Common Concepts
What Are the Five Elements (Wu Xing)?
Also called: Wu Xing, Wuxing, Five Phases
Plain Explanation
The Five Elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, used in traditional Chinese thought to classify qualities and describe relationships of change.
Example
In BaZi, first identify the element of each Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch. For example, Jia (甲) and Yi (乙) belong to Wood, while Bing (丙) and Ding (丁) belong to Fire. “Wood generates Fire” describes one generating relationship between these elements.
| Element | Heavenly Stems |
|---|---|
| Wood | Jia (甲), Yi (乙) |
| Fire | Bing (丙), Ding (丁) |
| Earth | Wu (戊), Ji (己) |
| Metal | Geng (庚), Xin (辛) |
| Water | Ren (壬), Gui (癸) |
What It Is Used For
The Five Elements place different things within a shared framework, making it easier to compare how they generate or control one another. In BaZi, identify each Stem and Branch’s element before considering seasonal support, support from the same element, and generating and controlling relationships.
Related Concepts
Updated 2026-10-16 · Editorial Policy