I have one more small mythology paper I want to deliver before we move on to a different subject matter. This is a DGB integrative mixture of ancient Greek mythology and philosophy, and Chinese mythology and philosophy.
However, the paper is hugely complicated by the fact that I am trying to understand some very ancient Chinese history, mythology, and philosophy which is very murky indeed. Where I thought previously in an earlier essay that there was historical clarity, I see now that there is no such historical clarity.
This is a hugely complicated subject matter that modern Chinese scholars are still wrestling with. And I don't profess to have even 1 percent of the knowledge of ancient Chinese history of a Chinese scholar who specializes in this area.
However the pursuit -- and capture -- of knowledge begins with a single step. And often that first step is simply a question. Or two. Or three. Or five. The more you pry into something, the more questions you start to ask based on the first question and the answers you start to get. Such as:
Who was the first Eastern Dialectic philosopher?
We have ascertained previously that Anaximander (610BC-546BC) was the first Greek -- and Western -- dialectic philosopher. Why? Because he was interested in the 'philosophy of opposites'.
So who was the first Eastern -- or at least Chinese -- dialectic philosopher?
This would likely have to be, to my way of thinking, the philosopher who created the concepts of 'yin' and 'yang' -- again a study in 'opposites', and more particularly, more similar to the work of Heraclitus (535BC-475BC).
What is particularly interesting here is that Heraclitus' philosophy bears a strong resemblance to the author of the 'I Ching'. So the next question becomes: Who is the author of the 'I Ching'? And the answer is: Nobody seems to know.
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From the internet, Wikipedia (Plato, The Symposium)
Heraclitus of Ephesus (Ancient Greek: Ἡράκλειτος ὁ Ἐφέσιος — Hērákleitos ho Ephésios, English Heraclitus the Ephesian) (ca. 535–475 BC) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, a native of Ephesus, Ionia, on the coast of Asia Minor.
Heraclitus is known for his doctrine of change being central to the universe, and that the Logos is the fundamental order of all. Today, he is famous for his influence on Friedrich Nietzsche by the idea of every moment being its own universe; summarized in his famous quote, "You could not step twice into the same river; for other waters are ever flowing on to you."[1]
Heraclitus by Johannes Moreelse. The image depicts him as "the weeping philosopher" wringing his hands over the world and "the obscure" dressed in dark clothing, both traditional motifs.
Full name Heraclitus
Born ca. 535 BCE
Died 475 BCE
School/tradition Not considered to belong to any school of thought, but later subscribers to the philosophy were "Heracliteans."
Main interests Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics, Politics
Notable ideas Logos, flow
Influenced: Parmenides, Plato, Aristotle, Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Whitehead, Karl Popper, among many others
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DGB
What isn't stated in the information above is that Heraclitus was probably influenced by Anaximander. They were both interested in 'the philosophy of opposites'. As such they can be viewed as the oldest and second oldest dialectic philosophers in Western history. The most significant difference between the two philosophers is that Anaximander can be viewed as a 'Power-Dialectic' philosopher whereas Heraclitus can be viewed as a 'Democratic-Dialectic' philosopher. Let me define the difference between the two.
A 'Power-Dialectic' Philosopher talks about the 'philosophy of power' and the idea that one part of the dialectic paradigm -- one part of the bi-polar opposite paradigm -- will be 'in power' while the other part will be 'out of power'. One bi-polar opposite will be dominant while the other bi-polar opposite will be suppressed, repressed, oppressed, marginalized. (See the philosophy of Socrates, Nietzsche, Foucault, Derrida...).
In contrast, a 'Democratic-Dialectic' Philosopher will talk about 'the balance of power', 'the negotiation of power', 'the equal sharing of power', of 'opposites being attracted to each other and needing each other'...to be in dialectic unity, harmony, and wholism.
Anaximander was a power-dialectic philosopher whereas Heraclitus was a democratic-dialectic philosopher.
One might reasonably argue -- as I now am -- that the whole of Western history, and indeed of Chinese history, and all of world history can be viewed as a 'dialectical playoff' between power-dialectics and democratic-dialectics.
In this regard, and I believe that I have reasonable grounds upon which to make this rather provocative argument, the combined dialectic philosophy of Anaxamander and Heraclitus, as obscure and as ancient as their works may be, can be viewed as being just as important -- if not more -- to the evolution of Western history and philosophy as the combined philosophy of Plato and Aristotle.
Why? Because the path from Anaxamander and Heraclitus runs through Plato (See The Symposium, Aristophanes, below: see also Plato's idea of 'three energy zones: 1. the head; 2. the heart; 3. the loins' -- I might even include a fourth: 4. 'the soul')
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From the internet, Wikipedia...
Aristophanes
Aristophanes was the greatest comic poet of Athens, a brilliant and beloved playwright who ruled the comic stage in the late fifth and early fourth century BCE. He had rivals, but none of their plays have survived. The fact that Plato places him in this group is one of the most curious things about the Symposium, since Aristophanes ridiculed Agathon, the host of the party, in his play Thesmophoriazusae, and also made fun of Socrates. The Clouds, staged c. 423 BCE, presents Socrates as a cult master and director of a ridiculous phrontisterion ("thinking-shop") wherein one learns "immoral logic". Aristophanes mentions Socrates disparagingly in at least two other plays as well; the antagonism, according to some interpretations, was not benign.
Not only did Aristophanes have nothing good to say about Socrates, Socrates has nothing good to say about Aristophanes. In Plato's Apology of Socrates he specifically blames Aristophanes for starting the slander that led to his death (Apology 18-19). In what seems to be a complex literary "tit-for-tat," Plato in the Republic depicts Socrates outlawing such people as Aristophanes who write things that cause people to injure themselves by laughing.[7]
Before launching his speech, Aristophanes warns the group that his eulogy to love may be more absurd than funny. His speech is an explanation of why people in love say they feel "whole" when they have found their love partner. It is, he says, because in primal times people were globular spheres who wheeled around like clowns doing cartwheels (190a). There were three sexes: the all male, the all female, and the "androgynous," who was half man, half woman. The creatures tried to scale the heights of heaven and planned to set upon the gods (190b-c). Zeus thought about just blasting them to death with thunderbolts, but did not want to deprive himself of their devotions and offerings, so he decided to cripple them by chopping them in half.
After chopping the people in half, Zeus turned half their faces around and pulled the skin tight and stitched it up to form the belly button. Ever since that time, people run around saying they are looking for their other half because they are really trying to recover their primal nature. He says some people think homosexuals are shameless, but he thinks they are the bravest, most manly of all (192a), and that heterosexuals are mostly adulterous men and unfaithful wives (191e).
Aristophanes ends on a cautionary note. He says that men should fear the gods, and not neglect to worship them, lest they wield the axe again and we have to go about with our noses split apart (193a).
