theory of the five elements
The earliest systematic introduction to the concept of the five elements is Shang Shu Hong Fan, which points out that the five elements are water, fire, wood, gold and earth. Everything that is cold, wet and moving downward belongs to water; Everything that is warm and uplifting belongs to fire; Everything with functions or properties such as growth, development and smoothness belongs to wood; Everything that has cleanliness, depression and astringency belongs to gold; Everything with biochemical, inheritance and transmission functions belongs to soil. This has vaguely realized that the world is composed of five material elements, and regards the objective world as real matter.
However, Shang Shu Hong Fan did not mention that the five elements are the origin of metaplasia, and it was not until Shi Bo, the Zhou Taishi, really linked the five elements with the origin of the universe. Shi Bo thought: "The first king mixed earth with gold, wood, water, fire and hundreds of other things." Here, for the first time, Shi Bo took "five materials" (gold, wood, water, fire and earth) as the material source and basis for the production of "hundred things". This concept of seeking the diversity of the material world in the form of philosophical propositions has obvious naive materialism.
This element forms five stars in the sky, namely Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn. There are five sacred substances on the ground: gold, wood, water, fire and earth. People have five virtues: benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith. The ancients believed that these five substances formed a series connection between heaven and earth. If Jupiter in the sky changes, the wood on the ground and the kindness of human beings will also change. Superstitious astrology originates from the theoretical basis of the interaction between heaven, earth and man.
Yin-yang theory
Yin and Yang are ten pairs of categories in China's ancient philosophy. The original meaning of yin and yang is very simple, indicating that the sun is facing the sun, the sun is yang, and the back day is yin. Later, it was extended to the cold and warm climate, the up and down or so, the internal and external directions, the panic and tranquility of the movement state, and so on. Philosophers in ancient China further realized that all phenomena in nature are antagonistic and interacting with each other, so they used the concept of Yin and Yang to explain these two antagonistic and reciprocal material forces in nature. They believed that the opposition and fluctuation of Yin and Yang were inherent in things themselves, and further believed that this phenomenon was the basic law of the universe.
Theory of ghosts and gods causing diseases
In ancient times, if people were sick, they would think it was ghosts and gods, so they asked wizards to cast spells to exorcise evil spirits and treat diseases. On the basis of long-term medical practice, ancient physicians in China widely applied the theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements in the medical field to explain the origin of human life, physiological phenomena and pathological changes, to guide clinical diagnosis and prevention, and became an important part of the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, making a clear distinction between medicine and the theory of ghosts and gods causing diseases.
The theory of yin-yang and five elements is a simple materialistic view of nature produced in the Western Zhou Dynasty. It uses the opposition and interaction of yin and yang to explain the reasons for the change of natural phenomena, and uses five substances: gold, wood, water, fire and earth to explain the composition of various things. During the Warring States period, a school specializing in Yin-Yang and Five Elements was formed, which was called Yin-Yang School. This school is based on the concept of yin and yang and five elements, mixed with some religions, witchcraft and superstitions, to explain all natural and social phenomena they come into contact with every day, and to form an ideological system of idealism and theology. At that time, there were two schools of thought about Yin-Yang and Five Elements: one was the theory that the Five Elements were born together, and the other was the theory that the Five Elements were born together.
Theory of five elements interacting with each other
The Book of Rites and the Moon Order explains the changes of the four seasons with the theory that the five elements coexist. It is simple materialism to ask people to carry out agricultural production according to the changes of the four seasons of heaven and earth, but then absurdly compare and combine all personnel with the five elements of yin and yang, thinking that this is a symbol of good luck and misfortune, which has become theology.
General theory of five virtues
Zou Yan, a native of Qi State, explained the alternation of dynasties with the theory of five elements winning each other, and founded the theory of five virtues. "Five virtues" are the five elements. He believes that every virtue is the main bearer of a dynasty, and every virtue has its ups and downs, that is, every dynasty has its ups and downs, and the five elements also have a certain order, so the cycle of dynasty replacement is inevitable. According to him, the Yellow Emperor is Tude, and its color is yellow; Yu Xia is Mude, and the color is cyan; Shang Tang is Jinde and its color is white; Zhou Wenwang is fiery red. In the future, it must be Shuide. Because wood wins soil, soil wins water, gold wins wood, fire wins gold, and water wins fire. Later, Qin Shihuang adopted this statement, designated the Qin Dynasty as Shuide, and changed the clothes and flags to black. Cao Cao, the Emperor of Wei Dynasty, is also known as the "King of Water Virtue". There were also people called "Han Yan" in the Han Dynasty. This is also based on the five virtues that have always been said. The Han Dynasty is the virtue of fire, which means to create virtue with fire, so it is called this.
This theory makes an absurd comparison between the replacement of dynasties and the five elements, saying that it is an infinite cycle. The competition of the five elements, that is, the operation of the five elements, is controlled by the gods and is a purposeful activity of Zou Yan, which not only explains the natural changes with the victory of the five elements, but also explains the historical evolution. The theory that the five elements compete with each other is considered to be the common development law of nature and society, and it is a cyclical law determined by providence. The rise and fall of everything is always based on the five virtues. This is not only theology, but also a mysterious theory of historical cycle, but it also shows that no dynasty or era is eternal.