Yi Chou 乙丑 | 32 | Gui Wei 乙未 | |||
3 | Bing Yin 丙寅 | Furnace fire 炉中火 | 33 | Bing Shen 丙申 | Forest fire 山下火 | Fire |
4 | Ding Mao 丁卯 | 34 | Ding You 丁酉 | |||
5 | Wu Chen 戊辰 | Forest wood 大林木 | 35 | Wu Xu 戊戌 | Meadow wood 平地木 | Wood |
6 | Ji Si 已己 | 36 | Ji Hai 己亥 | |||
7 | Geng Wu 庚牛 | Road earth 路旁土 | 37 | Geng Zi 庚子 | Adobe earth 臂上土 | Earth |
8 | Xin Wei 辛未 | 38 | Xin Chou 辛丑 | |||
9 | Ren Shen 壬申 | Sword metal 剑锋金 | 39 | Ren Yin 壬寅 | Precious metal 金白金 | Metal |
10 | Gui You 癸酉 | 40 | Gui Mao 癸卯 | |||
11 | Jia Xu 甲戌 | Volcanic fire 山头火 | 41 | Jia Chen 甲辰 | Lamp fire 佛灯火 | Fire |
12 | Yi Hai 乙亥 | 42 | Yi Si 乙己 | |||
13 | Bing Zi 丙子 | Cave water 洞下水 | 43 | Bing Wu 丙午 | Sky water 天河水 | Water |
14 | Ding Chou 丁丑 | 44 | Ding Wei 丁未 | |||
15 | Wu Yin 戊寅 | Fortress earth 城头土 | 45 | Wu Shen 戊申 | Highway earth 大驿土 | Earth |
16 | Ji Mao 已卯 | 46 | Ji You 已酉 | |||
17 | Geng Chen 庚辰 | Wax metal 白腊金 | 47 | Geng Xu 庚戌 | Jewellery metal 钗钏金 | Metal |
18 | Xin Si 辛己 | 48 | Xin Hai 辛亥 | |||
19 | Ren Wu 壬牛 | Willow wood 杨柳木 | 49 | Ren Zi 壬子 | Mulberry wood 桑柘木 | Wood |
20 | Gui Wei 癸酉 | 50 | Gui Chou 癸丑 | |||
21 | Jia Shen 甲申 | Stream water 泉中水 | 51 | Jia Yin 甲寅 | Rapids water 大溪水 | Water |
22 | Yi You 乙酉 | 52 | Yi Mao 乙卯 | |||
23 | Bing Xu 丙戌 | Roof tiles earth 屋上土 | 53 | Bing Chen 丙辰 | Desert earth 沙中土 | Earth |
24 | Ding Hai 丁亥 | 54 | Ding Si 丁巳 | |||
25 | Wu Zi 戊子 | Lightning fire 霹雳火 | 55 | Wu Wu 戊牛 | Sun fire 天上火 | Fire |
26 | Ji Chou 已丑 | 56 | Ji Wei 已未 | |||
27 | Geng Yin 庚寅 | Conifers wood 松柏木 | 57 | Geng Shen 庚申 | Pomegranate wood 石榴木 | Wood |
28 | Xin Mao 庚寅 | 58 | Xin You 辛酉 | |||
29 | Ren Chen 壬辰 | River water 长流水 | 59 | Ren Xu 壬戌 | Ocean water 大海水 | Water |
30 | Gui Si 癸巳 | 60 | Gui Hai 癸亥 |
Music
The Yuèlìng chapter (月令篇) of the Lǐjì (禮記) and the Huáinánzǐ (淮南子) make the following correlations:
Movement | Wood | Fire | Earth | Metal | Water |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colour | Green | Red | Yellow | White | Black |
Arctic Direction | east | south | center | west | north |
Basic Pentatonic Scale pitch | 角 | 徵 | 宮 | 商 | 羽 |
Basic Pentatonic Scale pitch pinyin | jué | zhǐ | gōng | shāng | yǔ |
solfege | mi or E | sol or G | do or C | re or D | la or A |
- The Chinese word 青 qīng, has many meanings, including green, azure, cyan, and black. It refers to green in Wu Xing.
