a bit of ancient history

An early mention of the Five Phase Theory occurs in the Books of the Shu Ching or Book of Documents or Chronicles. This is one of the five books of ancient Chinese Classics that have their development in the periods of the Zhou Dynasty (1122-256 B.C.E) and the earlier Shang Dynasty (1600-1122 B.C.E). The other books are the Book of Changes of the Zhou Dynasty or the I Ching, the Book of Poetry, the Book of Rites and the Spring and Autumn Annals. Confucius (551-479 B.C.E.) is thought to have written or edited some of these books. The Shu Ching is the most ancient of the books and is a record of historical writings covering about 1700 years. In Book IV of the Books of Zhou (Zhou Dynasty), there is this translation:

“First of the five elements – The first is water; the second is fire; the third, wood; the fourth, metal; and the fifth, earth. (The nature of) water is to soak and descend; of fire, to blaze and ascend; of wood, to be crooked and straight; of metal, to yield and change; while (that of) earth is seen in seed-sowing and in-gathering. That which soaks and descends becomes salt; that which blazes and ascends becomes bitter; that which is crooked and straight becomes sour; that which yields and changes becomes acrid; and from seed-sowing and in-gathering comes sweetness.”^12.    

 
Emotional Soup

The Rand-McNally Atlas of Emotion

Yin and Yang and the Five Phases

A Bit of Ancient History

      ^{This chapter is called The Great Plan and is a treatise of astrology, physics, politics, morals, religion and divination. Purportedly, it was delivered to King Wu (1111-1105 B.C.E.) at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasy from the Grand Master at the Court of the previous Shang Dynasty. It was ascribed at that time to the Great Yu, first ruler and founder of the Xia Dynasty (22nd-16th century B.C.E.) and who, as legend goes, determined the Plan from marks on a tortoise. In Chinese history there is a good deal of legend mixed in with history, but the fact remains that we have an uninterrupted historical written record from China dating back over 3,600 years. Actually, the earliest human writing or proto-writing is found in China and radiocarbon dated to the 7th millennium B.C.E. or 9,000 years ago (also it seems on a tortoise shell).}

^{Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism according to tradition, is said to have lived in the 6th Century B.C. and was, perhaps, a contemporary of Confucius. Legend (again) has it that they met and discussed philosophy although some scholars have doubts that Lao Tzu was an historical figure and ever really existed. The Tao-Te Ching or Dao-de Jing is attributed to Lao Tzu and is considered the classic Taoist text. In this work, which is one of the most translated books in existence, Lao Tzu expounds on the Yin and Yang of nature but does not mention the Five Phase Theory. Neither was this theory discussed by Chuang Tzu (4th Century B.C.E.), the other great Taoist philosopher. The first systemization of the Five Phase Theory was by Zou Yen (350-270 B.C.) in Master Zou’s (Book on) Arrivings and Departings. This was during the Warring States Period of Chinese history (475-221 B.C.) when there arose a flowering of philosophy and culture and the development of both Confucianism and Taoism, as well as many other schools of thought. Indeed, so intense was the intellectual activity in this era, it is referred to as the Period of a Hundred Schools.}

<sup>As the 4th century B.C.E. was ending, there was a regime in the State of Qin. An academy was founded in the capital city of Linzi and soon became the center for intellectual thought in the entire region. Jinxu Academy attracted many intellectuals and masters to its gates seeking patronage to further their studies and pass on knowledge. Soon schools based on the observations of the inter-relationships of nature became predominant. Two of the Naturalistic Schools that flourished were the School of Yin and Yang and the School of Qi (Chi) and both borrowed heavily from the Taoist teachings of Lao Tzu and Mencius.

The School of Yin and Yang posited a dualistic universe, one that at birth separated into two forces that are both polar and complementary. Yin and Yang, according to theory, are dynamically interactive, ebb and flow, and can transform in to one another. Examples of Yang forces include energy, light, fire and spirit. Complementary Yin forces would be matter, darkness, water and the physical body. A corollary theory states that nothing is pure Yin or Yang in that there is always some Yin in Yang and visa versa.</sup>

^{Subsequent to the development of this theory, the Principles of the Five Phases were developed. This conceives of five interactive phases of existence that are associated with the elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Each phase has additional linked qualities. For instance, the transformation qualities associated are: wood - germination; fire - growth; earth - transformation; metal - harvesting; and water - storing. These are related to the seasons and actions in and performed in the seasons, thus wood is linked to spring; fire to summer; earth to late summer; metal to fall; and water to winter. Moreover, the five phases have relationships and interactions that pertain to creation and control, in that they affect one another. The relationships of the five phases in creative and controlling cycles in the emotional landscape are the central thrust of this book.} 

^{The two theories of Yin and Yang and five phases existed for a time independently of one another, but became increasingly tied together in the Yin and Yang School and incorporated into the philosophy of the era. Eventually, this theoretical basis of understanding the universe became deeply rooted into Chinese culture. By the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.), the theories of the Yin and Yang School became the official philosophy of the state government and influencing decisions, actions and allotment of resources. One of the other major schools ascendant in the Jinxu Academy was the School of Qi. This philosophical theory focused on qi (chi), a quality that permeates the universe and in its most pure form is energy or spirit and when it becomes condensed forms matter. The School of Qi subsequently evolved into many schools and practices that taught techniques for increasing and manipulating qi in the body through breathing, exercises and meditation. This has continued through the ages to our era in forms such as Dai Qi (Tai Chi).}

