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Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters. Mojibake is the happenstance of incorrect unreadable characters (garbage characters shown when Computer software fails to render a text correctly according to its associated A Chinese character, also known as a Han character ( is a Logogram used in writing Chinese (hanzi Japanese (

Classical Elements
v • d • e

Greek

  Air  
Water Aether Fire
  Earth  

Hinduism (Tattva) and
Buddhism (Mahābhūta)

  Vayu/Pavan (Air/Wind)  
Ap/Jala (Water) Akasha (Aether) Agni/Tejas (Fire)
  Prithvi/Bhumi (Earth)  

Japanese (Godai)

  Air/Wind (風)  
Water (水) Void/Sky/Heaven (空) Fire (火)
  Earth (地)  

Tibetan (Bön)

  Air  
Water Space Fire
  Earth  

Chinese (Wu Xing)

  Fire (火)  
Metal (金) Earth (土) Wood (木)
  Water (水)  


In traditional Chinese philosophy, natural phenomena can be classified into the Wu Xing (Chinese: 五行; pinyin: wǔxíng), or the Five Phases, usually poorly translated as five elements, five movements or five steps. Many ancient philosophies used a set of archetypal classical "elements" to explain patterns in Nature. Many ancient philosophies used a set of archetypal classical "elements" to explain patterns in Nature. In traditional cultures air is often seen as a universal power or pure substance Water has been important to all peoples of the earth and it is rich in spiritual tradition According to ancient and medieval science, aether (Greek grc αἰθήρ aithēr) also spelled æther or ether, is the material that fills Fire has been an important part of many cultures and religions from pre-history to modern day and was vital to the development of civilization Earth, home and origin of humanity has often been worshipped in its own right with its own unique spiritual tradition Tattva is a Sanskrit word meaning 'thatness' 'principle' 'reality' or 'truth' Definitions In the Pali canon, the most basic elements are usually identified as four in number but on occasion a fifth and to an even lesser extent a sixth element In Hinduism Vayu ( Sanskrit: वायु, IAST: Vāyu Malay: Bayu Thai: Phra Pai is a primary deity the father of Vedic Meaning Akasha (or Akash, Ākāśa, sa आकाश is the Sanskrit word meaning " aether " in both Agni is a Hindu and Vedic deity. The word agni is Sanskrit for "fire" (noun cognate with Latin ignis Prithvi ( Sanskrit: pṛthvī, also pṛthivī) is the Hindu Earth and Mother Goddess. Bhūma Devī or Bhūmi-Devī or Bhū Devī is the divine wife of Lord Varaha, an Avatar of Lord Vishnu. Japan 's concepts of the five elements are heavily influenced by Buddhism. In traditional cultures air is often seen as a universal power or pure substance Water has been important to all peoples of the earth and it is rich in spiritual tradition According to ancient and medieval science, aether (Greek grc αἰθήρ aithēr) also spelled æther or ether, is the material that fills Fire has been an important part of many cultures and religions from pre-history to modern day and was vital to the development of civilization Earth, home and origin of humanity has often been worshipped in its own right with its own unique spiritual tradition Bön ( is the oldest spiritual tradition of Tibet. Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, has recognized the Bön tradition as the fifth principal spiritual In traditional cultures air is often seen as a universal power or pure substance Water has been important to all peoples of the earth and it is rich in spiritual tradition Space is the extent within which Matter is physically extended and objects and Events have positions relative to one another Fire has been an important part of many cultures and religions from pre-history to modern day and was vital to the development of civilization Earth, home and origin of humanity has often been worshipped in its own right with its own unique spiritual tradition Fire has been an important part of many cultures and religions from pre-history to modern day and was vital to the development of civilization In traditional Chinese philosophy, Metal is classified as one of the Wu xing ( or the Five Elements, also translated as five phases Earth, home and origin of humanity has often been worshipped in its own right with its own unique spiritual tradition In traditional Chinese philosophy, Wood is classified as one of the Wu xing ( or the Five Elements, also translated as five phases Water has been important to all peoples of the earth and it is rich in spiritual tradition Chinese philosophy is Philosophy written in the Chinese tradition of thought Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use

Note that the five elements are chiefly an ancient mnemonic device for systems with 5 stages; hence the preferred translation of "Phase" over "Element".