- In most modern music, various seven note or five note scales (e.g., the major scale) are defined by selecting seven or five frequencies from the set of twelve semi-tones in the Equal tempered tuning. The Chinese "lǜ" tuning is closest to the ancient Greek tuning of Pythagoras.
Martial arts
T'ai chi ch'uan uses the five elements to designate different directions, positions or footwork patterns. Either forward, backward, left, right and centre, or three steps forward (attack) and two steps back (retreat).[12]
The Five Steps (五步 wǔ bù):
- Jìn bù (進步) Forward step
- Tùi bù (退步) Backward step
- Zǔo gù (左顧, in simplified characters 左顾) Left step
- Yòu pàn (右盼 ) Right step
- Zhōng dìng (中定) Central position, balance, equilibrium.
Xingyiquan uses the five elements metaphorically to represent five different states of combat.
Movement | Fist | Chinese | Pinyin | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Metal | Splitting | 劈 | Pī | To split like an axe chopping up and over. |
Water | Drilling | 鑽 | Zuān | Drilling forward horizontally like a geyser. |
Wood | Crushing | 崩 | Bēng | To collapse, as a building collapsing in on itself. |
Fire | Pounding | 炮 | Pào | Exploding outward like a cannon while blocking. |
Earth | Crossing | 橫 | Héng | Crossing across the line of attack while turning over. |
Tea ceremony
There are spring, summer, fall, and winter teas. The perennial tea ceremony ("perennial", literally means four steps or sequences that are linked together, each representing a season of the year) includes four tea settings (茶席) and a tea master (司茶). The tea settings are:
- earth, (Incense), yellow, center, up and down
- wood, 春風 (Spring Wind), green, east
- fire, 夏露 (Summer Dew), red, south
- metal, 秋籟 (Fall Sounds), white, west
- water, 冬陽 (Winter Sunshine) black/blue, north
Each tea setting is arranged and stands for the four directions (north, south, east, and west). A vase of the seasons' flowers is put on tea table. Sometimes if four tea masters are included then five chairs are arranged per tea setting, making a total of twenty plus the 4 tea masters equalling 24, which symbolizes the 24 solar terms of the Chinese calendar, and represents that nature continues or is perennial.
See also
Bibliography
- Feng Youlan (Yu-lan Fung), A History of Chinese Philosophy, volume 2, p. 13
- Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China, volume 2, pp. 262–23
- Maciocia, G. 2005, The Foundations of Chinese Medicine, 2nd edn, Elsevier Ltd., London
References
- 1 2 Dr Zai, J. Taoism and Science: Cosmology, Evolution, Morality, Health and more. Ultravisum, 2015.
- ↑ http://www.kheper.net/topics/eastern/wuxing.html
- ↑ Deng Yu; Zhu Shuanli; Xu Peng; Deng Hai (2000). "五行阴阳的特征与新英译" [Characteristics and a New English Translation of Wu Xing and Yin-Yang]. Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine. 20 (12): 937.
- ↑ Deng Yu et al; Fresh Translator of Zang Xiang Fractal five System,Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine; 1999
- ↑ Deng Yu et al,TCM Fractal Sets中医分形集,Journal of Mathematical Medicine ,1999,12(3),264-265
- ↑ Nathan Sivin (1995), "Science and Medicine in Chinese History," in his Science in Ancient China (Aldershot, England: Variorum), text VI, p. 179.
- ↑ Nathan Sivin (1987), Traditional Medicine in Contemporary China (Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, The University of Michigan) p. 73.
- ↑ 千古中医之张仲景. Wood and Metal were often replaced with air. Lecture Room, CCTV-10.
- ↑ Nathan Sivin (1987), Traditional Medicine in Contemporary China, p. 72.
- ↑ Chinese Five Elements Chart Information on the Chinese Five Elements from Northern Shaolin Academy in Microsoft Excel 2003 Format
- ↑ Eberhard, Wolfram (December 1965). "Chinese Regional Stereotypes". Asian Survey. University of California Press. 5 (12): 596–608. doi:10.2307/2642652. JSTOR 2642652.
- ↑ Wu, Kung-tsao (2006) [1980]. Wu Family T'ai Chi Ch'uan (吳家太極拳). Chien-ch’uan T’ai-chi Ch’uan Association. ISBN 0-9780499-0-X.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wu Xing. |
- Wuxing (Wu-hsing) Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy article.