TERMBASES
This refers to the concept of the five
elements sequentially overpowering each other, which is also described as “the five
elements, each in turn checking the next”. The term “five elements” refers to five
basic material elements, namely: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. According
to this concept, water checks fire, fire checks metal; metal checks wood; wood
checks earth; and earth checks water. Similarly, things with the properties of
these five elements also have corresponding relations between themselves. For example, some thinkers in the Qin and Han dynasties adopted this theory to explain dynastic changes.
The five elements are comparable to five official positions. Adjacent things emerge in a certain sequence. If things do not emerge in order, each will check the next. This principle also applies to the governance of a state and all social affairs. Chaos grows if the order of the five elements is disrupted; peace prevails if the five elements are in good order.
There are three meanings to the term. 1) The five fundamental things or elements that make up all things. The Book of History was the first to define the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and ea…
This refers to the concept of the five basicelements, each in turn giving rise to the next. The five basic elements are:wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. All things in the world are composed ofthese…
The cycle of five elements that repeatedly follow each other in fixed succession is a belief that interpreted the rise and fall of dynasties and political changes. It was propounded by Zou Yan (305?-…