오행은 뭘까? (What are the Five Elements?) - 전창선 (Chang Sun Jeon) & 어윤형 (Yoon Hyung Uh)
Read: 06.30.16
Regrettably, the Five Elements are a part of a much more abstract principle than that of Yin and Yang. As a consequence, the Western media likes to contort its underlying definitions into supernatural attributes (stuff like Nickelodeon’s The Last Airbender). This makes it more difficult for me to try to explain the principle behind the five elements in realistic terms, but I’ll give it a shot nonetheless.
Tree, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water
These five elements cycle through in this order, of which the universe follows suit.
Tree
I know. You might not think tree is an element, and yes, I agree, it would not be in your definition. When we analyze the five elements, it’s crucial to recognize their respective affinities, not their explicit form. Their forms are only labels which best serve as real life examples of things that possess such characteristics. For example, the tree represents the potential to grow and repair. Think about how when you cut off a branch of a tree, it can grow back. A tree is constantly growing, regardless of its surrounding.
Fire
Fire represents disperse, or the spreading of energy. It is dependent on its ability to flow, as fire that is bottled up in a closed environment as as well lead to an explosion.
Earth
Earth represents sustenance and stabilization. It is persistent and homely. Earth is what holds our world together.
Metal
Metal represents a “coming together”, to go within. In other terms, if the three pervious elements are attributed to the upwards direction, now we’re going downwards. Although the image of metal may conjure solid iron bars, remember that metal is quite susceptible to heat.
Water
This one was by far the hardest to understand. It may come off as bovine excretion to some of you. Water represents solidification. Oh my, how can that be? Think of it like concrete. Without water, it will never harden as it should. Water is what brings particles closer, a medium of attraction. Some call it Adhesion.
I previously stated that it is through the cycle of these elemental attributes that the universe functions. Those are some big claims coming from a college student. Let’s look at how energy fits into all this.
First we have to make some assumptions.
- Every organism in the universe needs energy to function. This energy is sometimes called the life force, or chi, chakra— there are many translations but they all point to the same thing.
- Every organism in the universe repeatedly cycles through the five elemental attributes.
The Cycle of Life Energy
An Apple Tree
Think about an apple seed. Deep underneath the ground, at its dormant stage, the seed is at the stage of ‘water’. Remember, as stated, the elemental attributes do not mean that the subject is the element itself, but possesses the characteristics best represented by those elements. At the stage of water, the seed is a condensed, solid form of energy.
Then the seed begins to sprout. This is the stage of ‘tree’, the stage of growth. It is important to note that at this stage, growth only occurs in one direction: up. There must be a trunk for there to be branches.
Branches and leaves form. Notice how they sprout in multiple directions, as if unconfined. This is the stage of fire. Energy from the tree has dispersed. The tree grows rapidly, in all directions, the trunk included.
At a certain point (size), the tree significantly slows down in growth. In other terms, it begins stabilize its place in the world. This is the stage of ‘earth’. At this stage, the tree is still growing—slowly. It blooms and fruits throughout the years.
The stage of ‘metal’ occurs when the fruit ripens and falls. The harvest. I mentioned that this stage brings energy downwards, unlike the three previous stages. In this scenario, down points away from the tree, to the fruit. The tree has undertaken a new responsibility to produce, which means that a 100% of its energy cannot be used to sustain self-growth anymore. Portions of the tree’s energy are distributed to its fruits until they ripen and fall.
When the fruit falls and decomposes, it leaves but a seed behind (to ease our understanding let us say it only leaves one seed). The seed is an amazing little thing. It has the potential to become a full grown tree— it contains that much energy in its tiny body. As a seed, we are back to the stage of ‘water’, of solidification and condensation of energy. A dormant stage. That is, until it sprouts.
The Human Life
The cycle of our own lives are in fact, quite similar to that of the apple tree. As a babies, we grow pretty fast (tree). In our teens, we’re wild and full of energy (fire). Just look at all the pimple outbreaks (surplus of energy and hormonal imbalance). At our 30’s we slowly find our place in society (earth). At our 50’s it’s no longer about sustaining ourselves. We have our spouse, kids, and even parents to take care of. Our resources cannot be dominated by ourselves (metal). At our senile age, we pretty much stay still. A stage I would call dormancy— in preparation for our next life (these ideologies are tangent to Asian beliefs, reincarnation being one of them).
To Conclude
Unfortunately, understanding the five of these five elements is not so simple. As mentioned in Yin and Yang, how there is Yin and Yang in Yin itself, and Yang itself, the five elements exist within each elements too. It’s a difficult concept to understand, one that I still need to study for years. Hopefully enough to be able to introduce them to the Western hemisphere not as supernatural element-bending techniques, but as a different perspective on the patterns of life in our universe.
On a final note, you should try applying these ideas to the world around you. Trees, people, animals, volcanoes, whatever. Recognize the cycles (or spirals, as explained in the Yin and Yang review) and try identifying the stages. It sounds difficult, but you might be surprised.