Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)

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Concepts Daoxue Dao De Wuji Taiji Yin-Yang Bagua Wu xing (Five Phases) Bianhua Fan (reversal) Wu-wei (non-action) Ziran Xian (immortal) Zhenren Zhenxing (true name) Three Treasures Jing Qi Shen Hun and po
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Sacred places Grotto-heavens Sacred Mountains of China Wudang Mountains Mount Penglai Mount Kunlun Taoist temple White Cloud Temple (Baiyun Monastery) Louguantai Temple Cebu Taoist Temple Taoist Temple (Hanford, California)
Institutions and organizations Chinese Taoist Association Celestial Masters Taoist priests
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Classical elements
Greek Air Water Aether Fire Earth
Hinduism / Jainism / Buddhism Vayu Ap Akasha Agni Prithvi
Chinese Wood (木) Water (水) Fire (火) Metal (金) Earth (土)
Japanese Wind (風) Water (水) Void (空) Fire (火) Earth (地)
Medieval Air Water Fire Aether Earth Sulphur Mercury Salt
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Wuxing (Chinese: 五行; pinyin: wǔxíng),^[a] usually translated as Five Phases or Five Agents,^[2] is a fivefold conceptual scheme used in many traditional Chinese fields of study to explain a wide array of phenomena, including cosmic cycles, the interactions between internal organs, the succession of political regimes, and the properties of herbal medicines.

The agents are Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and Earth.^[b] The wuxing system has been in use since it was formulated in the second or first century BCE during the Han dynasty. It appears in many seemingly disparate fields of early Chinese thought, including music, feng shui, alchemy, astrology, martial arts, military strategy, I Ching divination, and traditional medicine, serving as a metaphysics based on cosmic analogy.

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