Chapter 27 Section 2 The Origin of the Five Elements

What is the five elements? "Ci Hai" Five Elements says: "Refers to the five substances of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Ancient Chinese thinkers tried to use the above five substances that are common in daily life to explain the origin and unity of diversity of all things in the world." This statement cannot be wrong, at least it represents the views of some philosophers in later generations.However, if we carefully examine the discussions about the Five Elements in ancient literature, we will find that the early people's views on the Five Elements are almost completely different from the so-called philosophical Five Elements in later generations.

For example, Zheng Kangcheng of the Han Dynasty said in "Shangshu·Hong Fan": "Walkers move qi along the sky." It can be seen that Zheng Kangcheng's explanation of the five elements does not refer to the five substances, but refers to the movement of qi along the sky, that is, the movement. state rather than matter.So, is Zheng Kangcheng unconventional?Not at all, what he said was the traditional saying about the concept of the five elements in ancient times, but modern philosophers did not pay attention to it.For another example, "Bai Hu Tong Five Elements" says: "Words and deeds, want to speak for the righteousness of heaven's action." "Spring and Autumn Fanlu Five Elements Interaction" also said: "Walkers, deeds. Their deeds are different, so it is called The five elements." It can be seen that the five elements are not the five material concepts in philosophy, but refer to the five operating states of the sun in a year or a harvest season.The operating state of the sun is different, the state of yin and yang is also different, and the degree of coldness and warmth of the climate is also different.The five elements are the five seasons in a year or a harvest season.

In fact, the five elements are seasons, and there is a more direct statement in ancient literature.For example, "Lu Shi Chunqiu" directly refers to the five elements as five qi, which means dividing a year into five seasons.For another example, "Zuo Zhuan Zhaogong Year" records: "The year is divided into four seasons, and the order is five festivals." And "Guanzi Five Elements" says: "The five elements are established to correct the sky, and the five sense organs are used to correct the person. "It can be seen that in ancient times, the five elements were interpreted as seasons or solar terms.

Some people attach great importance to the statement in "Zuo Zhuan Seventeen Years of Xianggong": "Five talents are born, and the people use them together, and one cannot be discarded." They think this is the basis for the five elements, that is, the five material elements.However, this can be completely explained as the ancients used the names of the five substances as the names of the five degrees of the sun, and should not be interpreted as the substances themselves.Naming the five sun degrees with the names of the five substances commonly used by intuitive people is like naming the dates with the twelve zodiac signs, which is in line with the simple ideas of the ancients.