The elements are:

The system of five phases was used for describing interactions and relationships between phenomena. It was employed as a device 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. Feng shui ( ˈfəŋˌʃueɪ fehng-shway in English is an ancient Chinese system of Aesthetics believed to utilize the Laws of both heaven (astronomy and earth (geography The Chinese Zodiac is a 12 year cycle Each year of the 12 year cycle is named after one of the original 12 animals Traditional Chinese medicine (also known as TCM,) includes a range of traditional medical practices originating in China. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Military strategy is a National defence policy implemented by Military organisations to pursue desired strategic goals Derived from the Greek Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for Combat.

Traditional Taijiquan schools relate them to footwork and refer to them as five "steps". Tai chi chuan (is an internal Chinese martial art often practiced for Health reasons The system is still used as a reference in some forms of complementary and alternative medicine and martial arts. Some claim the original foundation of these are the concept of the Five Cardinal Points.

Contents

Cycles

The doctrine of five phases describes two Cycles of Balance, a generating or creation (生, shēng) cycle and an overcoming or destruction (克/剋, kè) cycle of interactions between the phases.

Generating

The common memory jogs to help remember which order the phases are in are:

Other common words for this cycle include "begets", "engenders" and "mothers"

Overcoming

This cycle might also be called "controls", "restrains" or "fathers".

Interactions of Five Chinese Elements - Cycles of Balance and Cycles of Imbalance
Interactions of Five Chinese Elements - Cycles of Balance and Cycles of Imbalance

There are also two Cycles of Imbalance, an overacting cycle (cheng) and an insulting cycle (wu).

Cosmology and feng shui

Main article: Feng Shui

According to Wu Xing theory, the structure of the cosmos mirrors the five elements. Feng shui ( ˈfəŋˌʃueɪ fehng-shway in English is an ancient Chinese system of Aesthetics believed to utilize the Laws of both heaven (astronomy and earth (geography Each "element" 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 elements (Wu Xing). All of these elements are represented within the Bagua. Associated with these elements are colors, seasons and shapes; all of which are interacting with each other. [1]

Based on a particular directional energy flow from one element to the next, the interaction can be expansive, destructive, or exhaustive. With proper knowledge of such aspect of energy flow will enable the Feng Shui practitioner to apply certain cures or rearrangement of energy in a beneficial way.


Element Wood Fire Earth Metal Water
Color Green Red Yellow White Blue or
Black
Direction east south center / zenith west north
Planet Jupiter Mars Saturn Venus Mercury
Heavenly creature Azure Dragon
蒼龍 or 青龍		 Vermilion Bird
朱雀		 Yellow Dragon or Yellow Qilin
黃龍 or 黃麟		 White Tiger
白虎		 Black Tortoise
玄武
Heavenly Stems 甲, 乙 丙, 丁 戊, 己 庚, 辛 壬, 癸
Phase New Yang Full Yang Yin/Yang balance New Yin Full Yin
Energy Generative Expansive Stabilizing Contracting Conserving
Season Spring Summer Change of seasons
(Every third month)		 Autumn Winter
Climate Windy Hot Damp Dry Cold
Development Sprouting Blooming Ripening Withering Dormant
Livestock dog sheep/goat cattle chicken pig
Fruit plum apricot jujube(dates) peach chestnut
Grain wheat beans rice hemp millet


Bagua

Main article: Bagua (concept)

The elements have also been correlated to the eight trigrams of the I Ching:

Element Wood Fire Earth Metal Water
I Ching Wood, splinter Fire, lightning Earth, sand Metal, iron Water, ice
Trigrams :|| (☴ 巽 xùn) |:: (☳ 震 zhèn) |:| (☲ 離 lí) ::: (☷ 坤 kūn) ::| (☶ 艮 gèn) ||| (☰ 乾 qián) ||: (☱ 兌 duì) :|: (☵ 坎 kǎn)

