Yin-Yang and Five Elements
Yin-Yang and the Five Elements (음양오행, 陰陽五行) are core concepts in Eastern philosophy that explain the creation and changes of the universe and nature.
"Yin-Yang" indicates that all things and phenomena are composed of two elements, Yin (陰) and Yang (陽), which oppose yet complement each other.
The "Five Elements" are Wood (木), Fire (火), Earth (土), Metal (金), and Water (水), which explain how all things in the universe are created and destroyed through relationships of mutual generation and restriction.
"Yin-Yang" indicates that all things and phenomena are composed of two elements, Yin (陰) and Yang (陽), which oppose yet complement each other.
The "Five Elements" are Wood (木), Fire (火), Earth (土), Metal (金), and Water (水), which explain how all things in the universe are created and destroyed through relationships of mutual generation and restriction.
This theory of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements plays an important role in understanding the harmony between nature and humans in various fields such as traditional Chinese medicine, philosophy, and art.
The Connection Between the Universe and the Human Body
Eastern philosophy views nature (the macrocosm) and humans (the microcosm) as interconnected. The human body structure is a miniaturized version of nature, and following the principles of nature is the path to a healthy and harmonious life.
Eastern philosophy views nature (the macrocosm) and humans (the microcosm) as interconnected. The human body structure is a miniaturized version of nature, and following the principles of nature is the path to a healthy and harmonious life.
Correspondences Between the Universe (Macrocosm) and Humans (Microcosm)
| Universe (Macrocosm) | Human (Microcosm) | Relationship |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | Head | The head is round and, like the sun, plays a central role in humans. |
| Sun and Moon | Two Eyes | Like the harmony of the sun (Yang) and moon (Yin), the eyes receive light and recognize objects. |
| Earth | Feet | Feet stand on the ground and symbolize the earth. |
| Mountain ranges | Bones (skeleton) | Just as mountain ranges form the land, bones determine the body's shape. |
| Rivers and seas | Blood and bodily fluids | Like flowing water, blood circulates throughout the body to maintain life. |
| Air (wind) | Breathing (lungs) | Just as air moves through nature, the lungs breathe to maintain life activities. |
| Soil | Skin | Skin protects the body and, like soil, plays an important role in maintaining life. |
| Mountains and vegetation | Hair | Just as natural vegetation covers the ground, hair protects the skin. |
| Harmony of the universe (Yin-Yang and Five Elements) | Balance of the body (harmony of Yin-Yang and organs) | Natural principles apply to the body, and when balance is disrupted, disease occurs. |
Connections Between the Universe and the Body
1. Structural similarities between Earth and human body
- Earth: 5 oceans, 6 continents
- Human body: 5 Zang organs (liver, heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys), 6 Fu organs (stomach, large intestine, small intestine, gallbladder, bladder, triple burner)
2. Water and life
- Earth: Seawater is about 70%
- Human body: Water is about 70%
- Sea salt is essential → Human body cannot maintain life without salt
3. Circulation and purification
- Earth: Tides purify seawater
- Human body: Inhalation and exhalation purify impurities
- Mineral components of blood = Similar to components of seawater
- Nature: Heaven (Yang) and Earth (Yin)
- Humans: Male (Yang) and Female (Yin)
6. Correspondence between time and body
- Nature: Five Movements and Six Qi (五運六氣)
- Human body: Five Zang and Six Fu organs (五臟六腑)
- Nature: 24 seasonal divisions, 4 seasons, 12 months, 365 days
- Human body: 24 vertebrae, 4 limbs, 12 major joints, 365 acupoints
- Nature: The sun's central fire, Earth's central fire (Earth's core)
- Human body: The heart maintains fire (energy) at the body's center
- Earth: Axial tilt → Formation of four seasons
- Human body: Heart tilted to the left → Formation of four constitutions
9. Sun/moon and biorhythm
- Nature: Sun and moon actions → Tidal phenomena
- Human body: Sun and moon actions → Flow of qi and blood, women's menstrual cycles
10. Correspondence between universe and body
- Nature: 9 planets
- Human body: 9 openings (eyes, nose, mouth, ears [7]+ lower body[2])
- Female: Additional uterus → Birth of life
- Universe = Human body
- The secrets of the universe are inherent in the human body
- "The universe is myself, and I am the universe"
*Five Movements and Six Qi>>
'Five Movements (五運)' refers to the changes of the four seasons due to Earth's rotation and revolution, represented by the 10 Heavenly Stems 'Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui (甲乙丙丁戊己庚辛壬癸)'. 'Six Qi (六氣)' refers to the changes in air currents due to the Earth's axial tilt (23.5 degrees), represented by the Six Qi (Wind-Wood, Cold-Water, Dampness-Earth, Dryness-Metal, Heat-Sovereign Fire, Harmony-Ministerial Fire) and expressed by the 12 Earthly Branches 'Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai (子丑寅卯辰巳午未申酉戌亥)' according to the Yin and Yang of the Five Elements. In short, Operational Qi is a simplified term for the Five Movements and Six Qi. Thus, human diseases can be explained in terms of their close relationship with changes in the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. In medicine, Operational Qi is primarily used to study the rules of climate and seasonal changes to understand the Six Excesses (Wind, Cold, Heat, Dampness, Dryness, Ministerial Fire - six causes of disease) and external pathogens as causes of disease, and to determine the correlation between seasonal climate changes and diseases each year for application in diagnosis and treatment.
