Five Elements

Attribution of things to the five elements

Man lives in nature. The natural environment, such as weather changes and geographic conditions, greatly influences his physiological activities. This fact is manifest in man's dependence on the environment, but also in his adaptability to the environment. This is known as correspondence between man and nature. Proceeding from this recognition, traditional Chinese medicine comprehensively connects the physiology and pathology of the zang-fu organs and tissues with many important natural environmental factors. These factors are classified into five categories on the basis of the five elements. Similes and allegories are used to explain the complicated links between physiology and pathology as well as the correlation between man and the natural environment. The following table shows the five categories of things classified according to the five elements.