^{We can see that the philosophical schools existent in the so-called Period of a Thousand Schools has influenced many areas of Chinese culture that have persisted through the years. The Chinese were early astronomers as evidenced by scapula writings in the 16th to 11th centuries B.C. In the Spring and Autumn Annals Annuls, there is the notation of the passing of Haley’s Comet in 613 B.C. There is evidence that the Chinese were aware of the progression of the equinox, that being the progression of the point designated as the north star (a cycle of 26,500 years), as early as 300 B.C. Astronomy, which was integrated into astrology and divination, adopted the Five Phase Theory and was likewise incorporated into other arts such as Feng Shui. The astrologists and diviners placed great emphasis on directionality as can be seen readily in the I Ching. The Earth, that which we stand upon, is considered the center and the heavens move about us. The earth is associated in the Five Phase Theory with earth (that’s pretty obvious!). The color yellow is associated with earth since the earth is a yellowish-brown color (especially in China) and the planet Saturn. The North is associated with Winter, blackness or blueness, the planet Mercury and the water element. The South is represented by Summer, red, Mars and the fire element (due to the prominence of the sun in the summer). The East is related to the Spring, the color green and the wood element because the sun rises from this direction and signifies rebirth. The wood planet is Jupiter. The West is associated with Autumn and since it is harvest time is the white of metal farm implements. Venus is the metal planet in this system.}

^{During the Period of a Thousand Schools, the Five Phase Theory, the Yin and Yang School philosophies, and the Qi School as well, were incorporated into Chinese medicine. The Yellow Emperor’s Classic Of Internal Medicine (Huang-Di Nei-Jing), generally referred to as the Nei-Jing, was written in approximately 100 B.C. although the date is far from certain and the author or author’s are unknown. The book is ascribed to the legendary Yellow Emperor of 2600 B.C. but surely not written by him or his physicians. It is however the bible of Chinese Medicine and has been commented upon, studied and consulted for the past two thousand years and represents the fountainhead from which the therapies of Chinese Herbal Medicine, Tui-na, and Acupuncture have sprung. Indeed, contemporary practitioners of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture in China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Europe and America continue to rely on this classic for insight into the diagnosis and treatment of illness. The classic covers internal medicine, clinical findings, prognosis, diagnosis and treatment with herbs and acupuncture and is very comprehensive, although sometimes obtuse. It is in this book that we find the first application of Five Phase Theory to Chinese Medicine.}

^{In the fourth part of the Nei-Jing, the Treatise on the Truth of the Golden Box, the author establishes the relationships of the elements, seasons, flavors, colors, senses, animals grains, smells and planets. From the Nei-Jing:}

^{“Red is the color of the South, it pervades the heart and lays open the ears and retains the essential substances within the heart. Its sickness is located in the five viscera; its taste is bitter; its kind (element) is fire; its animal are sheep, its grain is glutinous panicled millet; it conforms to the four seasons and corresponds to the planet Mars.”}

^{Likewise, the correspondences are laid out for wood, metal, water and earth. Thus the concordances are developed in the Nei-Jing with particular emphasis on the organs of the body involved and the flavors of food. The organs are important as the symptoms associated with the organs and the relationships between the organs in function constitute much of the basis of Chinese medical diagnosis. The flavors are important as they relate to not only the balance of food ingested for good health but the flavors of herbs prescribed for ailments. The wood element corresponds to the Liver and its paired organ the Gall Bladder and the sour flavor. Fire is associated with the Heart and its paired organ the Small Intestine and the bitter flavor. Earth, the Spleen organ and its paired organ the Stomach are coupled with the sweet flavor. The Lungs, its paired organ the Large Intestine and acrid or spicy flavors correspond to the metal element. And lastly the water element is reflected in the Kidney and its paired organ the Urinary Bladder and a salty flavor.}

^{This paradigm that developed in China was mirrored to a remarkable, almost eerie degree in the West in ancient Greece in the 5th century B.C. It is interesting that while in the Period of a Thousand Schools (475-221 B.C.) philosophers were laying the framework of Chinese culture in China, in Greece a similar renaissance was taking place with the schools of Plato (approx. 428-348 B.C.), Socrates (470-399 B.C.), Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), and Hypocrites (460-327 B.C.). In this period, Empedocles (490-430 B.C.) theorized that matter was made up of four elements – fire, air, earth and water. Fire was associated with heat and the summer; earth was paired with autumn and dryness; air was matched with winter and cold; and water was coupled with spring and wet. Likewise the body and its health and functioning were represented by four humors: blood (red), black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm (green). The difference, other than the number of elements included, was that the Greek system was based on an understanding of the elements as constituents of matter, whereas the in the Chinese system they were more tied into functionality or process. The essential similarities of systems lie in the theoretical assumptions that the balances between the humors in the Greek system and the elements and organs in the Chinese system are the basis of health and disease. Thus, in the Greek system, the humors of blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm must be in balance for optimum health, and when they become imbalanced, disease or ill health occurs. Likewise, in the Chinese system, there must be a balance in Yin and Yang in the body and a balance in the correlations of the five elements.}

^{Thus, we have a systemized construct in Chinese thought that has been adopted by Chinese Medicine based on the principles of Yin and Yang, Qi and the Five Elements or Phases. The system is based on observations of nature and the wellness or disease progression and regression with scholarly literature going back at a minimum 2000 years. We have, additionally, emotional states linked to the Five Phases in written history going back 2500 years to perhaps 3000 years, 1000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ and predating Buddha. This paradigm has been in use for millennia and continues to be, not only for diagnosis, but also for treatment of various disorders including imbalances in emotional health. Indeed, emotional health is so linked to physical health and disease that it is a key causative factor of physical disease, disorder and imbalance.}

12.    Wing-Tsit Chan [Translated and Compiled] (1969) A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press