The Five Elements: What Do Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth Have in Common?

One of the unexpected benefits of studying the Mandarin Chinese language is that you also get to learn new things about Chinese culture and philosophy, which is likely much different from the beliefs that you grew up with outside of China.

One of these beliefs that I've learned is the five elements theory. The five elements theory is a Chinese philosophy that identifies and describes the relationships between different things on earth. There are five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. These elements are believed to be the fundamental building blocks of everything in the universe, with interactions occurring between these elements constantly.

The theory of the five elements first appeared in Taoism. It is a theory that can be applied to many disciplines, such as philosophy, fortune telling, calendars, traditional Chinese medicine and so forth.

The ancients divided everything in the universe into five kinds of elements:

金 (Jīn) = metal
木 (Mù) = wood
水 (Shuǐ) = water
火 (Huǒ) = fire
土 (Tǔ) = earth

Together, these were given the name "五行 (wǔ xíng) five elements."

The two principles of "五行 (wǔ xíng) five elements."

The first principle of this belief, "相生 (xiāng shēng)," refers to the relationship of helping and promoting each other between two kinds of things with different attributes. For example:

木生火 (Mù shēng huǒ) = wood generates fire
火生土 (Huǒ shēng tǔ) = fire generates earth
土生金 (Tǔ shēng jīn) = earth makes metal
金生水 (Jīn shēng shuǐ) = metal makes water
水生木 (Shuǐ shēng mù) = water feeds wood

Conversely, the other principle, "相克 (xiāng kè)," refers to the relationship of overcoming and destructing one another amongst the elements. Specifically:

木克土 (Mù kè tǔ) = wood restrains earth
土克水 (Tǔ kè shuǐ) = earth absorbs water
水克火 (Shuǐ kè huǒ) = water puts out fire
火克金 (Huǒ kè jīn) = fire melts metal
金克木 (Jīn kè mù) = metal destroys wood

Why are "五行 (wǔ xíng) five elements" still important today?

Nowadays, there are still a number of Chinese who believe in this theory of "五行 (wǔ xíng) five elements." They usually ask... Read More

In a previous article, I introduced some common usages and grammar rules of "了 (Le)." And in today’s lesson, Part II, I will introduce three more rules and fixed phrases about it.

There are additional rules to follow when using "了 (le):"

(a) "了 (le)" is placed at the end of a sentence to indicate that a new state or a new situation has occurred.

Jīntiān xiàyǔ.
今天下雨。
VS.
Jīntiān xiàyǔ le.
今天下雨了。
It is rainy today.

Although both of these two sentences express almost the same meaning, they are a bit different. By placing the "了 (le)" at the end of the sentence, we now know that it is rainy today, while it wasn’t rainy yesterday.

(b) "了 (le)" can’t be placed after a predicate verb with a frequency adverb modifier, and some verbs which show mental state, or emotions and feelings.

Tā guòqù chángcháng pǎobù.
他过去常常跑步。
He used to run.
VS.
Tā guòqù chángcháng pǎo le bù.
他过去常常跑了步。 X

Wǒ dǎsuàn xué hànyǔ.
我打算学汉语。
I plan to learn Chinese.
VS.
Wǒ dǎsuàn le xué hànyǔ.
我打算了学汉语。 X

Upon comparing these two sentences, we know that the second sentence is not the correct expression.

(c) In a sentence, if there is an object which also plays a role as a subject to the second verb, we can’t use "了 (le)."

Tā zuótiān qǐng wǒ chīfàn.
他昨天请我吃饭。
He invited me to have a meal.
VS.
Tā zuótiān qǐng le wǒ chīfàn.
他昨天请了我吃饭。 X

There are also fixed expressions containing "了 (le)"...Read More

Quiz:

1. Which of the following is not correct according to the proper usages of "了 (le)?"

Qiūtiān dào le, yèzǐ dōu luò le.
A. 秋天到了，叶子都落了。
Tiān kuài hēi le, wǒ yě gāi huíjiā le.
B. 天快黑了，我也该回家了。
Gōngsī juédìng pài le tā qù chūchāi.
C. 公司决定派了他去出差。
See Answer Analysis