Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Warring States period (), during a period known as the " Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and cultural develop ...

, earth or soil (), is the changing point of the matter. Earth is the third element in the

Wu Xing Wuxing may refer to: Places in China Counties and districts *Huzhou, formerly Wuxing County, Zhejiang, China *Wuxing District (吴兴区), central district of Huzhou Subdistricts (五星街道) *Wuxing Subdistrict, Mudanjiang, in Dong'an District ...

cycle. Earth is a balance of both

yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and ya ...

, the feminine and masculine together. Its motion is centering, and its energy is stabilizing and conserving. It is associated with the colour yellow/ ochre and the planet Saturn, and it lies at the centre of the compass in the Chinese cosmos. It is associated with the turn of each of the four seasons and with damp weather. In

Traditional Chinese Medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...

, earth governs the Yin, Zang organ the

Spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

, and the Yang, Fu organ

Stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...

, mouth and muscles. Its Primal Spirit is the Yi, and is represented by the

Yellow Dragon The Yellow Dragon ( is the zoomorphic incarnation of the Yellow Emperor of the center of the universe in Chinese religion and mythology. The Yellow Emperor or Yellow Deity was conceived by Fubao, who became pregnant after seeing a yellow ra ...

. Color

Yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the ...

Golden Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

(

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

)

Attributes

The Wu Xing ''Earth'' is associated with the qualities of patience, thoughtfulness, practicality, hard work, and stability. The earth element is also nurturing and seeks to draw all things together with itself, in order to bring harmony, rootedness and stability. Other attributes of the ''earth'' element include ambition, stubbornness, responsibility and long-term planning. Its negative emotion is worry and its positive emotion is happiness.

Astrology

Earth plays an important role in

Chinese astrology Chinese astrology is based on the traditional astronomy and calendars. Chinese astrology came to flourish during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD). Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy (theory of the ...

. In

earth is included in the 10

Heavenly Stems The ten Heavenly Stems or Celestial Stems () are a Chinese system of ordinals that first appear during the Shang dynasty, c. 1250 BC, as the names of the ten days of the week. They were also used in Shang-period ritual as names for dead family mem ...

(the five elements in their yin and yang forms), which combine with the 12

Earthly Branches The twelve Earthly Branches or Terrestrial Branches are a Chinese ordering system used throughout East Asia in various contexts, including its ancient dating system, astrological traditions, zodiac and ordinals. Origin This system was built ...

(or Chinese signs of the

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The pat ...

), to form the 60 year cycle. Yang earth years end in 8 (e.g. 1998), while Yin earth years end in 9 (e.g. 1999). Earth is the central balance of the elements and therefore lends qualities to all 12 animals as well. The element earth is associated with the planet Saturn on account of its yellow color.Wolfram Eberhard, ''A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols'', pp238 -9, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1986 However, some Western astrologers have suggested that the Western associations of Saturn give it greater affinity with the rigid, controlling Chinese element of

Metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

; while the Chinese conception of earth as a centering, harmonizing element has more in common with the Western notion of the planet

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

. As I Ching and Feng Shui described, Earth is the center to which all movements tend to go to even if temporarily, that is to say, it can polarize with any of the other movements-elements: Fire, Water, Wood and Metal. These four types of Earth are Earth-of-water (Wet/Cold Earth), Earth-of-Fire (Arid/Hot Earth), Earth-of-Metal (Dry/Hard Earth) and Earth-of-Wood (Loose-Fertile/Warm Earth). Yellow, orange, beige and brown colors represent Earth. Earth governs Ox, Dragon,

Goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

, and

Dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

Cycle of Wu Xing

In the controlling cycle, earth controls water by damming or absorbing it;

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

can overcome it by breaking it up (by the roots). In the 'insulting' cycle, earth overcomes wood by stagnating its growth or covering it up. In the constructive cycle, earth is produced by fire's ashes, and then solidifies its minerals to produce metal. In the consuming cycle, metal makes earth poor by sucking all its minerals, and dries its humidity.

References

{{Wu Xing it:Terra (elemento)#Tradizione cinese