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DGB
The dialectic philosophy of Anaxamander and Heraclitus also runs through Descartes (the subjective vs. the objective) and Kant (our 'phenomenal' world vs. our 'noumenal' world) and finally to Hegel at which point the history of Western Dialectic Philosophy and Psychology -- and its various antitheses (Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche) starts to explode: Marx, Lenin, Mao Tse Tung, Stalin, Nietzsche (The Birth of Tragedy, Apollo vs. Dionysus), The Existentialists ('being vs. non-being', 'existence vs. essence', 'good faith vs. bad faith'...), Foucault/Derrida:(The Philosophy of Power, The Dominant vs. The Suppressed and Oppressed) Freud (The Ego and Superego vs. The Id), Jung (The Persona vs. Shadow), Object Relations (Melanie Klein, 'internal object vs. external object'; Ronald Fairbairn, 'rejecting object vs. exciting object'), Transactional Analysis (Eric Berne, 'Nurturing Parent vs. Critical Parent', 'Compliant Child vs. Rebellious Child'...), Gestalt Therapy (Fritz Perls, Laura Perls, Hefferline, Goodman, 'figure vs. background', 'topdog vs. underdog')...
Do I make my case?
Now here is one of the most intriguing things that happened in the meeting point of Western and Eastern Philosophy and Political History through German Idealism, specifically Hegel -- and then Hegel turned upside down through Marx.
Marx had a hugely dramatic effect -- unfortunately, it was a hugely traumatic, tragic, calamitous, horrific effect -- on the unfolding of Chinese and Russian history through Lenin, Mao Tse Tung, and Stalin.
Much of this had to do with Marx's rather extreme idea of 'armed rebellion' of the peasants and proletariat over the bourgeoisie and aristocrats -- a model that Marx took directly from what he saw happening in The French Revolution.
This Marxian idea -- as unfortunately extreme as it was -- was Marx's 'extreme answer' to what he viewed as 'extreme exploitation' of the 'upper class' over the 'lower class' of society. Beneath the idea of 'armed rebellion', Marx's ideas were intended to be 'humanistically' and 'anti-exploitation' based -- an 'anti-thesis' to 'Narcissistic Capitalism' where human greed and class oppression, in his mind, ruled.
Unfortunately, Lenin, Mao Tse Tung, and Stalin all got caught up in 'the politics of power' and the 'violent suppression and oppression of the people they ruled once they got into power' which made them, no different, in effect -- indeed, perhaps a hundred times worse -- than the 'Narcissistic Capitalists' all three of these pathological leaders were supposedly rebelling against.
The type of 'Democratic Communism' that I believe Marx envisioned -- in the minds and hands of Lenin, Mao Tse Tung, and Stalin -- became 'Extreme Power and Violence Communism' where these supposedly 'oppressed' Russian and Chinese Leaders eventually became the 'oppressors'. Perhaps they learned too much from the leaders they were rebelling against in terms of 'cutthroat politics' -- 'identification with the aggressor' -- and in effect became as bad -- or worse -- than the leaders they were rebelling against. So much for 'Peaceful Democratic Communism'.
Another question that I ask myself is this: How could the ideas of Marx -- and indirectly Hegel -- become so quickly and so deeply entrenched in Eastern -- specifically Chinese and Russian -- society?
The answer to this question, I suggest is twofold:
1. you have millions of hungry, indeed starving, oppressed Chinese and Russian peasants who would jump at the whole idea of 'Democratic Socialism-Communism' or even the idea of 'Power of The People and The Peasants'. So in this regard, Lenin, Mao Tse Tung, and Stalin -- in adapting Marx's philosophy -- were espousing a hugely 'populist philosophy' that would get the support of millions of Chinese and Russian peasants.
2. 'Dialectic Philosophy' -- both 'Power-Dialectic Philosophy' and 'Democratic-Dialectic Philosophy' has a history and a rootedness that is possibly as much as a thousand or two thousand years older and deeper than it is in Western Philosophy. So much so that one has to even wonder if there is any possibility that either Anaximander and/or Heraclitus may have had any contact with ancient Chinese philosophy.
We know that Anaxamander (610BC-546BC)but not Heraclitus (535BC-475BC) was older than Confucius (551BC-479BC). One has to wonder whether there was any possibility of interaction directly or indirectly between the three philosophers.
We know that for 2000 years the 'Five Classics' were believed to have been either written and/or edited by Confucius including the 'I Ching'. But this belief has been overturned by modern scholars.
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Confucius
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Confucius Chinese philosophy
Ancient philosophy
孔夫子
Full name 孔丘 Kong Qiu
Born September 28, 551 BC
Qufu, China
Died 479 BC
Qufu, China
School/tradition Founder of Confucianism
Main interests Moral philosophy, Social philosophy, Ethics
Notable ideas Confucianism
Influenced by[show]
Zhou Era Chinese Thought
Influenced[show]
Many Eastern philosophers, Christian Wolff, Robert Cummings Neville
Confucius (Chinese: 孔子; pinyin: Kǒng zǐ; Wade-Giles: K'ung-tzu, or Chinese: 孔夫子; pinyin: Kǒng Fūzǐ; Wade-Giles: K'ung-fu-tzu), lit. "Master Kong,"[1] (traditionally September 28, 551 BC – 479 BC) was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese thought and life.
His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. These values gained prominence in China over other doctrines, such as Legalism (法家) or Taoism (道家) during the Han Dynasty[2][3][4] (206 BC – 220 AD). Confucius' thoughts have been developed into a system of philosophy known as Confucianism (儒家). It was introduced to Europe by the Jesuit Matteo Ricci, who was the first to Latinise the name as "Confucius."
His teachings may be found in the Analects of Confucius (論語), a collection of "brief aphoristic fragments", which was compiled many years after his death. Modern historians do not believe that any specific documents can be said to have been written by Confucius,[5][6] but for nearly 2,000 years he was thought to be the editor or author of all the Five Classics (五經)[7][8] such as the Classic of Rites (禮記)(editor), and the Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋) (author).
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Five Classics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Five Classics (traditional Chinese: 五經; pinyin: Wǔjīng) is a corpus of five ancient Chinese books used by Confucianism as the basis of studies. According to tradition, they were compiled or edited by Confucius himself.
Contents
* 1 Classic of Changes
* 2 Classic of Poetry
* 3 Classic of Rites
* 4 Classic of History
* 5 Spring and Autumn Annals
* 6 Beyond the Five Classics
* 7 See also
* 8 External links
Classic of Changes
Main article: Classic of Changes
The Classic of Changes or the Book of Changes (易經, Yi Jing), also known as the I Ching.
