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Five Elements (Wuxing)

The Chinese Five Elements philosophy is a Taoism system widely practiced in traditional Chinese medicine, Feng Shui, numerology, physiognomy, and fortunetelling. Its meaning covers the five fundamental dynamics of the universe: water, fire, meta, food, and earth. Ancient Chinese philosophers used the Five Elements theory to explain the formation of all things on the planet and their interactive relationships.

What is the Meaning and Characteristics of Five Elements?

Five elements refer to Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth five elements.

Element	Meaning	Characteristics
Water	Things that are cool, cold, moisturizing and moving downwards.	Wisdom
Fire	Things that are warm, hot and arising upwards.	Propriety
Wood	Things that can grow, ascend and develop freely.	Benevolence
Metal	Things that are purifying and descending.	Righteousness
Earth	Things that are bearing and receptive.	Honesty

Theory of the Five Elements: the Balancing Relationships of Generation and Overcoming

Generation interaction: Wood makes Fire; Fire creates Earth; Earth stores Metal; Metal generates water.

Overcoming interaction: Fire melts Metal; Metal chops Wood; Wood grows in Earth; Earth absorbs Water; Water quenches Fire.

Trigram Chart

Chinese Five Elements Charts

Five Elements and Fengshui

Elements	Metal	Wood	Water	Fire	Earth
Heavenly Stems	Geng, Xin	Jia, Yi	Ren, Gui	Bing, Ding	Wu, Ji
Eight Tri-grams	Qian, Dui	Zhen, Xun	Kan	Li	Gen, Kun
Planet	Venus	Jupiter	Mercury	Mars	Saturn
Days	Friday	Thursday	Wednesday	Tuesday	Saturday
Directions	West	East	North	South	Middle
Colors	White	Green	Black	Vermilion	Brown
Divine Animals	White Tiger	Green Dragon	Black Tortoise	Vermilion Bird	Or-giraffe

Five Elements and 12 Chinese Zodiacs

Elements	Metal	Wood	Water	Fire	Earth
Chinese Zodiacs	Monkey, Rooster	Tiger, Rabbit	Rat, Pig	Snake, Horse	Ox, Dragon, Goat, Dog
Directions	West	East	North	South	Middle

5 Elements: Seasons and Solar Terms

Elements

Wood

Fire

Metal

Water

Earth

Seasons

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

Intermediate

Earthly Branches

Yin

Mao

Chen

Wei

Shen

You

Hai

Chou

Chen

Wei

Chou

Solar Months

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

Jun.

Jul.

Aug.

Sep.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Apr.

Jul.

Oct.

Jan.

Solar Terms

Spring Begins

Insects Waken

Qingming Festival

Summer Begins

Seeding Millet

Moderate Heat

Autumn Begins

Dews

Cold Dews

Winter Begins

Heavy Snow

Moderate Cold

Weather

Spring Showers

Spring Center

Corn Rain

Creatures Plenish

Summer Solstice

Great Heat

End of Heat

Autumn Center

Frost

Light Snow

Winter Solstice

Severe Cold

The 12-Year Cycles of the Five Elements

Elements

Metal

Wood

Water

Fire

Earth

12-Year Cycle

1960 - 1971

2020 - 2031

1924 - 1935

1984 - 1995

1972 - 1983

2032 - 2043

1936 - 1947

1996 - 2007

1948 - 1959

2008 - 2019

Application of Five Elements

Five Elements in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Elements	Metal	Wood	Water	Fire	Earth
Organs (Yin)	Lung	Liver	Kidney	Heart	Spleen
Organs (Yang)	Large Intestine	Gall Bladder	Urinary Bladder	Small Intestine	Stomach
Sensory Organs	Nose	Eyes	Ears	Tongue	Mouth
Tastes	Spicy	Sour	Salty	Bitter	Sweet
Emotions	Sorrow	Angry	Fear	Happy	Longing
Food	White Food	Cyan Food	Black Food	Red Food	Yellow Food

1.Diagnosis based on Five Elements

Traditional Chinese physicians used to diagnose disease by observing and enquiring the patients based on the relationships among the five elements, organs, taste, and the pulse condition. For example, if someone who likes to eat sour food, has a blue color on his face and surging pulses, this person might have liver problems. While the element Fire impacts a person who has a bitter taste in his mouth, the red color on his face and surging pulsed, which indicates that he is likely to have heart problems. With a long time of experience and practice, Chinese doctors have skillfully applied the theory to the medical field, learning and explaining the physiological phenomena with the dialectical relation of the Five Elements.

2.Acupuncture Therapy

Ancient Chinese people related the human organs with the Five Elements and applied the interactive relationships among those elements to the human organs. Therefore, acupuncturists can choose the corresponding acupoint to adjust the people’s physical condition, mind, and emotions. As demonstrated in the above table, each element corresponds to one organ, which corresponds to one emotion. Bad emotions can affect one’s organs, and acupuncture can help to relax people and cure organ disease. For example, if a person is angry, there is a good chance that his liver is affected. In such a case, he can get acupuncture therapy at the liver point.

3.Naming Babies

Chinese people often name newborn babies based on a lot of principles; one of the most crucial factors is the element. By analyzing the birth year, day, time, and the baby's family name and corresponding them to the heavenly stems and the earthly branches and the Five Elements, the baby’s life can be predicted. To avoid the baby's bad parts, certain characters containing either compensating or overcoming elements will be chosen for the baby to ensure success in the future.