Generating refers to the process of mutual support, while overcoming refers to the process of mutual restraint.
The concept of generating (相生) implies mutual nourishment and promotion, while overcoming (相克) indicates mutual restriction and dominance.
The growth, development, change, and decline of things are not isolated or unrelated processes; rather, they involve both mutual support and promotion, as well as mutual restriction and dominance.
Without generating, there is no existence; without existence, there can be no overcoming.
Without overcoming, excess can lead to harm, and things cannot develop or exist.
Generally speaking, the law of generating and overcoming is as follows: Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water, and Water generates Wood.
Overcoming is represented as Metal overcoming Wood, Earth overcoming Water, Water overcoming Fire, and Fire overcoming Metal.
The generating and overcoming relationships of the Five Elements generally refer to normal interactions.
The generator is the mother, and the generated is the child; for example, Wood generates Fire, where Wood is the mother of Fire, and Fire is the child of Wood.
The overcoming element is the one that overcomes, while the overcome element is the one that is overcome; for instance, Wood overcomes Earth, where Wood is the overcoming element, and Earth is the overcome element, indicating that Wood cannot overcome Earth, while Earth can overcome Wood.
This generating and overcoming relationship is reflected in nature and also manifests in the human body.
Wood generates Fire: Wood represents Spring, and Fire represents Summer. In Spring, Yang energy begins to emerge, initially as Shao Yang (少阳), which is warm; in Summer, Yang energy is at its peak, represented as Tai Yang (太阳), which is hot, and heat generates Fire. The Yang energy grows from small to large, and the next stage after Shao Yang is Tai Yin (太阴), hence it is said that Wood generates Fire.
The Liver corresponds to the Wood organ, and the Heart corresponds to the Fire organ. The nature of Wood is to rise, while the nature of Fire is to ascend; the rising of Wood aids the ascending of Fire. The Liver stores Blood, and the Heart governs Blood; the circulation of Heart Blood relies on the regulation of the Liver, hence it is said that Liver generates Heart.
Fire generates Earth: Fire represents Summer, and Earth represents Late Summer. In Summer, the heat is intense, and in Late Summer, the humidity is high. The humid air of Earth requires the warmth of Fire to nurture all living things, leading to endless transformations, hence it is said that Fire generates Earth.
The Heart corresponds to the Fire organ, and the Spleen corresponds to the Earth organ. The transformation of the Spleen relies on the illumination of Heart Fire; the Heart governs Blood, and the Spleen regulates Blood; the governance of Blood by the Heart aids the Spleen in its regulation, hence it is said that Heart generates Spleen.
Earth generates Metal: Earth represents Late Summer, and Metal represents Autumn. The nature of Earth is gentle like the ground, while Metal is hard and strong like the sky. The energy of the Earth rises to form clouds, while the energy of the sky descends to create rain; thus, clouds emerge from the sky, and rain comes from the energy of the Earth, hence it is said that Earth generates Metal.
The Spleen corresponds to the Earth organ, and the Lung corresponds to the Metal organ. The Lung governs the Qi of the body, while the Spleen is the source of Qi and Blood transformation, hence it is said that Spleen generates Lung.
Metal generates Water: Metal represents Autumn, and Water represents Winter. The air in Autumn is cool, while in Winter it is cold; coolness gradually turns into cold, and the Yin cool air condenses into Water, hence it is said that Metal generates Water.
The Lung corresponds to the Metal organ located in the upper jiao, while the Kidney corresponds to the Water organ located in the lower jiao. The upper jiao develops like mist and dew, while the Kidney governs Water; the descent of Lung Qi leads to Water, hence it is said that Lung generates Kidney.
Water generates Wood: Water represents Winter, and Wood represents Spring. Wood embodies the energy of Shao Yang, which arises from slight Yang; within Water, there is a slight Yang energy that stirs, and the moisture of Water nourishes Wood, hence it is said that Water generates Wood.
