People in ancient China believed that wood, fire, earth, metal and water were indispensable to daily life and were key to the variations in the natural world. Today we can still find examples of these elements and their natural relationships: people still drink water and use fire to cook food; metal and wood are still made into various tools; and earth still ensures the growth of all things! These elements are interrelated and influence each other in specific dynamics. Such a cognition and understanding eventually formed the theory of the five elements.
Five Elements “(wu xing)” is actually not the best translation of the theory. In Chinese, "wu" refers to five, for the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water; and "xing" means movement and transformation. So "wu xing" (five elements) actually refers to the movement and transformation of these elements including their interrelationships, hence why its also referred to as the “Five Phases.”
The theory of five elements holds that all things in the natural world are derived from wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Life bears the basic properties of all five elements and maintains a harmonious balance through the activities of constant inter-promotion and inter-restraint.
Image: internalalchemy.org/
- Generation Cycle: This can be understood as a “mother-daughter” relationship, where one element promotes or generates the next. For example, Wood makes Fire, and Fire burns things into ash (Earth). Therefore, Wood is the mother of Fire, while Earth is the child of Fire.
- Control Cycle: This can be understood as a “dominant-submissive” relationship, where one element restricts or properly controls another. For example, Fire controls Metal by melting it, and Metal restricts Wood by being able to cut it down (ie: You chop wood with a metal axe).
- one element becomes too powerful and, in turn, excessively restrains the element that it normally controls. For example, if Wood is too powerful, it will excessively restrain Earth; if Water is too strong, it will over control Fire.
- one element becomes weak and provides the element normally controlling it a chance to excessively restrain it. For example, if Earth becomes weak, it will be excessively restrained by Wood; if Water is weak, it will be excessively restrained by Earth.
- one element becomes very powerful and turns to control the element that it is normally inferior to. For instance, if Wood becomes too powerful, it will reversely restrain Metal, if Fire becomes too strong, it will reversely restrain Water.
- one element becomes weak and is restrained by the one it is superior to. For example, if Metal becomes weak, it will be reversely controlled by Wood; if Earth is weak, it will be reversely restrained by Water.
- Equilibrium between Two Cycles: The two cycles among the five elements are in fact inseparable. Without promotion, nothing can grow and develop; without restraint, there will be no way to prevent harm caused by excessive development of things. Only when restraint exists in promotion and promotion in restraint, can the normal development and harmonious balance of things be maintained.
Categorization According To Five Elements Theory
The early understandings of the characteristics and properties for wood, fire, earth, metal and water derived from observing the natural world. Such examples are "water moistens and flows downward," "fire flames upward," "wood can be flexed and extended," "metal can be changed in form" and "earth can grow crops," etc.
In order to explain the properties of more things, people abstracted the properties of the five elements for extensive application, broadened their implications. For example, the properties of flexing and extending, growth and development as well as free activity all pertain to the wood element; warmth, heat, ascending and brightness all pertain to the category of fire; reception, cultivation and transformation all pertain to the category of earth; change, depuration and astringency all pertain to the category of metal; and moistening, downward movement, cold and coolness, as well as closure and storage all, pertain to the category of water.
Wood: Flexing and extending | Growing, ascending, developing freely
Fire: Flaming upward | Warming, brightening, moving upwards
Earth: Cultivating and reaping | Growing, supporting, transporting, receiving
Metal: Changing | Purifying, astringent, descending
Water: Moistening and flowing downward | Moistening, moving downwards, cooling, storing
From these classifications, TCM uses this method of categorization, inference and deduction to label things in the natural world as well as the viscera, organs and tissues of the human body respectively into the categories of wood, fire, earth, metal and water according to their properties. This in turn, has formulated a structural system of the five elements with close interrelationship between the internal and external environments of the body. This structural system of the five elements mainly includes the five flavors, the five colors, the five transformations, the five kinds of Qi, the five directions and the five seasons as well as the five Zang-organs, the five Fu-organs, the five sensory organs, five constituents (tendon, vessel muscle, skin and bone), the five emotions, the five kinds of liquids and the five states of pulse in the human body as illustrated in the following table.
(Top to bottom: Wood - Fire - Earth - Metal - Water)
Reference: tcmwiki.com
Comments
Interested in everything you’re speaking of the elements of the Chinese or Asian calendar did not know it was associated with diet I would like to continue to learn thank you
ProNova Partners = Sold Companies. High Closing Rate AND High Valuations. Let me coach you to a higher valuation in 2022+ if you’re not ready!
