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 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 Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

, 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 ...

. 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 th ...

, Golden ( Sun)

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 (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 pa ...

), 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

give it greater affinity with the rigid, controlling Chinese element of

Metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...

; 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 The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zh ...

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 A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...

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.

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