The Kidney corresponds to the Water organ, and the Liver corresponds to the Wood organ. The growth of Wood relies on the nourishment of Water; the Kidney stores Essence, and the Liver stores Blood. Essence can transform into Blood, allowing the Liver to have Blood to store; when the Yin Blood of the Liver is sufficient, the Yang of the Liver will not become excessive, hence it is said that Kidney generates Liver.
Metal overcomes Wood: Metal represents Autumn, with its cool and descending Qi; Wood represents Spring, with its warm and ascending Qi. The descending Qi can restrain the excessive rising, hence it is said that Metal overcomes Wood.
The Lung corresponds to the Metal organ, with its Qi descending; the Liver corresponds to the Wood organ, with its Qi rising. The descending of the Lung can restrain the excessive rising of Liver Yang, hence it is said that Lung overcomes Liver.
Wood overcomes Earth: Wind Wood represents Spring, with its dispersing Qi; Damp Earth represents Late Summer, with its excessive humidity. The humid air of Earth can nourish all living things without causing stagnation, relying on the dispersing Qi of Wind Wood, hence it is said that Wood overcomes Earth.
The Liver corresponds to the Wood organ, with its nature being to spread; the Spleen corresponds to the Earth organ, with its nature being moist. Excessive dampness can lead to stagnation, and the spreading of the Liver can help to relieve excessive dampness of the Spleen, hence it is said that Liver overcomes Spleen.
Earth overcomes Water: Earth represents the ground, with its nature being solid; Water flows within the Earth, with its nature being fluid. Water flows within the Earth without overflowing, relying on the containment of Earth, hence it is said that Earth overcomes Water.
The Spleen corresponds to the Earth organ, governing the transformation of water and grains to produce Qi and Blood; the Kidney governs Water, and when Qi flows, Water flows. The source of Qi is in the Spleen; when the Spleen Qi is strong, the flow of fluids will not cause harm, hence it is said that Spleen overcomes Kidney.
Water overcomes Fire: Water represents Winter, with its cold Qi; Fire represents Summer, with its hot Qi. Cold can overcome heat, hence it is said that Water overcomes Fire.
The Kidney corresponds to the Water organ, with its nature being downward; the Heart corresponds to the Fire organ, with its nature being upward. The true Yang hidden within Kidney Water can stimulate Kidney Water to rise and nourish the Heart, thus restraining excessive Heart Fire, hence it is said that Kidney overcomes Heart.
Fire overcomes Metal: Fire represents Summer, with its rising Qi; Metal represents Autumn, with its descending Qi. The rising Qi can restrain excessive descending, hence it is said that Fire overcomes Metal.
The Heart corresponds to the Fire organ, with its nature being upward; the Lung corresponds to the Metal organ, with its nature being downward. The upward fire of the Heart can restrain the excessive descending of Lung Metal, hence it is said that Heart overcomes Lung.
This can be simply understood as follows: the burning of Fire requires Wood; the ashes from burning become Earth; from the Earth, various metals can be extracted; metals can transform into liquid metal; the vapor from Water condenses into rain, nourishing Wood, thus creating a cycle.
The interactions of the Five Elements can be understood as both multiplication and overcoming.
Multiplication refers to excessive overcoming, while overcoming refers to counter-overcoming. Both are abnormal phenomena resulting from the disruption of normal generating and overcoming relationships.
For example, Metal originally overcomes Wood; if Metal Qi is excessive, it can use its excessive Qi to overcome Wood, resulting in excessive overcoming of Wood by Metal; Fire originally overcomes Metal; if Metal Qi is sufficient, it can use its excessive Qi to counter Fire, which is referred to as: “When Qi is excessive, it restrains what it overcomes and counteracts what it cannot overcome.” Similarly, if Metal originally overcomes Wood, and Metal Qi is insufficient, then Fire can overcome it, and Wood can counteract it, which is referred to as: “When it is insufficient, it cannot overcome what it cannot overcome, and it counteracts and overcomes what it can easily overcome.” Other interactions follow the same principle.