Five Elements

 In Ancient China’s Western Zhou dynasty (1066 – 771 BC), there already existed the Philosophy of Materialism ‘五材说’ – ‘Five Materials thought.’ In the Spring and Autumn Analects it says, ‘天生五材, 民并用之, 废一不可’ (The heavens gave birth to five raw materials for mankind to use. Cannot less one.).

The 5 Elements (WuXing 五行) are the basic elements that make up the whole universe. This knowledge is not proprietary to Chinese Metaphysics only. All other ancient cultures had known this fact since the time human mental faculty was able to comprehend phenomena and put their thoughts and concepts into words.  

It is none other than Nature, or the natural occurring phenomenon of what we call the world or the universe in which we live. The Earth and the minerals contained within, the hills and jungles with all the trees and rocks, the ocean with all the sea life and vegetation, and the planets, the Sun and Moon, all these are the natural phenomena that we see, feel and experience every day. All these are composed of none other than the five basic elements that make up the world.   

In Chinese Metaphysics, although the fundamental subjects such as HeTu, LuoShu, Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, etc., are of equal importance, the study of both the 5 Elements and the Yin Yang theories stand out and command a higher level of importance and attention. 

The reason is that these two, Yin Yang and 5 Elements, are pervasive and inalienable factors in the other subjects. Hence, in Chinese Metaphysics, most writings and descriptions of the 5 Element’s phrase in Chinese would have the word Yin Yang included as Yin Yang 5 Elements (Yin Yang WuXing 阴阳五行). 

The fact that Yin Yang and the 5 Elements are such mandatory factors in the other Chinese Metaphysic fundamentals that it is advisable for students to get a good grounding in it so as to be able to comprehend more difficult FengShui theories later on, and also to be able to study other Metaphysical subjects such as BaZi or Date Selection with ease.

Historical and Philosophical Views

In one of the books – HongFan 洪范 – within the collection of books called ShangShu 尚书 (also called ShuJing 书经), it said: “WuXing (5 Elements), One is said to be Water; Two is said to be Fire; Three is said to be Wood; Four is said to be Metal; Five is said to be Earth. Water is said to lubricate downwards; Fire is said to flame up; Wood is said to be crooked or straight; Metal is said to be malleable; Earth is said to give nourishment.”  

The Chinese called it WuXing 五行 (5 Elements):

1. Metal 金

2.  Wood 木

3.  Water 水

4.  Fire 火

5.  Earth 土 

The Indians called it Tattva (suchness / thatness / reality):

1. Earth (Prtihvi/Bhumi)

2.  Water (Ap/Jala) 

3.  Fire (Agni/Tejas)

4.  Air (Vayu/Payan)

5.  Ether (Akasha) 

The Buddhists called it Mahabhuta (Great Elements): 

1. Earth   (地)

2.  Water   (水)

3.  Fire    (火)

4.  Wind   (風) 

5.  Emptiness/Voidness  (空) 

The Indians, the Tibetan’s Bon (Tibet’s original religion prior to Buddhism), the Japanese and the Koreans (as Buddhists) had the same concept, even the Daoist, too.

But, they considered only four elements: Earth, Water, Fire and Wind (Indians call it air). The fifth is ‘Emptiness’ or Voidness, which is purely a Buddhist and Daoist concept. The Chinese concept is more completely represented, as it encompasses all the basic physical elements found within our world. The Indian Ether and Buddhist Voidness would correspond to the Chinese concept of the TaiChi 太極: where WuJi 無極 is the Voidness, the Origin, or the XuanKong (the Mystical Void).

The Two Basic Cycles

In the study of the Five-Element theory, there are only two basic cycles: Production and Control. These will be described in detail in a later section of this chapter.

However, the 5 Elements is a widely studied and applied subject within Chinese Metaphysics and it is not restricted to be used only in FengShui and BaZi. It is also widely used in other Metaphysic subjects and primarily, in-depth study of the 5 Elements theory and practice is also mandatory in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

Some of the ideas presented in this chapter are widely used in TCM, but, in my opinion, had been much neglected by many English speaking FengShui teachers and writers. That is why I felt that it is time for me to present these ideas to the English speaking FengShui enthusiasts.

Excerpted from Chapter 5 of my book Chinese Metaphysics: Essential FengShui Basics