Classic of Poetry
Main article: Classic of Poetry
The Classic of Poetry or The Book of Odes (詩經, Shī Jīng), made up of 305 poems divided into 160 folk songs; 74 minor festal songs, traditionally sung at court festivities; 31 major festal songs, sung at more solemn court ceremonies; and 40 hymns and eulogies, sung at sacrifices to gods and ancestral spirits of the royal house. This book is traditionally credited as a compilation from Confucius.
Classic of Rites
Main article: Classic of Rites
The Classic of Rites (禮記 Lǐ Jì), social forms and ceremonies (also spelled Liki), a restoration of the original Lijing, lost in the third century B.C., describes ancient rites and court ceremonies.
Classic of History
Main article: Classic of History
The Classic of History (書經 Shū Jīng) is a collection of documents and speeches alleged to have been written by rulers and officials of the early Zhou period and before. It is possibly the oldest Chinese narrative, and may date from the 6th century B.C. It includes examples of early Chinese prose.
Spring and Autumn Annals
Main article: Spring and Autumn Annals
The Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋 Chūn Qiū, also known as 麟經 Lín Jīng), a historical record of the state of Lu, Confucius's native state, from 722 B.C. to 479 B.C. written (or edited) by Confucius, with implied condemnation of usurpations, murder, incest, etc.
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What this says to me is that although The Han Dynasty -- and The Han Philosophers in particular -- pulled off the greatest integrative project in the history of Chinese Philosophy, resurrecting and integrating elements of Confucianism, Daoism (Taoism), The 'Five Classics' including the 'I Ching' (The Book of Changes), and probably elements of the arguably much older philosophy of Lao Tse (Laozi) who may have been the author of the 'I Ching', and also the philosophy of 'yin' and 'yang' which may have also come from Lao Tse (Laozi) perhaps hundreds or even thousands of years earlier and deeper into Chinese ancient philosophical history which might take us somewhere into the period of 2000BC and in effect, blow away Lao Tse's Western philosophical competition -- i.e., Anaximander (610BC-546BC)-- who might have even had some sort of contact with this ancient, ancient Chinese philosophy.
What remains most stunning in all of this is the remarkable similarities in the roots of Greek and Chinese Philosophy.
Going beyond Anaximander and Heraclitus in Greek Philosophy, here else is what was briefly happening:
Thales (624BC-546BC) is the oldest known or recognized Greek philosopher and he believed that all of life originated from 'water'.
Anaximenes (585BC-525BC) believed that all life originated from 'air'.
Heralclitus (535BC-475BC) believed that all life originated from 'fire'. We also know that Heraclitus philosophized both about 'opposites needing each other' and about 'life as change'.
Now let us turn back to Chinese Philosophy and the 'I Ching' (The Book of Changes).
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I Ching
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The I Ching (Wade-Giles), “Yì Jīng” (Pinyin), Classic of Changes or Book of Changes; also called Zhouyi, is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts.[1] The book is a symbol system used to identify order in random events.
The standard text originated from the ancient text (古文经) transmitted by Fei Zhi (费直, c50 BC -AD 10) of the Han Dynasty. During the Han Dynasty this version competed with the bowdlerised new text (今文經) version transmitted by Tian He at the beginning of the Western Han. However, by the time of the Tang Dynasty the old text version, which had survived Qin’s book-burning by being preserved amongst the peasantry, became the accepted norm among Chinese scholars.
The earliest extant version of the text, written on bamboo slips, albeit incomplete, is the Chujian Zhouyi, and dates to the latter half of the Warring States period (mid 4th to early 3rd century BC), and certainly cannot be later than 223 BC, when Chu was conquered by Qin. It is essentially the same as the standard text, except for a few significant variora.
The text describes an ancient system of cosmology and philosophy that is intrinsic to ancient Chinese cultural beliefs. The cosmology centres on the ideas of the dynamic balance of opposites, the evolution of events as a process, and acceptance of the inevitability of change. (my emphasis)
In Western cultures and modern East Asia, the I Ching is widely used for divination. The classic contains a series of symbols, rules for manipulating these symbols, judgments, images, and commentaries.
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Check out the similarity between the emphasized paragraph above and the philsophical ideas of Heraclitus who espoused the same basic ideas.
Coincidence? Or not?
From here on in, the 'I Ching' gets a little hairy. It will make my various models of the personality look like kid's stuff or 2 plus 2 equals 4. In contrast, this '64 hexagram' philosophy below looks like 'E=MC squared'.
Read it and weep. (Unless you want to take your brain into a serious workout.)
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Implications of the title
* 易 (yì), used as an adjective, it means “easy” or “simple”, while as a verb it means “to change“ or 'to exchange or to substitute one thing for another'.
* 經 (jīng) here means “classic (text)”, derived from its original meaning of “regularity” or “persistency”, implying that the text describes the Ultimate Way which will not change throughout the flow of time. This same character was later appropriated to translate the Sanskrit word 'sūtra' into Chinese in reference to Buddhist scripture. In this sense the two concepts, in as much as they mean 'treatise,' 'great teaching,' or 'canonical scripture,' are equivalent.
The I Ching is a "reflection of the universe in miniature." The word "I" has three meanings: ease and simplicity, change and transformation, and invariability.[2] Thus the three principles underlying the I Ching are the following:
1. Simplicity - the root of the substance. The fundamental law underlying everything in the universe is utterly plain and simple, no matter how abstruse or complex some things may appear to be.
2. Variability - the use of the substance. Everything in the universe is continually changing. By comprehending this one may realize the importance of flexibility in life and may thus cultivate the proper attitude for dealing with a multiplicity of diverse situations.
3. Persistency - the essence of the substance. While everything in the universe seems to be changing, among the changing tides there is a persistent principle, a central rule, which does not vary with space and time.
— 易一名而含三義：易簡一也；變易二也；不易三也。 commented on by Zheng Xuan (鄭玄 zhèng xúan) in his writings Critique of I Ching (易贊 yì zàn) and Commentary on I Ching (易論 yì lùn) of Eastern Han Dynasty.
[edit] History
[edit] Traditional view
Traditionally it was believed that the principles of the I Ching originated with the mythical Fu Xi (伏羲 Fú Xī). In this respect he is seen as an early culture hero, one of the earliest legendary rulers of China (traditional dates 2800 BCE-2737 BCE), reputed to have had the 8 trigrams (八卦 bā gùa) revealed to him supernaturally. By the time of the legendary Yu (禹 Yǔ) 2194 BCE–2149 BCE, the trigrams had supposedly been developed into 64 hexagrams (六十四卦 lìu shí sì gùa), which were recorded in the scripture Lian Shan (《連山》 Lián Shān; also called Lian Shan Yi). Lian Shan, meaning “continuous mountains” in Chinese, begins with the hexagram Bound (艮 gèn), which depicts a mountain (¦¦|) mounting on another and is believed to be the origin of the scripture's name.