Chinese medicine

Five Chinese Elements - Diurnal Cycle
Five Chinese Elements - Diurnal Cycle
Main article: Traditional Chinese medicine

The interdependence of organ networks in the body was noted to be a circle of five things, and so mapped by the Chinese doctors onto the five phases. Green is a Color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a Wavelength of roughly 520–570- nm. Red is any of a number of similar Colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of Light discernible by the human eye in the wavelength Yellow is the Color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M (long and medium wavelength Cone cells of the Retina about equally White is a Color, the perception which is evoked by Light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive Cone cells in the Human eye Blue is a Colour, the Perception of which is evoked by Black is the Color of objects that do not emit or Reflect Light in any part of the Visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST internal designation HT-7U is an experimental Superconducting Tokamak Magnetic fusion energy South is one of Cardinal directions and is opposite to the North. In broad terms the zenith is the direction pointing directly above a particular location ( Perpendicular, Orthogonal) This article refers to the cardinal direction for other uses see West (disambiguation. This is about the direction for other uses see North (disambiguation. A planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU is a celestial body Orbiting a Star or stellar remnant that is The VENUS ( V ictoria E xperimental N etwork U nder the S ea project is a cabled sea floor observatory operated by the University The Azure Dragon (青龍 青竜 青龙 is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations It is sometimes called the Azure Dragon of the East The Vermilion Bird (朱雀 is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations According to Wu Xing, the Taoist five-elemental Huang Long (黄竜 or 黄龙 Yellow Dragon Japanse:Kōryū or Ōryū Korean:Hwang-Ryong is a hornless dragon who once emerged from the River Luo and presented The Qilin ( also spelled Kylin, or Kirin ( Japanese and Korean) is a Mythical hooved Chinese chimerical The White Tiger (白虎 is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations It is sometimes called the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎 The ten Celestial Stems ( sometimes known as Heavenly Stems, are the elements of an ancient Chinese cyclic character Numeral system: Jia (甲 Yi (乙 In Physics and other Sciences energy (from the Greek grc ἐνέργεια - Energeia, "activity operation" from grc ἐνεργός A season is one of the major divisions of the Year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in Weather. Spring is one of the four Temperate Seasons Spring marks the transition from Winter into Summer. Summer is one of the four Temperate Seasons Summer marks the warmest time of year with the longest days Autumn (also known as fall in North American English) is one of the four Temperate Seasons Autumn marks the transition from Summer Winter is one of the four Seasons of Temperate zones Calculated astronomically, it begins on the Solstice and ends on the Equinox Climate encompasses the temperatures humidity rainfall atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorogical factors in a given region over long periods of " Windy " is a Pop music song written by Ruthann Friedman and recorded by The Association. Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature See also Cold (disambiguation The noun cold should not de confused with the noun coldness which is Livestock is the term used to refer (singularly or plurally to a Domesticated Animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce such as Food The dog ( Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated Subspecies of the gray wolf, a Mammal of the Canidae family of the order The domestic goat ( Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat Domesticated from the Wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family The chicken ( Gallus gallus, sometimes G gallus domesticus) is a domesticated Fowl which is traditionally believed to have descended from Pigs, also called hogs or' swine', are Ungulates which have been domesticated as sources of food leather and similar products since ancient times The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. A plum or gage is a stone fruit Tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The Apricot ( Prunus armeniaca, "Armenian plum" in Latin syn Ziziphus zizyphus (from Greek ζίζυφον - zizuphon, syn Z The peach ( Prunus persica) is a species of Prunus native to China that bears an edible juicy fruit also called a peach Chestnut ( Castanea) (including some chinkapin or Chinquapin) is a Genus of eight or nine Species of Deciduous Wheat ( Triticum spp is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Levant area of the Middle East. Bean is a common name for large plant Seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae used for human food or animal Rice is a Cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many This article is about the cultivation and uses of industrial hemp not its psychoactive cousin Cannabis (drug. The millets are a group of small- Seeded Species of Cereal crops or grains widely grown around the world for Food and Fodder The Bagua ( are eight diagrams used in Taoist Cosmology to represent a range of interrelated concepts The I Ching ( Wade-Giles) or “Yì Jīng” ( Pinyin) also called “Classic of Changes” or “Book of Changes” is one of the oldest of the Traditional Chinese medicine (also known as TCM,) includes a range of traditional medical practices originating in China. Zang-fu viscera ( in Visceral manifestations ( are organs contained within the human body is the common name of Five zang viscera ( Six fu viscera For instance, the Liver (Wood phase) is said to be the "mother" of the heart (Fire phase), and the Kidneys (Water phase) the mother of the Liver. The key observation was things like kidney deficiency affecting the function of the liver. In this case, the "mother" is weak, and cannot support the child. However, the Kidneys control the heart along the Ke cycle, so the Kidneys are said to restrain the heart. Many of these interactions can nowadays be linked to known physiological pathways (such as Kidney pH affecting heart activity).

