The
Wu Xing , also known as the
Five Elements,
Five Phases, the
Five Agents, the
Five Movements,
Five Processes, the
Five Steps/Stages and the
Five Planets is a fivefold conceptual scheme that many traditional Chinese fields used to explain a wide array of phenomena, from cosmic cycles to the interaction between
internal organs, and from the succession of political regimes to the
properties of medicinal drugs. The "Five Phases" are
Wood (
mù),
Fire (
huǒ),
Earth (
tǔ),
Metal (
jīn), and
Water (
shuǐ). This order of presentation is known as the "mutual generation" (相生
xiāngshēng) sequence. In the order of "mutual overcoming" (相克
xiāngkè), they are Wood, Earth, Water, Fire, and Metal.