Key Points
✅ Humans are a miniature of nature, and the body structure directly reflects the principles of the universe.
✅ When harmony and balance (harmony of Yin-Yang, circulation of Five Elements) are disrupted, both nature and humans lose health.
✅ By adjusting living habits according to universal changes, health can be maintained. (For example: changing eating habits according to seasons, maintaining the rhythm of day and night)
✅ Humans are a miniature of nature, and the body structure directly reflects the principles of the universe.
✅ When harmony and balance (harmony of Yin-Yang, circulation of Five Elements) are disrupted, both nature and humans lose health.
✅ By adjusting living habits according to universal changes, health can be maintained. (For example: changing eating habits according to seasons, maintaining the rhythm of day and night)
📌 Conclusion: Nature and humans are one, and understanding the flow of nature and harmonizing with the body is the healthiest and most harmonious life.
Treatment Methods Based on Yin-Yang Principles
The human body maintains life activities according to Yin-Yang principles, and to treat diseases, one must understand the Yin-Yang relationships between organs. The 6 Zang and 6 Fu organs form pairs to maintain balance, and when one weakens, the paired organ is also affected, causing disease. Based on this, the Yin-Yang relationships between organs and treatment principles can be summarized as follows:
Yin-Yang Relationships and Treatment Methods by Organ
| Organ (Yin) | Paired Fu organ (Yang) | Yin-Yang Relationship and Treatment Principle |
|---|---|---|
| Liver (肝, Yin) | Gallbladder (膽, Yang) | For a strong liver, the gallbladder must be strong. When liver and gallbladder don't circulate due to shock or stress, they become "cool." |
| Heart (心, Yang) | Small Intestine (小腸, Yin) | The heart circulates blood, and the small intestine absorbs nutrients that become blood. When the heart is weak, digestion is poor; when the small intestine is weak, blood circulation is poor. |
| *Pericardium (心包, Yin) | Triple Burner (三焦, Yang) | The pericardium that protects the heart and the triple burner that circulates energy throughout the body form a pair. When the pericardium is blocked, energy doesn't circulate well. |
| Spleen (脾, Yin) | Stomach (胃, Yang) | The spleen aids digestion, and the stomach digests and stores food. When one weakens, digestive function decreases and energy drops. |
| Lungs (肺, Yin) | Large Intestine (大腸, Yang) | The lungs expel carbon dioxide through breathing, the large intestine expels food waste. When the lungs are weak, the large intestine deteriorates; when the large intestine is weak, lung function decreases. |
| Kidneys (腎, Yin) | Bladder (膀胱, Yang) | The kidneys filter waste, and the bladder expels it. When bladder function decreases, kidney function worsens, causing swelling. |
Key Summary
- When Yin-Yang harmony is disrupted, disease occurs.
- Treating paired organs together is effective.
- Body changes and proverbs reflect Yin-Yang principles.
- Western medicine treats only what is visible, but traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes Yin-Yang balance for fundamental treatment.
Balancing the organs is the key to health, and understanding how each organ pairs with another in complementary action naturally reveals treatment methods.
Yin-Yang and Five Elements Principles in Food
If after eating or drinking something, you suddenly feel unwell, have chest tightness, or nausea, quickly brew sophora root juice and drink it to vomit out what you've eaten. Sophora is very bitter, and eating it will definitely cause vomiting. For mild symptoms, drink a mixture of half vinegar and half fresh water, or warm alcohol.
When poisoned by vegetables, drink a strong brew of licorice, which detoxifies, or arrowroot juice for relief. If you eat too many cucumbers and your stomach bloats, taking half a spoonful of salt at intervals will quickly reduce the bloating. Salt has a shrinking function that reduces volume effectively. For poisoning from shiitake mushrooms, drink paper mulberry sap. When indigested from eating various meats together, drink water mixed with powder from burned pig bones, or drink a spoonful of fresh chive juice.
For indigestion from beef or lamb, drink licorice juice. If you're bloated with a dry mouth after eating dog meat, drink powdered apricot seeds. For indigestion or poor digestion of fish, take powdered tangerine peel. For crab poisoning, garlic juice is effective.
For indigestion from duck eggs, rice water from glutinous rice helps. For egg indigestion, drink soju or a mixture of vinegar and water to aid digestion.
For any food indigestion, burning the food that caused it and consuming the ash can relieve the indigestion.
For sobering up, bean juice, arrowroot juice, mulberry, or tangerine peel juice are effective. Also, fermented skate helps digest alcohol, which is why skate is a good alcohol accompaniment to prevent indigestion. The reason buffet-style meals look good but cause discomfort is that too many different foods are eaten at once.
More about Food Based on Yin-Yang Principles
- Fruit is harmful at night but good on an empty stomach.
