The Five Element Theory

Japanese

五行学説

The Five Element Theory is a fundamental idea of Traditional Chinese Medicine, observed by ancient Chinese. It explains that everything in the natural world is categorized into one of the five elements - wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.

All five elements are associated with different seasons, directions, environments, colors, and tastes in the natural world, and also with ourselves physically and emotionally - yin organs, yang organs, sense organs, tissues, and emotions.

All things interact with each other, generate, and control to maintain a harmonious balance in our lives.

You can learn more about The Five Element Theory on Traditional Chinese Medicine World Foundation.

Element	Yin Organ	Yang Organ	Sense Organ	Tissue	Manifest	Emotion	Taste	Color	Season	Climate	Direction
Wood	Liver	Gallbladder	Eyes	Tendons	Nails	Anger	Sour	Green	Spring	Wind	East
Fire	Heart	Small Intestine	Tongue	Blood Vessels	Complexion	Joy	Bitter	Red	Summer	Heat	South
Earth	Spleen	Stomach	Mouth	Muscles	Lips	Worry	Sweet	Yellow	Late Summer	Dampness	Center
Metal	Lungs	Large Intestine	Nose	Skin	Body Hair	Grief	Pungent	White	Autumn	Dryness	West
Water	Kidneys	Bladder	Ears	Bones	Hair	Fear	Salty	Black	Winter	Cold	North