The Generating and Overcoming of the Five Elements
(1) Generating of the Five Elements
Generating means to nourish, assist, and promote. The generating of the Five Elements refers to the orderly relationship of mutual nourishment, assistance, and promotion among Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.
The order of generation is: Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood.
The generating relationship is also known as the mother-child relationship.
(2) Overcoming of the Five Elements
Overcoming means to restrain, suppress, and control. The overcoming of the Five Elements refers to the orderly relationship of mutual restraint and control among Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.
The order of overcoming is: Wood overcomes Earth, Earth overcomes Water, Water overcomes Fire, Fire overcomes Metal, Metal overcomes Wood.
In the overcoming relationship of the Five Elements, each element has both “overcoming me” and “I overcome” aspects. The Neijing refers to the overcoming relationship as the “victorious” and “not victorious” relationship. “Overcoming me” is “not victorious,” while “I overcome” is “victorious.”
Transformation of the Five Elements
The transformation of the Five Elements refers to the mutual nourishment and restraint among the elements, maintaining balance and coordination, and promoting stable and orderly changes and developments among things. The generating and overcoming are inseparable aspects.
Without generation, there can be no occurrence and growth of things; without overcoming, normal coordinated relationships cannot maintain changes and developments. Therefore, there must be overcoming within generation (restraint within transformation), and generation within overcoming (transformation within restraint), mutually reinforcing each other. This relationship of generation and overcoming among the Five Elements is referred to as transformation.
Thus, Ming Dynasty scholar Zhang Jiebin in Classified Essentials with Illustrations said: “The mechanism of creation cannot be without generation, nor can it be without restraint. Without generation, there is no way for development; without restraint, it becomes excessive and harmful.”
The law of transformation of the Five Elements is: When one element is excessive, there must be restraint to prevent harm from excess. That is, there is overcoming within generation, and development sought within overcoming. Specifically, Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, while Wood also overcomes Earth;
The images in this article are sourced from the internet. The text has been authorized by the author; please indicate the source if reprinted.
Editor for this issue: Li
Previous Reviews
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01 | Theory of the Five Elements and Their Characteristics |
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02 | Body Fluids and Their Functions |
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03 | The Generation of Blood and Its Physiological Functions |
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04 | The Process of Qi Generation and Its Physiological Functions |
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