The key thing to keep in mind with the Chinese medical application of the five elements is that it is only a model, and it is known to have exceptions. However, in general the device seems to be useful for arriving at good clinical results, so they were kept by the critically thinking Chinese medical doctors and researchers since they were first introduced.

The citation order of the Five Phases, i. e. , the order in which they are cited in the Bo Hu Tong and other Han dynasty texts, is Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The organs are most effectively treated, according to theory, in the following four-hour periods throughout the day, beginning with the 3 a. m. to 7 a. m. period: Metal organs (see the list below), Earth organs, Fire1 organs, Water organs, Fire2 (the "non-empirical" Pericardium and Triple Burner organs), and Wood organs, which is the reverse of the citation order (plus an extra use of Fire and the non-empirical organs to take care of the sixth four-hour period of the day). These two orders are further related to the sequence of the planets going outward from the sun (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, or Water, Metal, Fire, Wood, and Earth) by a star diagram similar to the one shown above. [2]

Element Wood Fire Earth Metal Water
Planet Jupiter Mars Saturn Venus Mercury
Mental Quality Sensitivity Creativity Clarity Intuition Spontaneity
Negative Emotion anger, frustration over-excitation worry, anxiety grief, sadness fear, lack of will
Positive Emotion Patience Joy Empathy,Love Courage Calmness
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 eye tongue Mouth nose ears
Body Part Tendons Pulse Muscle Skin Bones
Body Fluid Tears Sweat Saliva Mucus Urine
Finger index finger middle finger thumb ring finger little finger
Sense sight speech taste smell hearing
Taste sour bitter sweet pungent salty
Smell Rancid Scorched Fragrant Putrid Rotten
Life birth youth adulthood old age death