After the traditionally recorded Xia Dynasty was overthrown by the Shang Dynasty, the hexagrams are said to have been re-deduced to form Gui Cang (《歸藏》 Gūi Cáng; also called Gui Cang Yi), and the hexagram responding (坤 kūn) became the first hexagram. Gui Cang may be literally translated into “return and be contained”, which refers to earth as the first hexagram itself indicates. At the time of Shang's last king, Zhou Wang, King Wen of Zhou is said to have deduced the hexagram and discovered that the hexagrams beginning with Initiating (乾 qián) revealed the rise of Zhou. He then gave each hexagram a description regarding its own nature, thus Gua Ci (卦辭 guà cí, “Explanation of Hexagrams”).
When King Wu of Zhou, son of King Wen, toppled the Shang Dynasty, his brother Zhou Gong Dan is said to have created Yao Ci (爻辭 yáo cí, “Explanation of Horizontal Lines”) to clarify the significance of each horizontal line in each hexagram. It was not until then that the whole context of I Ching was understood. Its philosophy heavily influenced the literature and government administration of the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BCE - 256 BCE).
Later, during the time of Spring and Autumn (722 BCE - 481 BCE), Confucius is traditionally said to have written the Shi Yi (十翼 shí yì, “Ten Wings”), a group of commentaries on the I Ching. By the time of Han Wu Di (漢武帝 Hàn Wǔ Dì) of the Western Han Dynasty (circa 200 BCE), Shi Yi was often called Yi Zhuan (易傳 yì zhùan, “Commentary on the I Ching”), and together with the I Ching they composed Zhou Yi (周易 zhōu yì, “Changes of Zhou”). All later texts about Zhou Yi were explanations only, due to the classic's deep meaning.
In the Hagakure, or Hidden Leaves, a passage concerning the I Ching illuminates the way it was viewed in the light of the Way of the Samurai. The passage states "In the tradition of the I Ching, it is a mistake to think that it is something for divination. Its essence is non-divination. This can be seen by the fact that the Chinese character 'I' is read as 'change.' Although one divines good fortune, if he does evil it will become bad fortune. And although he divines bad fortune, if he does good it will become good fortune." [3]
[edit] Modernist view
In the past 50 years a “Modernist” history of the I Ching has been emerging, based on context criticism and research into Shang and Zhou dynasty oracle bones, as well as Zhou bronze inscriptions and other sources (see below).[citation needed] These reconstructions are dealt with in a growing number of books, such as The Mandate of Heaven: Hidden History in the I Ching, by S. J. Marshall, and Richard Rutt's Zhouyi: The Book of Changes, (see References, below).
Scholarly works dealing with the new view of the Book of Changes include doctoral dissertations by Richard Kunst and Edward Shaughnessy and a 2008 study by Richard J. Smith. These and other scholars have been helped immensely by Chinese archaeologists' discovery, in the 1970s, of intact Han dynasty-era tombs in Mawangdui near Changsha, Hunan province. One of the tombs contained a more or less complete 2nd century BC new text version of the I Ching, the Dao De Jing and other works, which are mostly similar yet in some ways diverge significantly from the “received”, or traditional, texts preserved historically. This version of the I Ching, despite its textual form, belongs to the same textual tradition as the standard text, which suggests it was prepared from an old text version for the use of the its Han patron.
The tomb texts include additional commentaries on the I Ching, previously unknown, and apparently attributed to Confucius. All of the Mawangdui texts are many centuries older than the earliest known attestations of the texts in question.[citation needed] When talking about the evolution of the Book of Changes, therefore, the Modernists contend that it is important to distinguish between the traditional history assigned to texts such as the I Ching (felt to be anachronistic by the Modernists), assignations in commentaries which have themselves been canonized over the centuries along with their subjects, and the more recent scholarly history aided by modern linguistic textual criticism and archaeology.
Many hold that these perspectives are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but, for instance, many Modernist scholars doubt the actual existence of Fuxi, or think Confucius had nothing to do with the Book of Changes, and contend that the hexagrams came before the trigrams. Modern scholarship comparing poetic usage and formulaic phrasing in this book with that in ancient bronze inscriptions has shown that the text cannot be attributed to King Wen or Zhou Gong, and that it likely was not compiled until the late Western Zhou, perhaps ca. the late 9th century BC.
Rather than being the work of one or several legendary or historical figures, the core divinatory text is now thought to be an accretion of Western Zhou divinatory concepts. As for the Shi Yi commentaries traditionally attributed to Confucius, scholars from the time of the 11th century A.D. scholar Ouyang Xiu onward have doubted this, based on textual analysis, and modern scholars date most of them to the late Warring States period (403/475 BCE-256/221 BCE), with some sections perhaps being as late as the Western Han period (206 BCE-220 CE).
[edit] Structure
The text of the I Ching is a set of oracular statements represented by 64 sets of six lines each called hexagrams (卦 guà). Each hexagram is a figure composed of six stacked horizontal lines (爻 yáo), each line is either Yang (an unbroken, or solid line), or Yin (broken, an open line with a gap in the center). With six such lines stacked from bottom to top there are 26 or 64 possible combinations, and thus 64 hexagrams represented.
The hexagram diagram is composed of four three-line arrangements called trigrams (卦 guà). There are 23, hence 8, possible trigrams. The traditional view was that the hexagrams were a later development and resulted from combining the two trigrams. However, in the earliest relevant archaeological evidence, groups of numerical symbols on many Western Zhou bronzes and a very few Shang oracle bones, such groups already usually appear in sets of six. A few have been found in sets of three numbers, but these are somewhat later. Note also that these numerical sets greatly predate the groups of broken and unbroken lines, leading modern scholars to doubt the mythical early attributions of the hexagram system.[4]
Each hexagram represents a description of a state or process. When a hexagram is cast using one of the traditional processes of divination with I Ching, each of the yin or yang lines will be indicated as either moving (that is, changing), or fixed (that is, unchanging). Moving (also sometimes called “old”, or “unstable”) lines will change to their opposites, that is “young” lines of the other type—old yang becoming young yin, and old yin becoming young yang.
The oldest method for casting the hexagrams, using yarrow stalks, is a biased random number generator, so the possible answers are not equiprobable. While the probability of getting either yin or yang is equal, the probability of getting old yang is three times greater than old yin.
The yarrow stalk method was gradually replaced during the Han Dynasty by the three coins method. Using this method the imbalance in generating old yin and old yang was eliminated. There is no theoretical basis for indicating what should be the optimal probability basis of the old lines versus the young lines. Of course, the fundamental idea underlying this system of divination is that the appropriate answer will be produced, regardless of the probabilities.
