(ごぎょう)

ごぎょう
noun
the five elements; wu xing
1. the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water)
The five fundamental elements of traditional Chinese natural philosophy, thought to generate and overcome one another in cycles. Widely used in East Asian thought.
五行(ごぎょう)(もく)()()(ごん)(すい)から()る。
The five elements consist of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.
The yin-yang and five-elements way of thinking still survives today.
Eastern medicine and fortune-telling are deeply influenced by the philosophy of the five elements.

The five elements of traditional Chinese natural philosophy — (もく) (wood), () (fire), () (earth), (ごん) (metal), and (すい) (water). The elements are thought to generate and overcome one another in cycles.

Related words

  • 陰陽(おんよう)五行(ごぎょう): the yin-yang and five-elements cosmology
  • 五行説(ごぎょうせつ): the theory of the five elements

Usage

The concept underlies much of traditional East Asian medicine, fortune-telling, and the calendar.