The Phases: How Wu Xing (Five-Phase Theory) Works 1

There are two main aspects to Wu Xing to make it work in a practical way.

1. the nature, or function of each Xing (Phase);
2. the ways in which the Wu Xing interact with each other – their relationships.

The Functions of the Wu Xing

Each Xing is categorised in terms of its quality of function. In traditional Chinese thought, this is based upon the form taken by the Qi. In Wu Xing, there are 5 functional qualities that Qi can form which are;

• Earth
• Metal
• Water
• Wood
• Fire

The Five functional qualities make up everything that we can see and touch in the world around us. I’ll cover Qi in a later article as Qi is inextricably linked to Wu Xing, but a deep understanding of the Qi is not needed to grasp Wu Xing and put it to use.

Everything in the Wu Xing, qualities included, are always dynamic, and I cannot stress this highly enough.

The correlations with any Wu Xing can be derived through careful observation of the nature of each Xing and once you get the hang of it, it becomes quite intuitive because it’s all out there in the natural environment. It’s also not necessary to know too much detail about the intricacies because the basic and more obvious functions can be very valuable.

Each of the Wu Xing will be dealt with individually in subsequent pages, so this is just a brief and high level look at how Wu Xing works.

Take Wood for example. In China, the specific qualities of wood are derived from Bamboo. From the Shujing: Book of Documents, “Wood bends and straightens.” We can see this in the way trees bend a straighten in the wind. Wood is used to characterise strength in that it is based upon a flexible structure, with the best structure being hollow, just like bamboo. A filled structure that is flexible is less strong than a similar hollow one . We see this in skyscrapers that will bend and straighten in the wind as well as buildings constructed in earthquake prone areas.

For example, lets think about a system developed for business, such as a just-in-time manufacturing system, which is complex in itself so this is a simplification purely for illustration. If we look at Wood being an essential function within this kind of system, it would need to have a strong structure, but in order to be strong, it must be able to bend and straighten. There needs to be built in flexibility because flexibility adds resilience. But as commerce has driven our business cultures towards maximising efficiencies, if one component part of the just-in-time system sees a problem with supply, the whole system grinds to a halt very quickly. This means that the just-in-time system doesn’t have sufficient built in resilience in the case of supply chain disruption and would be out of balance in terms of a system designed according to Wu Xing. To much flexibility, without structure would also be imbalanced.

We saw how ultra efficient manufacturing and distribution systems that we have developed in modern times were effected by Covid 19 and how several years later, systems are yet to recover. We’ve also seen how the breakdowns in these systems have impacted various wider social, econonomic and political systems as a result. In Wu Xing, whole systems can and are viewed in relation to each other and how they interact. Wu Xing can therefore be used at all levels of a dynamic system as well as inter-relationships between systems.

Another function of Wood is that it grows. This growth reaches upwards towards heaven. This function is correlated to an innate need for growth (in any system). From a human perspective this growth is about reaching towards our original nature, or heavenly self. Therefore Wood represents growth towards your ultimate expression. If your growth is stunted, then this leads to an imbalance in the function of Wood which appears as frustration and ultimately anger, amongst other things.

This upwards growth correlating with Wood, must also display the quality of bending and straightening. If you watch a plant growing, it appears to have some direction, or in other words an inner plan for growth.

If this plan is prevented by an obstacle, lets say a wall, it doesn’t stop and let it be but will find a way to grow around the obstable, or grow in a different direction. As a person, having a plan and being able to put it into action is a healthy function of Wood, but if we meet an obstacle, being flexible enough to find a way around, or change plan, is also seen as healthy and is a sign of creativity. Getting angry at the obstacle and blaming it doesn’t help at all, which represents a lack of flexibility and creativity.

Growth can apply at every level, from the physical to the spiritual and it encompasses every single act or thought we might have, however small.

Using these principles to ask ourselves questions about our life can be helpful for many things, including wellbeing. We can ask ourselves whether we are involved in any activity that nurtures growth and in what way there is growth to ensure it is consistent with our nature and is mindful of the environment around us.

Likewise, if we’re finding ourselves angry or frustrated a lot of the time, we find ourselves feeling stiff, or lacking in creativity, we can explore whether there is something in our lives that is preventing growth or natural movement, whether it’s physical, emotional, or spiritual. This involves looking both internally at ourselves and externally to social and environmental effects.

Now we’ll move on to exploring the relationships.