Theory of the Five Elements
Five Elements Theory
one, Overview
The natural cycle of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and the shifting of the five elements—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—give rise to the five climates of cold, heat, dryness, humidity, and wind, forming the laws of birth, growth, transformation, and storage. Humans have the five internal organs of the liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. The qi of these five organs generates the five emotions, giving rise to joy, anger, sadness, worry, and fear.
two, Five Elements Intention
Wood
The east gives rise to wind, wind gives rise to wood, wood gives rise to sourness, sourness gives rise to the liver, the liver gives rise to tendons, tendons give rise to the heart, and the liver governs the eyes. In the sky, it is Xuan, in man, it is Dao, and on earth, it is transformation. Transformation gives rise to the five flavors, Dao gives rise to wisdom, and Xuan gives rise to the spirit. The spirit in the sky is wind, on earth, it is wood, in the body, it is tendons, in the internal organs, it is the liver, in color, it is green, in sound, it is the horn, in voice, it is a call, in change, it is a grip, in the orifices, it is the eyes, in flavor, it is sourness, and in the will, it is anger. Anger harms the liver, and sadness overcomes anger; wind harms the tendons, and dryness overcomes wind; sourness harms the tendons, and pungentness overcomes sourness.
Spring governs the east, where rising yang energy generates wind. Wind promotes the growth of plants and trees. Wood energy produces sourness, which warms and nourishes the liver. Liver energy nourishes the tendons. Soft tendons generate heart energy, which then ascends to the eyes. It is profound and mysterious in nature, enabling humans to understand the principles of nature's changes and the fundamental reason the earth can produce all things. The earth's ability to produce and transform gives rise to all things; humans' understanding of nature's changes allows them to possess infinite wisdom. All things are profound and mysterious, their transformations unpredictable. This unpredictable transformation manifests in the sky as wind, on the earth as wood energy, in the human body as tendons, in the five internal organs as the liver, in the five colors as green, in the five notes as the horn, in the five sounds as the call, in human pathology as gripping, in the seven orifices as the eyes, in the five flavors as sourness, and in emotions as anger. Anger can damage the liver, sadness can curb anger; wind can damage the tendons, dryness can calm the wind; sourness can damage the tendons, spiciness can calm the sourness.
fire
The south generates heat, heat generates fire, fire generates bitterness, bitterness generates the heart, the heart generates blood, blood generates the spleen, and the heart governs the tongue. In the sky, it is heat; on the earth, it is fire; in the body, it is the pulse; in the internal organs, it is the heart; in color, it is red; in sound, it is the sound of the gong; in voice, it is laughter; in change, it is worry; in the orifices, it is the tongue; in taste, it is bitterness; in the mind, it is joy. Joy harms the heart; fear overcomes joy; heat harms the qi; cold overcomes heat; bitterness harms the qi; salt overcomes bitterness.
Summer governs the south. Yang energy flourishes, generating heat. Heat generates fire, and fire generates bitterness. Bitterness nourishes heart qi, which transforms into blood qi. Overflowing blood qi nourishes spleen qi, and heart qi is associated with the tongue. Its transformations manifest in the sky as heat, on the earth as fire, in the body as blood vessels, in the five internal organs as the heart, in the five colors as red, in the five notes as zhi, and in the five sounds as laughter. In the body, pathological changes manifest as worry, in the orifices as the tongue, in the five flavors as bitterness, and in the emotions as joy. Extreme joy harms the heart, while fear can curb joy. Heat harms qi, while cold can calm heat. Bitterness harms qi, while saltiness calms bitterness.
earth
The center generates dampness, dampness generates earth, earth generates sweetness, sweetness generates the spleen, the spleen generates flesh, flesh generates the lungs, and the spleen governs the mouth. In the sky, it is dampness; on the earth, it is earth; in the body, it is flesh; in the internal organs, it is the spleen; in color, it is yellow; in sound, it is the uterus; in voice, it is singing; in movement, it is hiccups; in the orifices, it is the mouth; in taste, it is sweetness; in the mind, it is thought. Thought harms the spleen; anger overcomes thought; dampness harms the flesh; wind overcomes dampness; sweetness harms the flesh; sourness overcomes sweetness.
The Longest Summer governs the center. It produces dampness, which generates earthiness, which generates sweetness. Sweetness nourishes the spleen, which nourishes the muscles. Plenty of muscles enriches the lungs, and the spleen is associated with the mouth. Its transformations manifest in the sky as dampness, on the earth as earthiness, in the body as muscles, in the five internal organs as the spleen, in the five colors as yellow, in the five tones as gong, and in the five sounds as song. In the body, pathological changes manifest as hiccups, in the orifices as the mouth, in the five flavors as sweetness, and in the emotions as thought. Worry damages the spleen, but anger can calm it. Dampness harms the muscles, but wind can calm them. Sweetness can damage the muscles, but sourness can calm them.
gold
The west generates dryness, dryness generates metal, metal generates pungent energy, pungent energy generates the lungs, the lungs generate fur, the fur generates the kidneys, and the lungs govern the nose. In the sky, it is dryness; on the earth, it is metal; in the body, it is fur; in the internal organs, it is the lungs; in color, it is white; in tone, it is Shang; in voice, it is crying; in movement, it is coughing; in the orifices, it is the nose; in flavor, it is pungent energy; in the mind, it is worry. Worry harms the lungs; joy overcomes worry; heat harms the fur; cold overcomes heat; pungent energy harms the fur; bitter energy overcomes pungent energy.
Autumn governs the west. Autumn produces dry air, which generates metal energy, which generates pungent flavors. Pungent flavors nourish the lungs, which nourish the skin and fur. Moisturized skin and fur nourish the kidneys, and lung qi is associated with the nose. Its transformations manifest as dry air in the sky, metal energy on the earth, the skin and fur in the body, the lungs in the five internal organs, the color white, the five notes shang, and the five sounds crying. Symptoms manifest as coughs, the nose in the orifices, pungent flavors in the five flavors, and sadness in the emotions. Sadness harms the lungs, but joy can alleviate sadness. Heat damages the skin, but cold can alleviate heat. Pungent flavors harm the skin, but bitterness can alleviate pungent flavors.
water
The north produces cold, cold produces water, water produces salt, salt produces the kidneys, the kidneys produce bone marrow, the marrow produces the liver, and the kidneys govern the ears. In the sky, it is cold; on the earth, it is water; in the body, it is bones; in the organs, it is the kidneys; in color, it is black; in sound, it is feathers; in voice, it is groaning; in movement, it is chestnuts; in orifices, it is the ears; in flavor, it is salty; in the mind, it is fear. Fear harms the kidneys; thought overcomes fear; cold harms the blood; dryness overcomes cold; salt harms the blood; sweetness overcomes saltiness.
Winter governs the north, producing cold air. Cold air generates moisture, which generates saltiness. Saltiness nourishes kidney qi, which nourishes the bone marrow. A full bone marrow nourishes liver qi, and kidney qi is associated with the ears. Its transformations manifest as cold air in the sky, moisture on the earth, bone marrow in the body, the kidneys in the five internal organs, black in the five colors, feathers in the five notes, and groans in the five sounds. Physical pathology manifests as trembling, the ears in the orifices, saltiness in the five flavors, and fear in the emotions. Fear damages the kidneys, but thoughtfulness can calm it. Cold damages the blood, but dryness can calm it. Saltiness damages the blood vessels, but sweetness can calm it.