Wuxing (Chinese: 五行; pinyin: wǔxíng), usually translated as Five Phases or Five Agents, is a fivefold conceptual scheme that many traditional Chinese fields used to explain a wide array of phenomena, from cosmic cycles to the

The doctrine of five phases describes two cycles, a generating or creation (生 shēng) cycle, also known as "mother-son", and an overcoming or destruction

According to the Warring States period political philosopher Zou Yan 鄒衍 (c. 305–240 BCE), each of the five elements possesses a personified "virtue" (de 德), which indicates the foreordained destiny (yun 運) of a dynasty; accordingly, the cyclic succession of the

The Yuèlìng chapter (月令篇) of the Lǐjì (禮記) and the Huáinánzǐ (淮南子) make the following correlations:
• In this use, the Chinese word 青 (qīng) is an ambiguous color inclusive of both green and blue as its shades. This concept is common in many

The five phases are around 73 days each and are usually used to describe the transformations of nature rather than their formative states.
• Wood/Spring: a period of growth, which generates abundant vitality, movement and wind.

According to wuxing theory, the structure of the cosmos mirrors the five phases. Each phase has a complex series of associations with different

The interdependence of zang-fu networks in the body was said to be a circle of five things, and so mapped by the Chinese doctors onto the five phases.
In order to explain the