The Five Elements
Ancient Chinese recognized that the five elements were basic substances necessary
for life, Every object in the world comes into being through the motion and change
of these five elements. The relationship of the five elements describes the secret
of the way of life being create, growth, controls, or being control. Along with
yin-yang theory has become a important gateway to the Chinese herboligoy system.it
regarded as the basic law guiding the analysis of the of the attributions of all
objects and the relationships between them.
So that The link between nature and human beings clear when we discuss the Five
Element Theory This theory links the seasons of the year, the organs of our body,
specific foods, herbs, and treatments for diseases. Specially, the law of mutual
promotion and restriction ,is very useful for the a good pratice of a herbalist
in his clinical diagnosis and treatment.
The five elements is wood, fire, earth, metal, water; each one has it's own correspondence
as below:
WOOD FIRE EARTH METAL WATER
Zang organ Liver Heart Spleen Lungs Kidney
Fu organ Gall Bladder Small Intestine Stomach Large Intestine Bladder
Season Spring Summer Late Summer Autumn Winter
Flavors Sour Bitter Sweet Pungent Salty
Emotion Anger Joy Pensiveness Grief Fear
Climate Wind Heat Dampness Dryness Cold
colors Green Red Yellow White Black
Directions East South Center West North
Tissues Tendon Vessel Muscle Skin & Hair Bone
Tastes Sour Bitter Sweet Pungent Salty
To see how this theory interpret the five taste, please check the five taste