WU HSING

Pinyin Wu Xing (Chinese: Five Elements), in ancient Chinese cosmogony, the five basic components of the physical universe: earth, wood, metal, fire, and water. These elements were believed to destroy and succeed one another in an immutable cycle and were correlated with the cardinal directions, seasons, colours, musical tones, and bodily organs. The Wu hsing cycle served as a broad explanatory principle in Chinese history, philosophy, and medicine; it was first linked to dynastic history by the sage-alchemist Tsou Yen (3rd century BC). The Neo-Confucian philosophers of the Sung dynasty (AD 9601279) extended the Wu hsing to encompass the Five Virtues (benevolence, righteousness, reverence, wisdom, and sincerity).