There have been several arrangements of the trigrams and hexagrams over the ages. The bā gùa is a circular arrangement of the trigrams, traditionally printed on a mirror, or disk. According to legend, Fu Hsi found the bā gùa on the scales of a tortoise's back. They function rather like a magic square, with the four axes summing to the same value (e.g., using 0 and 1 to represent yin and yang, 000 + 111 = 111, 101 + 010 = 111, etc.).
The King Wen sequence is the traditional (i.e. “classical”) sequence of the hexagrams used in most contemporary editions of the I Ching. The King Wen sequence has been shown to contain within it a demonstration of advanced mathematical knowledge.[5]
The hexagrams are built from gradations of binary expressions based on yin and yang. They consist of:
* old yang (yang changing into yin, or moving yang)
* old yin (yin changing into yang or moving yin)
* young yang (unchanging yang)
* young yin (unchanging yin)
See also: I Ching divination
The eight trigrams
[edit] Trigrams
The solid line represents yang, the creative principle. The open line represents yin, the receptive principle. These principles are also represented in a common circular symbol (☯), known as taijitu (太極圖), but more commonly known in the west as the yin-yang (陰陽) diagram, expressing the idea of complementarity of changes: when Yang is at top, Yin is increasing, and the reverse.
In the following lists, the trigrams and hexagrams are represented using a common textual convention, horizontally from left-to-right, using '|' for yang and '¦' for yin, rather than the traditional bottom-to-top. In a more modern usage, the numbers 0 and 1 can also be used to represent yin and yang, being read left-to-right.
There are eight possible trigrams (八卦 bāguà):
Trigram Figure Binary Value Name Translation: Wilhelm[6], others Image in Nature [7] Direction [8] Family Relationship [9] Body Part [10] Attribute [11] Stage/ State [12] Animal [13]
1 ☰ 111 乾
qián the Creative, Force heaven, sky
天 northwest father head strong creative dragon
2 ☱ 110 兌
duì the Joyous, Open swamp, marsh
澤 west third daughter mouth pleasure tranquil (complete devotion) sheep
3 ☲ 101 離
lí the Clinging, Radiance fire
火 south second daughter eye light-giving, dependence clinging, clarity, adaptable pheasant
4 ☳ 100 震
zhèn the Arousing, Shake thunder
雷 east first son foot inciting movement initiative horse
5 ☴ 011 巽
xùn the Gentle, Ground wind
風 southeast first daughter thigh penetrating gentle entrance fowl
6 ☵ 010 坎
kǎn the Abysmal, Gorge water
水 north second son ear dangerous in-motion pig
7 ☶ 001 艮
gèn Keeping Still, Bound mountain
山 northeast third son hand resting, stand-still completion wolf, dog
8 ☷ 000 坤
kūn the Receptive, Field earth
地 southwest mother belly devoted, yielding receptive cow
The first three lines of the hexagram, called the lower trigram, are seen as the inner aspect of the change that is occurring. The upper trigram (the last three lines of the hexagram), is the outer aspect. The change described is thus the dynamic of the inner (personal) aspect relating to the outer (external) situation. Thus, hexagram 04 ¦|¦¦¦| Enveloping, is composed of the inner trigram ☵ Gorge, relating to the outer trigram ☶ Bound.
[edit] Hexagram Lookup Table
Upper →
Lower ↓
||| (☰)
Qian
Heaven
|¦¦ (☳)
Zhen
Thunder
¦|¦ (☵)
Kan
Water
¦¦| (☶)
Gen
Mountain
¦¦¦ (☷)
Kun
Earth
¦|| (☴)
Xun
Wind
|¦| (☲)
Li
Flame
||¦ (☱)
Dui
Swamp
||| (☰)
Qian
Heaven
01 ䷀ 34 ䷡ 05 ䷄ 26 ䷙ 11 ䷊ 09 ䷈ 14 ䷍ 43 ䷪
|¦¦(☳)
Zhen
Thunder
25 ䷘ 51 ䷲ 03 ䷂ 27 ䷚ 24 ䷗ 42 ䷩ 21 ䷔ 17 ䷐
¦|¦ (☵)
Kan
Water
06 ䷅ 40 ䷧ 29 ䷜ 04 ䷃ 07 ䷆ 59 ䷺ 64 ䷿ 47 ䷮
¦¦| (☶)
Gen
Mountain
33 ䷠ 62 ䷽ 39 ䷦ 52 ䷳ 15 ䷎ 53 ䷴ 56 ䷷ 31 ䷞
¦¦¦ (☷)
Kun
Earth
12 ䷋ 16 ䷏ 08 ䷇ 23 ䷖ 02 ䷁ 20 ䷓ 35 ䷢ 45 ䷬
¦|| (☴)
Xun
Wind
44 ䷫ 32 ䷟ 48 ䷯ 18 ䷑ 46 ䷭ 57 ䷸ 50 ䷱ 28 ䷛
|¦| (☲)
Li
Flame
13 ䷌ 55 ䷶ 63 ䷾ 22 ䷕ 36 ䷣ 37 ䷤ 30 ䷝ 49 ䷰
||¦ (☱)
Dui
Swamp
10 ䷉ 54 ䷵ 60 ䷻ 41 ䷨ 19 ䷒ 61 ䷼ 38 ䷥ 58 ䷹
[edit] The hexagrams
The text of the I Ching describes each of the 64 hexagrams, and later scholars added commentaries and analyses of each one; these have been subsumed into the text comprising the I Ching.
In the table below, each hexagram's fanciful translation is accompanied by a bastardized form of R. Wilhelm translation (which is the source for the Unicode names), followed by an overly simplistic retranslation.
