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Five elements (Chinese philosophy) Wikipedia

In traditional Chinese philosophy, natural phenomena can be classified into the Five Elements (zh-cp|c=五行|p=wǔxíng):
wood (classical element)|wood,
fire (classical element)|fire,
earth (classical element)|earth,
metal (classical element)|metal, and
water (classical element)|water
(木, 火, 土, 金, 水; mù, huǒ, tǔ, jīn, shǔi). These elements were used for describing interactions and relationships between phenomena. Five phases is another way of translating wǔx??ng — literally, "five goings". Traditional Taijiquan schools relate them to footwork and refer to them as five "steps".

The doctrine of five phases describes both a generating (生, shēng) cycle and an overcoming or restraining (克, k??) cycle of interactions between the phases. In the generating cycle, wood generates fire; fire generates earth; earth generates metal; metal generates water; water generates wood. In the overcoming cycle, wood overcomes earth; earth overcomes water; water overcomes fire; fire overcomes metal; metal overcomes wood.<br>
Image:Interactions of Five Chinese Elements.png
<br>The doctrine of five phases was employed in many fields of early Chinese philosophy, including seemingly disparate fields such as music, traditional chinese medicine, and military strategy.

Last Modified:   2005-11-04