Chinese astrology

Main article: Chinese astrology

Chinese astrology is based upon the interaction of the five elements with the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac, to produce the well-known 60 year cycle of signs. A planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU is a celestial body Orbiting a Star or stellar remnant that is The VENUS ( V ictoria E xperimental N etwork U nder the S ea project is a cabled sea floor observatory operated by the University Creativity is a mental process involving the generation of new Ideas or Concepts, or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas or concepts An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings thoughts and behaviours Anger is an emotional state that may range from minor irritation to intense rage Frustration is an Emotional response to circumstances where one is obstructed from arriving at a personal goal. A well accepted theory of anxiety originally posited by Liebert and Morris in 1967 suggests that Anxiety consists of two components worry and emotionality Anxiety is a physiological and psychological state characterized by Cognitive, Somatic, Emotional and Behavioral components Grief is a multi-faceted response to loss Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss it also has physical cognitive behavioral social and philosophical Sadness is an Emotion characterized by Feelings of disadvantage loss and helplessness Fear is an Emotional response to Threats and Danger. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific Stimulus, such as An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings thoughts and behaviours Patience (ˈpā-shənz is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances Empathy is the capacity to recognize or understand another's state of mind or Emotion. Love is any of a number of Emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong Affection. Gallantry redirects here Or see Gallant for other meanings Courage, also known as bravery, will, intrepidity Calmness is a mental state wherein the mind is not turbulent but open and reflective Zang-fu viscera ( in Visceral manifestations ( are organs contained within the human body is the common name of Five zang viscera ( Six fu viscera In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin and yang ( is used to describe how seemingly opposing forces are bound together intertwined and interdependent in the The liver is a vital organ in the human body and is present in Vertebrates and some other animals The heart is a muscular organ in all Vertebrates responsible for pumping Blood through the Blood vessels by repeated rhythmic The pericardium is a double-walled sac that contains the Heart and the roots of the Great vessels. The spleen is an organ found in all Vertebrate animals In humans the spleen is located in the abdomen of the body where it functions in the destruction of redundant Red The pancreas is a Gland organ in the digestive and Endocrine system of Vertebrates. lung is the essential Respiration organ in air-breathing Animals including most Tetrapods a few Fish and a few Snails The most primitive The kidneys are complicated organs that have numerous biological roles Zang-fu viscera ( in Visceral manifestations ( are organs contained within the human body is the common name of Five zang viscera ( Six fu viscera In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin and yang ( is used to describe how seemingly opposing forces are bound together intertwined and interdependent in the The gallbladder (or cholecyst sometimes gall bladder is a small organ whose function in the body is to store Bile and aid in the digestive process In Biology the small Intestine is the part of the Gastrointestinal tract (gut between the Stomach and the Large intestine, and comprises The San Jiao (三焦 or 三 膲 in ancient writing is a traditional Chinese medical (TCM concept of a functional organ that is not found outside of TCM In Human anatomy, the stomach is a J-shaped hollow muscular organ of the Gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of Digestion, following The large intestine is the last part of the Digestive system: the final stage of the Alimentary canal in Vertebrate Animals Its function is to In Anatomy, the urinary bladder is a hollow muscular, and distensible (or elastic organ that sits on the Pelvic floor in Mammals It is the In Biology, an organ ( Latin: organum, "instrument tool" from Greek όργανον - organon "organ instrument Eyes are organs that detect Light, and send signals along the Optic nerve to the visual areas of the brain The tongue is the large bundle of Skeletal muscles on the floor of the Mouth that manipulates Food for chewing and swallowing (deglutition The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the Alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up Anatomically a nose is a protuberance in Vertebrates that houses the Nostrils or nares which admit and expel air for respiration in conjunction with the The ear is the sense organ that detects Sounds The Vertebrate ear shows a common biology from Fish to Humans with variations A tendon (or sinew) is a tough band of Fibrous connective tissue that usually connects Muscle to Bone and is capable of withstanding tension In Medicine, a person's pulse is the throbbing of their arteries. Muscle (from Latin musculus, diminutive of mus "mouse" is contractile tissue of the body and is derived from the The skin is the outer covering of living tissue of an animal (or plant Bones are rigid organs that form part of the Endoskeleton of Vertebrates They function to move support and protect the various organs of the body produce Tears are the liquid product of a process of lacrimation to clean and lubricate the Eyes The word lacrimation may also be used in a medical or literary sense For the band see Saliva (band; for the village in Azerbaijan see Səliva. In vertebrates mucus is a slippery secretion produced by and covering Mucous membranes It is a viscous Colloid containing Antiseptic enzymes (such as Urine is a liquid waste product of the body secreted by the Kidneys by a process of filtration from Blood and Excreted through the Urethra. A finger is a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the Hands of Humans and other Primates Normally humans have five digits The second Digit of a human Hand is also referred to as the index finger, pointer finger, forefinger, trigger finger, digitus The middle finger (or the long finger) is the third digit of the human Hand and usually the longest Finger, located between the Index finger The thumb is the medial -most digit of the hand The English adjective for thumb is pollical The ring finger is the fourth digit of the human Hand, and the second most Ulnar Finger, located between the Middle finger and the The little finger, often called the pinky in American English and pinkie in Scottish English (from the Dutch word pink Senses are the physiological methods of Perception. The senses and their operation classification and theory are overlapping topics studied by a variety of fields In Psychology, visual perception is the ability to interpret information from Visible light reaching the Eyes The resulting Perception is also Speech refers to the processes associated with the production and perception of Sounds used in Spoken language. Taste (or more formally gustation) is a form of direct Chemoreception and is one of the traditional five Senses Olfaction (also known as olfactics or smell) refers to the Sense of smell. Taste (or more formally gustation) is a form of direct Chemoreception and is one of the traditional five Senses Taste (or more formally gustation) is a form of direct Chemoreception and is one of the traditional five Senses Taste (or more formally gustation) is a form of direct Chemoreception and is one of the traditional five Senses Sweet is one of the five Basic tastes and is almost universally regarded as a pleasurable experience Pungency (also called piquancy) is a sharp and biting sensory impression Salt is a Dietary mineral composed primarily of Sodium chloride that is essential for Animal life but toxic to most land plants Olfaction (also known as olfactics or smell) refers to the Sense of smell. Rancidification is the decomposition of Fats Oils and other Lipids by Hydrolysis or Oxidation, or both Putrefaction is the decomposition of animal Proteins especially by anaerobic microorganisms, described as Putrefying bacteria. Biodegradation is the process by which organic substances are broken down by the enzymes produced by living organisms Life is a state that distinguishes Organisms from non-living objects such as non-life and dead organisms being manifested by growth through Metabolism Childbirth (also called labour, birth, partus or parturition) is the culmination of a Human Pregnancy or Youth is the period from infancy or childhood to maturity Usage Around the world the terms "youth" " Adolescent " "teenager" and For the 2008 British film by Noel Clarke see Adulthood (film. Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the Average life span of Human beings and thus the end of the human life cycle. Death is the termination of the biological functions that define living Organisms It refers both to a specific The Chinese Zodiac is a 12 year cycle Each year of the 12 year cycle is named after one of the original 12 animals