Hexagram R. Wilhelm Modern Interpretation
01. |||||| Force (乾 qián) The Creative Possessing Creative Power & Skill [14]
02. ¦¦¦¦¦¦ Field (坤 kūn) The Receptive Needing Knowledge & Skill; Do not force matters and go with the flow [15], [16]
03. |¦¦¦|¦ Sprouting (屯 chún) Difficulty at the Beginning [17] Sprouting [18]
04. ¦|¦¦¦| Enveloping (蒙 méng) Youthful Folly Detained, Enveloped and Inexperienced [19], [20]
05. |||¦|¦ Attending (需 xū) Waiting Uninvolvement (Wait for now), Nourishment [21]
06. ¦|¦||| Arguing (訟 sòng) Conflict Engagement in Conflict [22]
07. ¦|¦¦¦¦ Leading (師 shī) The Army Bringing Together, Teamwork [23]
08. ¦¦¦¦|¦ Grouping (比 bǐ) Holding Together Union [24]
09. |||¦|| Small Accumulating (小畜 xiǎo chù) Small Taming Accumulating Resources
10. ||¦||| Treading (履 lǚ) Treading (Conduct) Continuing with Alertness
11. |||¦¦¦ Pervading (泰 tài) Peace Pervading
12. ¦¦¦||| Obstruction (否 pǐ) Standstill Stagnation
13. |¦|||| Concording People (同人 tóng rén) Fellowship Fellowship, Partnership
14. ||||¦| Great Possessing (大有 dà yǒu) Great Possession Independence, Freedom
15. ¦¦|¦¦¦ Humbling (謙 qiān) Modesty Being Reserved, Refraining
16. ¦¦¦|¦¦ Providing-For (豫 yù) Enthusiasm Inducement, New Stimulus
17. |¦¦||¦ Following (隨 suí) Following Following
18. ¦||¦¦| Corrupting (蠱 gǔ) Work on the Decayed Repairing
19. ||¦¦¦¦ Nearing (臨 lín) Approach Approaching Goal, Arriving [25]
20. ¦¦¦¦|| Viewing (觀 guān) Contemplation The Withholding
21. |¦¦|¦| Gnawing Bite (噬嗑 shì kè) Biting Through Deciding
22. |¦|¦¦| Adorning (賁 bì) Grace Embellishing
23. ¦¦¦¦¦| Stripping (剝 bō) Splitting Apart Stripping, Flaying
24. |¦¦¦¦¦ Returning (復 fù) Return Returning
25. |¦¦||| Without Embroiling (無妄 wú wàng) Innocence Without Rashness
26. |||¦¦| Great Accumulating (大畜 dà chù) Great Taming Accumulating Wisdom
27. |¦¦¦¦| Swallowing (頤 yí) Mouth Corners Seeking Nourishment
28. ¦||||¦ Great Exceeding (大過 dà guò) Great Preponderance Great Surpassing
29. ¦|¦¦|¦ Gorge (坎 kǎn) The Abysmal Water Darkness, Gorge
30. |¦||¦| Radiance (離 lí) The Clinging Clinging, Attachment
31. ¦¦|||¦ Conjoining (咸 xián) Influence Attraction
32. ¦|||¦¦ Persevering (恆 héng) Duration Perseverance
Hexagram R. Wilhelm Modern Interpretation
33. ¦¦|||| Retiring (遯 dùn) Retreat Withdrawing
34. ||||¦¦ Great Invigorating (大壯 dà zhuàng) Great Power Great Boldness
35. ¦¦¦|¦| Prospering (晉 jìn) Progress Expansion, Promotion
36. |¦|¦¦¦ Brightness Hiding (明夷 míng yí) Darkening of the Light Brilliance Injured
37. |¦|¦|| Dwelling People (家人 jiā rén) The Family Family
38. ||¦|¦| Polarising (睽 kuí) Opposition Division, Divergence
39. ¦¦|¦|¦ Limping (蹇 jiǎn) Obstruction Halting, Hardship
40. ¦|¦|¦¦ Taking-Apart (解 xiè) Deliverance Liberation, Solution
41. ||¦¦¦| Diminishing (損 sǔn) Decrease Decrease
42. |¦¦¦|| Augmenting (益 yì) Increase Increase
43. |||||¦ Parting (夬 guài) Breakthrough Separation
44. ¦||||| Coupling (姤 gòu) Coming to Meet Encountering
45. ¦¦¦||¦ Clustering (萃 cuì) Gathering Together Association, Companionship
46. ¦||¦¦¦ Ascending (升 shēng) Pushing Upward Growing Upward
47. ¦|¦||¦ Confining (困 kùn) Oppression Exhaustion
48. ¦||¦|¦ Welling (井 jǐng) The Well Replenishing, Renewal
49. |¦|||¦ Skinning (革 gé) Revolution Abolishing the Old
50. ¦|||¦| Holding (鼎 dǐng) The Cauldron Establishing the New
51. |¦¦|¦¦ Shake (震 zhèn) Arousing Mobilizing
52. ¦¦|¦¦| Bound (艮 gèn) The Keeping Still Immobility
53. ¦¦|¦|| Infiltrating (漸 jiàn) Development Auspicious Outlook, Infiltration
54. ||¦|¦¦ Converting The Maiden (歸妹 guī mèi) The Marrying Maiden Marrying
55. |¦||¦¦ Abounding (豐 fēng) Abundance Goal Reached, Ambition Achieved
56. ¦¦||¦| Sojourning (旅 lǚ) The Wanderer Travel
57. ¦||¦|| Ground (巽 xùn) The Gentle Subtle Influence
58. ||¦||¦ Open (兌 duì) The Joyous Overt Influence
59. ¦|¦¦|| Dispersing (渙 huàn) Dispersion Dispersal
60. ||¦¦|¦ Articulating (節 jié) Limitation Discipline
61. ||¦¦|| Centre Confirming (中孚 zhōng fú) Inner Truth Staying Focused, Avoid Misrepresentation
62. ¦¦||¦¦ Small Exceeding (小過 xiǎo guò) Small Preponderance Small Surpassing
63. |¦|¦|¦ Already Fording (既濟 jì jì) After Completion Completion
64. ¦|¦|¦| Not-Yet Fording (未濟 wèi jì) Before Completion Incompletion
The hexagrams, though, are mere mnemonics for the philosophical concepts embodied in each one. The philosophy centres around the ideas of balance through opposites and acceptance of change.
[edit] Unicode
In Unicode, monograms cover code points U+268A to U+268B, digrams cover code points U+268C to U+268F, trigrams cover code points U+2630 to U+2637, hexagram symbols cover code points U+4DC0 to U+4DFF (19904 – 19967).
Tai Xuan Jing(太玄) digrams cover code points U+1D301 to U+1D305, tetragrams cover code points U+1D306 to U+1D356. The monograms cover code points U+1D300 (earth), U+268A (yang), U+268B (yin).
[edit] Philosophy
Yin and yang, while common expressions associated with many schools of classical Chinese culture, are especially associated with the Taoists.
Another view holds that the I Ching is primarily a Confucianist ethical or philosophical document. This view is based upon the following:
* The Wings or Appendices are attributed to Confucius.
* The study of the I Ching was required as part of the Civil Service Exams in the period that these exams only studied Confucianist texts.
* It is one of the Five Confucian Classics.
* It does not appear in any surviving editions of the Daozang.
* The major commentaries were written by Confucianists, or Neo-Confucianists.
* Taoist scripture avoids, even mocks, all attempts at categorizing the world's myriad phenomena and forming a static philosophy.
* Taoists venerate the non-useful. The I Ching could be used for good or evil purposes.
Both views may be seen to show that the I Ching was at the heart of Chinese thought, serving as a common ground for the Confucian and Taoist schools. Partly forgotten due to the rise of Chinese Buddhism during the Tang dynasty, the I Ching returned to the attention of scholars during the Song dynasty. This was concomitant with the reassessment of Confucianism by Confucians in the light of Taoist and Buddhist metaphysics, and is known in the West as Neo-Confucianism. The book, unquestionably an ancient Chinese scripture, helped Song Confucian thinkers to synthesize Buddhist and Taoist cosmologies with Confucian and Mencian ethics. The end product was a new cosmogony that could be linked to the so-called “lost Tao” of Confucius and Mencius.
