Eating and Wu Xing, the Five Movements

Based on observations of the natural world, our ancestors recognized that one mode to apprehending the continuous patterns of transformation and change in the universe is through a concept called the five movements. Note that although wu xing is traditionally and more commonly translated as the Five Elements, it nevertheless, lacks, 'elementarily' the sense of interaction and fluidity of wu xing 五行 in its original context -- the concept of wu xing is anything but static, in fact, the word "xing," was used as a verb to show the how dynamic and interacting the five forces are (行者行也)]. That's why "movements" is chosen over "elements" in the title.

The first true account of the concept wu xing was found in the Classic of History, from a section known as the "Grand Norm," where we're given the brief list of wu xing: "the first [of these] is named Water; the second, Fire; the third, Wood; the fourth, Metal; the fifth, Soil." 《尚書•洪範》“五行：一曰水，二曰火，三曰木，四曰金，五曰土。The nature of each was further elaborated in the Record of Historians: "Water is to moisten and descend; Fire is to flame and ascend; Wood is to crooked and straighten; Metal is to yield and to be modified; Soil is to provide for sowing and reaping."

As the system of wu xing advanced further, it was taken to embrace all substances in the universe* Hence, it was believed that what these five movements corresponded to different aspects of mother nature also interlinked to the human beings. Thus, for an alchemist, wood, corresponds to the spring and wind in the natural world; whereas to traditional Chinese medicine, the same movement is responsible for the liver, gall bladder, eyes and tendons of our body. A clear picture of these connection can be found at the table below.

*some time before or around Han dynasty, this concept intermingled with that of Yin Yang, as the case made by Sima Qian in his Records of Historians -- sensible once you realized that they were both originated from the soothsaying circles.

	Wood	Fire	Soil	Metal	Water
Orientation	East	South	Center	West	North
Season	Spring	Summer	Late Summer	Autumn	Winter
Climate	Wind	Summer Heat	Dampness	Dryness	Cold
Yin Organ	Liver	Heart	Spleen	Lung	Kidney
Yang Organ	Gall Bladder	Small Intestine	Stomach	Large Intestine	Bladder
Color	Blue/Green	Red	Yellow	White	Black
Taste	Sour	Bitter	Sweet	Pungent	Salty

The wisdom is easy to see: try the best to eat according to the divination shown in the table if you want the forces to work complementarily for your body. For example, if you have a weak liver, or a frail gall bladder, you ought to pursue a diet that is rich with green or blue, sour food. Two ready qualifiers are the green grapes and the spinach. On the other hand, for those who have aliment with their stomach or spleen, they should look for food that is both sweet and yellowish, say soy beans and honey for instance. Not only can they provide a much-needed nutrition boost for a strained digestive system, it can also wipe away the excessive dampness within, which is often triggered by an unhealthy spleen.

http://chaxiubao.typepad.com/chaxiubao/2009/03/eating-and-wu-xing-the-five-movements.html