In Chinese Medicine and Astrology
Beyond the success and ruling of dynasties and civilisations, wu xing became especially important in medicine and non-philosophical arenas such as astrology. In Chinese medicine theory, it is believed that we all have our own qi that courses through our body and is divided according to the theory of wu xing to five different organs: The heart is the fire element; the lungs, metal; the liver, wood; the spleen, earth; and the kidneys, water.
The body, according to the Chinese, is a microcosm of the universe, recapitulating the patterns of the macrocosm (i.e., Heaven and Earth). By using wu xing to explain the physiological phenomena in the body, physicians were able to internalise natural laws and master the operating mechanisms of the human body. The elements guided them in understanding, analysing and studying the interrelations of the functions of the body, to allow them to learn how to better prevent and treat diseases.
Similarly, in Chinese astrology, each zodiac sign is ruled by one or more of the five elements and its yin or yang energy. According to the lore of Chinese astrology, these signs and elements that individuals are born under impacts their entire lives and personalities. If, for example, an individual is born under the wood sign, this means that they are ruled by the yang energy and are thought to be someone who is strong and
self-reliant and is seemingly associated with the East. This individual’s health is governed by the condition of their liver and gallbladder and prospers and favours the colours of blue and green.
Wu xing has continually developed and grown over the ages and has become even more complex as time has gone on. The five elements have been incorporated into many areas of Chinese life, from the way a space is arranged to ensure optimal feng shui, to cooking and even the date an individual should be born on. Every aspect of our life, consciously or unconsciously, is dedicated towards understanding and living by wu xing.
Just as how we are all born as unique individuals, it is believed that with wu xing when we are born and have left the direct influence of our mothers, we have all received our own unique elemental profile that is created and passed on from a combination of our parents’ unique elemental material.
Wu xing even plays an important role in that traditional Chinese visual arts: Wu xing painting involves using a total of five brush strokes, five movements, five types of composition – all of which correspond to the five elements. The goal of the painting is to create an image that is perfectly balanced and harmonious.
The applications of wu xing throughout Chinese practices and traditions are endless, and since becoming a philosophical tradition during the Han dynasty, wu xing has developed into an essential tradition and a conceptual device that is used not just in cosmology, morality and medicine, but also in virtually every aspect of Chinese life and thought.
“The five elements have been incorporated into many areas of Chinese life, from the way a space is arranged to ensure optimal feng shui, to cooking and even the date an individual should be born on”