Five (wu, “五”)

The ancient Chinese people believed that the world was composed of five basic substances: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. These five substances are known as the Five Elements (“wu xing”). The Five Elements can represent everything. For example, the Five Elements can represent the five basic directions: east, south, west, north and the center. The Five Elements can also be used to represent the seasons.

Since trees and plants begin to grow during the spring season, spring is represented by Wood.

Since the weather is very hot in summer, summer is represented by Fire.

Since autumn is the season of the golden harvest, autumn is represented by Metal.

Since winter is characterized by cold and darkness, winter is represented by Water.

The last month of each season is represented by Earth.

There are two kinds of interaction between the Five Elements, namely the “generative interactions” and “restraining interactions”. The ancient Chinese people believed that, given the fact that all material things can be represented by the Five Elements, generative and restraining interactions could also be used to explain the relationships between thins. Therefore, the Five Elements philosophy could be used to explain everything.

In the Chinese language, there are many other words related to the number “five”. For example, China is the home to “Five Sacred Mountains”. There are “Five Cereals”, “Five Flavors” and “Five Tones”.