Water (wuxing)

In Chinese philosophy, water (Chinese: 水; pinyin: shuǐ) Water is Yin in nature and is associated with winter, cold and the color black and death, the planet Mercury, the moon, night, the north, and the Black Tortoise (Xuan Wu) in the Four Symbols of Chinese constellations.

Attributes

In Chinese Taoist Wuxing thought, water is representative of intelligence, fidelity and wisdom, flexibility, softness, and pliancy; however, an overabundance of the element is said to cause difficulty in choosing something and sticking to it. In the same way, water can be fluid and passive, but can also wield great power when it floods and overwhelms the land. In Chinese medicine, water is believed to govern the kidney, the urinary bladder, fertiliity and jing. It is associated with the ears, hearing and the bones. The negative emotions associated with water are fear and anxiety, and the positive emotions are fortitude and the virtue of wisdom; the "soul" associated with water is zhi (志), meaning "will" or "determination."

Cycle of wuxing

• In the regenerative cycle of the wuxing, metal engenders water, by mineralisation and clarifying water, and water nourisheswood as "rain or dew makes plant life flourish".
• In the conquest cycle, water overcomes fire, as "nothing will put out a fire as quickly as water". Earth overcomes water by canals, banks and chanel's to direct and contain its flow and volume, and earth in the form of soil absorbs water to clear damp.