A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Wuxing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chinese | 五行 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Part of a series on |
Taoism |
---|
Classical elements |
---|
Wuxing (Chinese: 五行; pinyin: wǔxíng),[a] usually translated as Five Phases or Five Agents,[2] is a fivefold conceptual scheme used in many traditional Chinese fields of study to explain a wide array of phenomena, including cosmic cycles, the interactions between internal organs, the succession of political regimes, and the properties of herbal medicines.
The agents are Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and Earth.[b] The wuxing system has been in use since it was formulated in the second or first century BCE during the Han dynasty. It appears in many seemingly disparate fields of early Chinese thought, including music, feng shui, alchemy, astrology, martial arts, military strategy, I Ching divination, and traditional medicine, serving as a metaphysics based on cosmic analogy.
Etymology
Wuxing originally referred to the five major planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Mars, Venus), which were conceived as creating five forces of earthly life. This is why the word is composed of Chinese characters meaning "five" (五; wǔ) and "moving" (行; xíng). "Moving" is shorthand for "planets", since the word for planets in Chinese literally translates as "moving stars" (行星; xíngxīng).[6] Some of the Mawangdui Silk Texts (before 168 BC) also connect the wuxing to the wude (五德; wǔdé), the Five Virtues and Five Emotions.[7][8] Scholars believe that various predecessors to the concept of wuxing were merged into one system with many interpretations during the Han dynasty.[9]
Wuxing was first translated into English as "the Five Elements", drawing deliberate parallels with the Western idea of the four elements.[10][8] This translation is still in common use among practitioners of Traditional Chinese medicine, such as in the name of Five Element acupuncture.[11] However, this analogy is misleading. The four elements are concerned with form, substance and quantity, whereas wuxing are "primarily concerned with process, change, and quality".[12] For example, the wuxing element "Wood" is more accurately thought of as the "vital essence" of trees rather than the physical substance wood.[13] This led sinologist Nathan Sivin to propose the alternative translation "five phases" in 1987.[14] But "phase" also fails to capture the full meaning of wuxing. In some contexts, the wuxing are indeed associated with physical substances.[15] Historian of Chinese medicine Manfred Porkert proposed the (somewhat unwieldy) term "Evolutive Phase".[15] Perhaps the most widely accepted translation among modern scholars is "the five agents", proposed by Marc Kalinowski.[16]
Cycles
In traditional doctrine, the five phases are connected in two cycles of interactions: a generating or creation (生 shēng) cycle, also known as "mother-son"; and an overcoming or destructive (克 kè) cycle, also known as "grandfather-grandson" (see diagram). Each of the two cycles can be analyzed going forward or reversed. There is also an "overacting" or excessive version of the destructive cycle.[citation needed]
Inter-promoting
The generating cycle (相生 xiāngshēng) is:
- Wood feeds Fire
- Fire produces Earth (ash, lava)
- Earth bears Metal (geological processes produce minerals)
- Metal collects Water (water vapor condenses on metal, for example)
- Water nourishes Wood (Water flowers, plants and other changes in forest)
Weakening
The reverse generating cycle (相洩/相泄 xiāngxiè) is:
- Wood depletes Water
- Water rusts Metal
- Metal impoverishes Earth (erosion, destructive mining of minerals)
- Earth smothers Fire
- Fire burns Wood (forest fires)
Inter-regulating
The destructive cycle (相克 xiāngkè) is:
- Wood grasps (or stabilizes) Earth (roots of trees can prevent soil erosion)
- Earth contains (or directs) Water (dams or river banks)
- Water dampens (or regulates) Fire
- Fire melts (or refines or shapes) Metal
- Metal chops (or carves) Wood
Overacting
The excessive destructive cycle (相乘 xiāngchéng) is:
- Wood depletes Earth (depletion of nutrients in soil, over-farming, overcultivation)
- Earth obstructs Water (over-damming)
- Water extinguishes Fire
- Fire melts Metal (affecting its integrity)
- Metal makes Wood rigid to easily snap.
