Theoretical and Design Problems

Theoretical problems
The five elements were a simple means to categorize common substances in daily life at the ancient times. It is apparent, even without resorting to the analysis of modern science, that this categorization is insufficient. Later the five elements evolved into the "five categories" of a much broader sense. Its explanatory power was greatly enhanced. However, whenever made to collaborate with the specific object, controversies occurred. Not everything can be categorized by the number "five". Where there happen to be substances that can be categorized by "five", it is not easy to safely correlate them.
The generation and restriction of the five elements, at abstractive philosophy level, was deemed as the basic relationship of all the substances in the world. One of the defects of this generalization is a too simple and fixed relationship. Earth generates metal, but it also generates wood. Wood restricts earth, but metal also restricts earth... Another is that when it comes to more specific and complex substances their relationships become more complicated and much harder to define. If we still try to work out their generation and restriction relationship by their correlation with the five elements, there may be some plausible cases. But it certainly can not reflect all their true relationships. The relationship of five organs is a case in point.
Some may propose that the theory of five viscera correlation should replace the five elements theory.

Design Problems (show visuals)
Traditional Chinese language a big turn off
Seem senseless
Few unattractive illustrations
Lack of exposure to public (media, products)
Absence of emotional attachment between target sudience and Wu Xing theory