Element 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
Birth year ends with 4, 5 6, 7 8, 9 0, 1 2, 3

For example, assume someone is born in the year 1953, the year of the Snake. The ten Celestial Stems ( sometimes known as Heavenly Stems, are the elements of an ancient Chinese cyclic character Numeral system: Jia (甲 Yi (乙 Because her birth year ends with 3, her element is Water; therefore, she was born in the year of the Water Snake.

Music

Main article: Chinese music

The Yuèlìng chapter (月令篇) of the Lǐjì (禮記) and the Huáinánzǐ (淮南子) make the following correlations:

Element Wood Fire Earth Metal Water
Colour Green Red Yellow White Blue
Direction east south center west north
The Chinese Five-note Scale jué 角 (mi) zhǐ 徵 (so) gōng 宮 (do) shāng 商 (re) yǔ 羽 (la)

(Notes:


Martial arts

Xingyi

Main article: Xingyi

Xingyiquan uses the five elements to metaphorically represent five different states of combat. Xingyiquan ( is one of the major "internal" ( Nèijiā) Chinese martial arts.

Element Fist Chinese Pinyin Description
Wood Crushing 崩 Bēng To collapse, as a building collapsing in on itself. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use
Fire Pounding 炮 Pào Exploding outward like a cannon while blocking.
Earth Crossing 橫 Héng Crossing across the line of attack while turning over.
Metal Splitting 劈 Pī To split like an axe chopping up and over.
Water Drilling 鑽 Zuān Drilling forward horizontally like a geyser.

See also

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ http://www.northernshaolinacademy.com/new/docs/FiveElementsChart.xls Chinese Five Elements Chart]Information on the Chinese Five Elements from Northern Shaolin Academy in Microsoft Excel 2003 Format
  2. ^ See 5 Xing in Citation Order.

External links

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