The Water Element
Water is an inherent part of our lives. It covers about 71 percent of Earth’s surface and makes up almost 60 percent of our bodies. In Chinese philosophy, water represents this vital element in all its forms: as the elixir of life, in the vast oceans and its rapid waves, and the rivers that run through the world – like veins that transmit life into cities, homes, and hearts.
Bruce Lee famously said, “You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water, my friend.”
Water is one of the five elements in the Chinese philosophy of wu xing. This theory first appeared in the studies of Taoism, during the spring and autumn period sometime between 770–476 BCE. It rapidly expanded with its use in Chinese medicine, philosophy, fengshui, fortunetelling, and martial arts – and is still prevalent to date.
The five elements – wood, fire, earth, metal, and water – are generated by the interaction between yin and yang. Not so much the actual physical forms of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, each element can be better understood as an expression of its qualities, and as components of life and matter. Wood and fire pertain to yang , while metal and water relate to yin, and earth represents the perfect harmony between yin and yang. Conceptually, we can understand the Five Elements as energetic forces created by interactions between yin and yang.
The interactions of the five astrological elements are circular. In the nurturing cycle, water breeds wood, wood grows fire, fire turns into earth (ash), earth yields metal, metal turns into water, and the cycle begins again. In the controlling cycle, water puts out fire, fire controls metal, metal cuts wood, wood extracts nutrients from earth, and earth absorbs water, and the cycle begins again.
According to Taoist belief, the water element manifests in the evening and at nighttime, as well as in the north and in winter. Picture the sea from the shore: Water is the energy that has boundless potential, even though it may appear to be calm on the outside. The water element also promotes conservation – literally and metaphorically.
The 6th century BCE was a time of philosophical growth for ancient China. It was during this time that the two most influential spiritual leaders native to China, Confucius and Lao-tzu, are thought to have lived and taught. The philosophies that they practised, Taoism and Confucianism, existed simultaneously and have attracted a large following over the past 2,000 years.
To “regard Human and Nature as a whole” is a Confucian ideology that was first mentioned in the Han Dynasty, about 2,000 years ago. It meant to convey that human beings consist of just one part in the system of Nature, and hence we, as a species, should not try to control and alter the system. The fundamental concept of Chinese traditional culture is the concept of circulation: Everything in Nature is supposed to move circularly to maintain a level of stability and harmony.
While Confucianism is distinguished by its concern for the cultivation of human relations towards a harmonious society rather than one’s relations with the supernatural or natural, it is wrong to regard the civilisational legacy of Confucius to be purely humanistic. Confucianism is a philosophy that also contains profound environmental ethics through its inclusiveness of Heaven, Earth, and the Human order. Relations between people and the natural world are therefore of intrinsic interest to those who profess Confucian ethics.