Wu Xing
the Five States of Change
Whereas Western thought developed the idea of elements as subtsances, and Indian thought as emenations, Chinese philosophy conceived of the five elements, or Wu Xing, as dynamic states of change.
The concept of Wu Xing is central to all elements of Chinese thought, including science, philosophy, medicine, astrology, andFengshui.
Although the term is generally translated as “five elements”, this is incorrect. The word Wu does indeed mean “five”. But there is no simple translation for Xing. Translations such as “five elements”, “five agents”, “five qualities”, “five properties” “five states of change”, “five courses”, “five phases” and “five elementals”, are all used. As Master Joseph Yu explains
“Wu Xing” is actually the short form of “Wu zhong liu xing zhi chi” or “the five types of chi dominating at different times”. Water dominates in winter, wood in spring, fire in summer, metal in autumn. At the intersection between two seasons, the transitional period is dominated by earth. It is customary in Chinese writing to summarize a longer phrase into a couple of characters. Sometimes the meaning is completely lost in the abbreviated form if the original phrase is not referred to. Wu Xing is one such example.
and
The names “water”, “wood”, “fire”, “metal” and “earth” are only substances whose properties resemble the respective chi in the closest possible way. They do help us understand the properties of the five types of chi but they also mislead us if we take everything in the literal sense.
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