Counteracting
A reverse or deficient destructive cycle (相侮 xiāngwǔ or 相耗 xiānghào) is:
- Wood dulls Metal
- Metal de-energizes Fire (conducting heat away)
- Fire evaporates Water
- Water muddies (or destabilizes) Earth
- Earth rots Wood (buried wood rots)
Celestial stem
Movement | Wood | Fire | Earth | Metal | Water |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heavenly Stems | 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 divination, neiyin (納音) further classifies 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 individual personality and destiny.
Order | Ganzhi | Ming | Order | Ganzhi | Ming | Element |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jia Zi 甲子 | Sea metal 海中金 | 31 | Jia Wu 甲午 | Sand metal 沙中金 | Metal |
2 | Yi Chou 乙丑 | 32 | Yi Wei 乙未 | |||
3 | Bing Yin 丙寅 | Furnace fire 爐中火 | 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 己巳 | 36 | Ji Hai 己亥 | |||
7 | Geng Wu 庚午 | Road earth 路旁土 | 37 | Geng Zi 庚子 | Adobe earth 壁上土 | Earth |
8 | Xin Wei 辛未 | 38 | Xin Chou 辛丑 | |||
9 | Ren Shen 壬申 | Sword metal 劍鋒金 | 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 山頭火 | 41 | Jia Chen 甲辰 | Lamp fire 佛燈火 | Fire |
12 | Yi Hai 乙亥 | 42 | Yi Si 乙巳 | |||
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 城頭土 | 45 | Wu Shen 戊申 | Highway earth 大驛土 | Earth |
16 | Ji Mao 己卯 | 46 | Ji You 己酉 | |||
17 | Geng Chen 庚辰 | Wax metal 白腊金 | 47 | Geng Xu 庚戌 | Jewellery metal 釵釧金 | Metal |
18 | Xin Si 辛巳 | 48 | Xin Hai 辛亥 | |||
19 | Ren Wu 壬午 | Willow wood 楊柳木 | 49 | Ren Zi 壬子 | Mulberry wood 桑柘木 | Wood |
20 | Gui Wei 癸未 | 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 霹靂火 | 55 | Wu Wu 戊午 | Sun fire 天上火 | Fire |
26 | Ji Chou 己丑 | 56 | Ji Wei 己未 | |||
27 | Geng Yin 庚寅 | Conifer wood 松柏木 | 57 | Geng Shen 庚申 | Pomegranate wood 石榴木 | Wood |
28 | Xin Mao 辛卯 | 58 | Xin You 辛酉 | |||
29 | Ren Chen 壬辰 | River water 長流水 | 59 | Ren Xu 壬戌 | Ocean water 大海水 | Water |
30 | Gui Si 癸巳 | 60 | Gui Hai 癸亥 |
Applications
The wuxing schema is applied to explain phenomena in various fields.
Phases of the Year
The five phases are around 73 days each and are usually used to describe the transformations of nature rather than their formative states.
- Wood/Spring: a period of growth, which generates abundant vitality, movement and wind.
- Fire/Summer: a period of swelling, flowering, expanding with heat.
- Earth can be seen as a transitional period between the other phases or seasons or when relating to transformative seasonal periods it can be seen as late Summer. This period is associated with stability, leveling and dampness.
- Metal/Autumn: a period of harvesting, collecting and dryness.
- Water/Winter: a period of retreat, stillness, contracting and coolness.
Cosmology and feng shui
The art of feng shui (Chinese geomancy) is based on wuxing, with the structure of the cosmos mirroring the five phases, as well as the eight trigrams. Each phase has a complex network of associations with different aspects of nature (see table): colors, seasons and shapes all interact according to the cycles.[17]
An interaction or energy flow can be expansive, destructive, or exhaustive, depending on the cycle to which it belongs. By understanding these energy flows, a feng shui practitioner attempts to rearrange energy to benefit the client.