- Bananas, mackerel, and squid are harmful to people with indigestion issues.
- Duck is good for stroke but harmful if eaten excessively.
- Mixing beef and pork is bad for the heart.
- Sweet potatoes are good for those with strong stomachs but not for those with weak stomachs.
- It's good to eat wild chives with soy sauce, but harmful if vinegar is added.
- Too many ginkgo nuts harm the kidneys.
- Eating mung beans reduces the effectiveness of herbal medicine.
- Rockfish is healthy on clear days but should be avoided on rainy days.
- When inflammation occurs, avoid fish or raw meat.
- Adding ginseng or deer antler when boiling beef bones can cause high blood pressure.
- Rabbit meat reduces heat, but shouldn't be eaten with ginger.
- Beef shouldn't be eaten with chestnuts. Instead, adding a few jujubes removes bad blood from meat.
- Beef and beef intestines shouldn't be eaten with dog meat.
- Lamb shouldn't be eaten with fish or sashimi.
- Beef liver with catfish can cause stroke and must be avoided.
- Chicken shouldn't be eaten with fish, as it can cause internal lumps.
- Quail meat and pork shouldn't be eaten together—they cause black spots on the face.
- Chicken shouldn't be eaten with buckwheat noodles—it causes parasites.
- Chicken and rabbit meat shouldn't be eaten together—it can cause diarrhea. Carp and pork shouldn't be eaten together.
- Shrimp and pork are incompatible; eating them together damages potency and can cause stroke. Shrimp shouldn't be eaten with sugar. Shrimp and chicken shouldn't be eaten together.
- Eating millet with mallow causes illness due to conflicting heat. Eating red beans with carp causes conflict.
- Eating plums with eggs causes conflict.
- Eating jujubes with honey causes conflicting heat.
- Mallow and taffy shouldn't be eaten together.
- Honey shouldn't be eaten with alcohol—it can cause stomach ulcers. Eating green onions with beef causes internal lumps.
- Mustard and rabbit meat shouldn't be eaten together—they cause sores.
- Don't eat rabbits that are often drowsy.
- Don't use mulberry wood for cooking meat.
- Don't eat meat that doesn't change color when boiled.
- Don't eat out-of-season food or fruit. Unripe fruit is best avoided.
- Don't eat peaches or apricots with two seeds.
- Too many shiitake mushrooms cause illness.
- Brewing jujube leaves as tea prevents summer heat illness. Lotus leaf tea or lotus root is good for people with cold constitutions.
- Onions and scallions reduce high blood pressure, diabetes, and excessive heat. Corn silk is good for diabetes and urination.
- Peaches are effective in detoxifying nicotine.
- Too much nutritious food causes gout, diabetes, etc.
- For atopic dermatitis, it's best to avoid mushrooms, pork, and chicken, as well as products with chemical components like cosmetics and soap.
- Mushrooms worsen atopic dermatitis.
- For diabetes, avoid flour, alcohol, sugar, and carrots.
- Flour, alcohol, and sugar feed diabetes.
- Applying honey is good for sores around the mouth. Using bamboo pillows can easily cause facial paralysis.
- For food poisoning from fish, a spoonful of sesame oil is beneficial.
Yin-Yang, Five Elements, and Mental Health Principles
This text explains the effect of the mind on health based on Yin-Yang and Five Elements principles. The main points are summarized as follows:
1. The mind creates and treats illness
- If you think you'll catch a cold, symptoms actually appear.
- Negative thoughts harm the body, while positive thoughts promote health.
- Just as you need to eat food for nutrition, you need to maintain positive thoughts for health.
2. The role of the pineal gland and mental effects
- The pineal gland regulates hormones like melatonin and serotonin, and hormone secretion varies according to mental state.
- Positive thoughts secrete healthy hormones, while negative thoughts have harmful effects on the body.
- Practices like meditation, yoga, and qigong help activate the pineal gland.
3. Emotions and physiological changes
- Anger or stress produces harmful oxygen (free radicals) that damage cells and accelerate aging.
- Natural methods like earthing (walking barefoot) and sun exposure are important for balancing the body.
- Positive emotions affect all body cells, enhancing immunity and maintaining health.
4. Thoughts and words become reality
- Constantly thinking "I am sick" actually makes the body ill.
- Positive self-suggestion like "I am healthy" enhances the body's natural healing power.
- When illness occurs, it's important to first reflect on your mental state rather than the disease itself.
5. Changing your mind reveals health
- Body cells change constantly, and with a new mindset, health can be restored.
- Letting go of stubbornness and accepting change is key to healing.
- The fundamental cause of disease is the mind, so forgiveness and letting go of attachments are important.
Key Points
- Body and mind are one, and health depends on mindset.
- When illness occurs, it's more important to examine your mind first than to change your environment.
- Maintaining positive emotions (love, gratitude, joy) naturally leads to health.
This explanation combines Eastern philosophy (Yin-Yang and Five Elements) with modern science (quantum physics, brain science) to explain the relationship between mind and health. It's good to remember the core message: "Change your thinking and health becomes visible."
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