..............................................................................
Did you give up? I did.
What is interesting -- besides the similarity between Heraclitus' Philosophy and the 'I Ching' are the ideas of 'sky (or air)', 'flame', and 'water' all of which appear in both the beginning of Greek Philosophy and also before that in the Gods of Greek Mythology. So another commonality in Greek and Chinese Philosophy is this changeover of mixed 'mythology-philosophy' that is portrayed through such 'natural elements' as: 'wind', 'sky', 'water', 'flame/fire', 'earth', 'metal', 'wood', and the like.
Here are three more renditions of the '4 or 5 basic elements of life' of how these renditions are applied to human 'natural mythology-philosophy':
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The Theory of Five Elements
Similar to the theory of yin-yang, the theory of five elements � wood, fire, earth, metal and water � was an ancient philosophical concept used to explain the composition and phenomena of the physical universe. In traditional Chinese medicine the theory of five elements is used to interpret the relationship between the physiology and pathology of the human body and the natural environment. According to the theory, the five elements are in constant move and change, and the interdependence and mutual restraint of the five elements explain the complex connection between material objects as well as the unity between the human body and the natural world.
In traditional Chinese medicine, the visceral organs, as well as other organs and tissues, have similar properties to the five elements; they interact physiologically and pathologically as the five elements do. Through similarity comparison, different phenomena are attributed to the categories of the five elements. Based on the characteristics, forms, and functions of different phenomena, the complex links between physiology and pathology as well as the interconnection between the human body and the natural world are explained.
The five elements emerged from an observation of the various groups of dynamic processes, functions and characteristics observed in the natural world. The aspects involved in each of the five elements are follows:
Fire: draught, heat, flaring, ascendance, movement, etc.
Wood: germination, extension, softness, harmony, flexibility, etc.
Metal: strength, firmness, killing, cutting, cleaning up, etc.
Earth: growing, changing, nourishing, producing, etc.
Water: moisture, cold, descending, flowing, etc.
The following table shows the categorization of phenomena according to the five elements:
Wood
Fire
Earth
Metal
Water
Flavors
sour
bitter
sweet
pungent
salty
Zang
liver
heart
spleen
lung
kidney
Fu
gall bladder
s. intestine
stomach
l. intestine
urinary
Senses
eye
tongue
mouth
nose
ear
Tissue
tendon
vessel
muscle
hair/skin
bone
Directions
east
south
center
west
north
Changes
germinate
grow
transform
reap
store
Color
green
red
yellow
white
black
Between the five elements there exists close relationships that can be classified as mutual promoting and mutual restraining under physiological conditions, and mutual encroaching and mutual violating under pathological conditions. By mutually promoting and restraining, functions of the various systems are coordinated and homeostasis maintained. By encroaching and violating, pathological changes can be explained and complications predicted.
The order of mutual promoting among the five elements is that wood promotes fire, fire promotes earth, earth promotes metal, metal promotes water, and promotes generates wood. In this way each of the five elements has this type of mutual promoting relationship with the other, thus promoting is circular and endless. According to the order of mutual restraining, however, wood restrains earth, metal restrains wood, etc. Each of the five elements also shares this restraining relationship with the other. Mutual promoting and mutual restraining are two aspects that cannot be separated. If there is no promoting, then there is no birth and growth. If there is no restraining, then there is no change and development for maintaining normal harmonious relations. Thus the movement and change of all things exists through their mutual promoting and restraining relationships. These relationships are the basis of the circulation of natural elements.
Encroaching and violating are the pathological conditions of the normal mutual promoting and restraining relationships. Encroaching denotes that the restraining of one of the five elements to another surpasses the normal level, while violating means that one of the five elements restrains the other opposite to the normal mutual restraining order.
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Classical element
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Classical elements)
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses of 4 elements, see Four elements. For other uses of 5 elements, see Five elements.
Many philosophies and worldviews have used a set of archetypal classical elements, most developed sets of the simplest essential parts and principles of which anything consists or upon which the constitution and fundamental powers of anything are based. There are several approaches (Ancient, Medieval, and Modern), the most frequently occurring theories of classical elements are held by the Ancient systems of thought. In use as an the explanation for patterns in nature, the word element refers to a substance that is either a chemical compound or a mixture of chemical compounds (as in the Chinese Five Phases), rather than a chemical element of modern physical science.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Ancient classic element systems
o 1.1 Classical elements in Greece
o 1.2 Classical elements in Hinduism
o 1.3 Japanese elements
o 1.4 Buddhist elements
o 1.5 Seven Chakras
o 1.6 Bön elements
o 1.7 Chinese elements
* 2 Medieval classic element systems
* 3 Modern classic element systems
o 3.1 Scientific elements
o 3.2 Esoteric movements
o 3.3 Popular culture's classical elements
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links
[edit] Ancient classic element systems
[hide]
Classical Elements
v • d • e
Greek
Air
Water Aether Fire
Earth
Hinduism (Tattva) and
Buddhism (Mahābhūta)
Vayu/Pavan (Air/Wind)
Ap/Jala (Water) Akasha (Aether/Space) Agni/Tejas (Fire)
Prithvi/Bhumi (Earth)
Japanese (Godai)
Air/Wind (風)
Water (水) Void/Sky/Heaven (空) Fire (火)
Earth (地)
Tibetan (Bön)
Air
Water Space Fire
Earth
Medieval Alchemy
Air
Water Aether Fire
Earth
Sulphur Mercury Salt
The most frequently occurring theory of classical elements, held by the Hindu, Japanese, and Greek systems of thought, is that there are five elements, namely Earth, Water, Air, Fire, and a fifth element known variously as space, Idea, Void "quintessence" or Aether (the term "quintessence" derives from "quint" meaning "fifth").
In Greek thought the philosopher Aristotle added aether as the quintessence, reasoning that whereas fire, earth, air, and water were earthly and corruptible, since no changes had been perceived in the heavenly regions, the stars cannot be made out of any of the four elements but must be made of a different, unchangeable, heavenly substance.[1]
The concept of essentially the same five elements were similarly found in ancient India, where they formed a basis of analysis in both Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, particularly in an esoteric context, the four states-of-matter describe matter, and a fifth element to describe that which was beyond the material world (non-matter). Similar lists existed in ancient China and Japan. In Buddhism the four great elements, to which two others are sometimes added, are not viewed as substances, but as categories of sensory experience.
[edit] Classical elements in Greece
This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2008)
The Greek Classical Elements (Earth, Water, Air, Fire, and Aether) date from pre-Socratic times and persisted throughout the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, deeply influencing European thought and culture. The Greek five elements are sometimes associated with the five platonic solids.
Hellenic Physics
Four Classical Elements
Hellenic civilization elements
fire · earth · air · water
Plato characterizes the elements as being pre-Socratic in origin from a list created by the Sicilian philosopher Empedocles (ca. 450 BC). Empedocles called these the four "roots." Plato seems to have been the first to use the term "element (stoicheion)" in reference to air, fire, earth, and water.[2] The ancient Greek word for element (stoicheion) meant "letter (of the alphabet)", the basic unit from which a word is formed.
According to Aristotle in his Physics:
* Air is primarily wet and secondarily hot.
* Fire is primarily hot and secondarily dry.
* Earth is primarily dry and secondarily cold.
* Water is primarily cold and secondarily wet.
One classic diagram (above) has one square inscribed in the other, with the corners of one being the classical elements, and the corners of the other being the properties. The opposite corner is the opposite of the these properties, "hot - cold" and "dry - wet". Of course, some of these qualities are predicated on a Mediterranean climate; those living further north would be a lot less likely to describe air as being hot, or earth as being dry.
According to Galen, these elements were used by Hippocrates in describing the human body with an association with the four humours: yellow bile (fire), black bile (earth), blood (air), and phlegm (water).
[edit] Classical elements in Hinduism
This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007)
Main article: Tattva
The pancha mahabhuta, or "five great elements", of Hinduism are [Shristi] or bhumi (earth), ap or jala (water), agni or tejas (fire), marut or pavan (air or wind), or akasha (aether). Hindus believe that God used akasha to create the other four traditional elements; each element is then used to create the next, each less subtle than the last. It is also a religious and spiritual belief by most people that the human body is made up of these five essential elements and according to Hinduism, the human body dissolves into these five elements of nature, thereby balancing the cycle of nature, set in motion by the greater Lord God of this world. Each of the five elements are inherently connected with one of the five senses, and acts as the gross medium for the experience of it; the basest element, earth, was created out of all more subtle elements, and is accessible to all the senses, including scent. The next higher element, water, has no smell (being more subtle than earth) but can be tasted. Next, fire cannot be tasted or smelled, but can be seen (and is associated with sight). Air can be heard or felt, and akasha, being space or ether, is the medium of sound but is inaccessible to all other senses.
[edit] Japanese elements
Main article: Five elements (Japanese philosophy)
Japanese traditions use a set of elements called the 五大 (go dai, literally "five great"). These five are earth, water, fire, wind/air, and void. These came from Buddhist beliefs; the classical Chinese elements (五行, go gyô) are also prominent in Japanese culture, especially to the influential Neo-Confucianists during the Edo period.
* Earth represented things that were solid.
* Water represented things that were liquid.
* Fire represented things that destroyed.
* Wind/Air represented things that moved.
* Void represented things not of our everyday life.
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Balance:
Taoism
The Five Basic Elements of the Universe
Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood
By Vadim Kotelnikov
Inventor, Author & Founder, Ten3 BUSINESS e-COACH – Innovation Unlimited, 1000ventures.com, 1000advices.com, success360.com, and 1world1way.com
"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony."
– Sparky Thomas Merton
Five Basic Elements of the Universe
The Affinity Relationships Between Five Elements
1.
Water can help tree (Wood) grow
2.
Wood can help Fire to burn
3.
Fire can help to produce dust (Earth)
4.
Earth can help mineral (Metal) to form
5.
Metal can hold Water
The Enmity Relationships Between Five Elements
1.
Water quenches Fire
2.
Fire melts Metal
3.
Metal chops Wood
4.
Wood parts Earth
5.
Earth absorbs Water
Discover much more!
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The Five Basic Elements in Ancient China
The Five Basic Elements are Fire, Earth, Water, Metal, and Wood. According to the ancient Chinese belief, those are the basic elements of the universe and everything in our word is a compound of the five elements. These elements are understood as different types of energy in a state of constant interaction and flux with one another.
The Five Elements do not only mean Fire, Earth, Water, Metal, and Wood. They also mean Movement, Change, and Development. They are changing, moving, waning, and expanding all the time.
Searching for Balance
The most important of all is the balance of all five elements.
The movements of five elements are stable and predictable when they are in balance, and vice versa. When you are in a stable five-element environment, and everything is under control, you live peacefully and feel lucky. When you are in an unpredictable environment, you feel bad luck and are easily out of control. Bring your five elements into balance if you want to be a lucky person.
Relationships Between Five Elements
There are affinity and enmity relationships between five elements.
The affinity relationship means generating, supporting, helping, producing, etc.
The enmity relationship means destroying, overcoming, etc.
There are also two cycles of imbalance, an overacting cycle and an insulting cycle.
The Classification of Things According to the Theory of the Five Elements
Five Elements
Human Organs
Sense Organs
Emotions
Season
Growth & Development
Color
Taste
Wood
Liver
Eye
Anger
Spring
Germination
Green
Sour
Fire
Heart
Tongue
Joy
Summer
Growth
Red
Bitter
Earth
Spleen
Mouth
Worry
Late Summer
Transformation
Yellow
Sweet
Metal
Lung
Nose
Grief
Autumn
Reaping
White
Pungent
Water
Kidney
Ear
Fear
Winter
Storing
Black
Salty
Balanced Organization: 5 Basic Elements
Business Classification According to the Theory of the Five Elements
Five Elements
Company
Organization
Innovation
Selling
Wood
Innovation
Capabilities
Ideas
Value innovation
Fire
Purpose
Leadership
Challenge
Customer Care
Earth
Organization
Culture
Inspired people
Creating Customer Value
Metal
Processes
Empowered Employees
Innovation System
Marketing and Selling
Water
Selling
Performance Management
Learning
Studying Customer Needs
References:
1.
Five Elements, Norah McIntire
2.
Five Elements, Acuhealing
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DGB
What the 'four, five, or six elements mythology-philosophy' essentially tells us is that ancient people all over the world were more or less thinking about the same type of thing -- about the interaction of the earth, the sky (air, wind, heavens), fire, water, wood, and metal and how these things influenced their lives, indeed were a part of both their inner and outer lives. This type of thinking reaches as far as Japan and down to India (Hinduism, Buddhism) as well as within Greece, Rome, and China. The application of these ideas can be found in Chinese medicine, in the martial arts, and in psychology and philosophy.
I will give my own rendition of a '4 Element'/Natural-Mythological-Philosophical Model of the Personality in my next essay.
The 'four compass points' I will use are: fire, earth, water, sky.
Until then,
-- dgb, July 23rd, 2009.
-- David Gordon Bain,
-- Democracy Goes Beyond Narcissism,
-- Dialectic Gap-Bridging Negotiations...
-- Are Still In Process...
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