ProNova Partners would like to collaborate with you on the sale of your business ASAP. Buyer demand is sky-high for our offerings – we closed ALMOST ALL of the new engagements we were hired for nationwide in 2021 despite the pandemic. Valuations are ridiculous {STILL}, our closing timeframes are short, and the good times I’m afraid won’t last forever. Interest rates will rise eventually, which will make it increasingly harder for Buyers to leverage up & pay 4-9x (PLUS) NET income on the best opportunities, plus there lies the possiblity of long term capital gains taxes on the sale of your business nearly doubling in 2022 possibly….The time is now!
If you’re interested in selling or just checking in on the valuation of your enterprise, please feel free to reach out to me directly to book an appointment {CONFIDENTIALLY} to explore further: https://www.calendly.com/rickcarlson
On our end – we had 33 closings in 2021, with a dozen more (ranging from $225k to $15MM all-cash) closings scheduled by August 1st and we’re running low on salable inventory again. M&A marches onward despite these uncertain times!!
Or check out one of our other 105+ active engagements across all SIC codes / geographies / valuations! You can also bookmark our website, https://www.pronovpartners.com/engagements/ to check in on future deals anytime.
I’d ideally like to take some time to begin a discussion on the sale of your Company & we can commence ‘packaging’ this opportunity together so we can hopefully go to market and close by year-end. If you disagree, for whatever reason, hopefully just give me a follow up date that you think makes sense and I can circle back with you at that time.
But why ProNova Partners?
- We have plenty of cash buyers that are active & decisive acquirers for good inventory.
- We possess the network and the experiences to orchestrate virtually any transaction from initial consultation to the close of escrow in a timely manner.
- We pay for upgraded advertising which in turn ensures maximum exposure to your business far beyond our company database of 32,269+ buyers looking for interesting targets.
- We specialize in highly-sensitive and confidential sales and recognize its importance, therefore all buyers have an NDA on file with us.
- We work together with our highly skilled team to produce top-tier marketing materials and pitch books that impel buyers to write offers.
- We are experts in valuation – by applying the correct valuation strategy to your firm, we can therefore negotiate the highest possible price for your business.
- We understand the importance of time to close, and considering all of the above we also have an average 90 days to close for our buyers / sellers.
- We are a success fee firm, unless we close the transaction for you, there is no charge to you.
Having Structuring Flexibility is a key driver of ensuring a personally satisfying exit. Find out how personally ready you would be if you exited your business tomorrow. Take your free, 8-minute PREScore™ questionnaire today: https://www.pronovapartners.com/
What’s your magic #? What’s your exit plan strategy? What are you waiting for?
~~
We have a dedicated, retained 1-2-1 coaching offering for folks that are eager for a dedicated value building approach for a much higher exit in 2022+
We’re also seeking owners looking to join a group coaching cohort, we’re meeting 1x a month and everyone will be in a different market and industry so hopefully we’ll build a community of folks looking to build value prior to an exit in the next year or two.
Please contact me if any of these scenarios sound interesting to you!!
~~
If you want to buy we have this cross-section of opportunities available for sale at the moment:
Medical Supply Wholesaler with branded product sales, submit the NDA HERE————→https://pronovapartners.com/engagement/medical-supply-wholesaler-with-registered-trademark-for-sale/
High Net Wholesale Lumber Business, submit the NDA HERE————→https://pronovapartners.com/engagement/high-net-wholesale-lumber-business-for-sale/
Real Estate Included Heavy Equipment and Construction Dealership for sale, submit the NDA HERE————→https://pronovapartners.com/engagement/real-estate-included-ohio-heavy-equipment-dealership-for-sale/
Government specialized logistics assistive tech company for sale, submit the NDA HERE————→https://pronovapartners.com/engagement/government-specialized-logistics-assistive-tech-company-for-sale/
Real Estate Included Heavy Equipment and Construction Dealership for sale, submit the NDA HERE————→https://pronovapartners.com/engagement/real-estate-included-ohio-heavy-equipment-dealership-for-sale/
Process Controller Manufacturer, submit the NDA HERE————→https://pronovapartners.com/engagement/process-controller-manufacturer-for-sale/
A sales recruiting firm with high traffic websites, submit the NDA HERE————→https://pronovapartners.com/engagement/sales-recruiting-firm-with-high-traffic-websites-for-sale/
Patented Pool Cooler Manufacturer for sale, submit the NDA HERE————→https://pronovapartners.com/engagement/patented-pool-cooler-system-manufacturer-for-sale/
High Net ($5MM) Aerospace Focused Composite Products Manufacturer (Sole Source) from a 100,000 SqFt building, {EMAIL DIRECTLY – NOT PUBLICLY MARKETED ON PRONOVA’S SITE}
Cheers,
Rick.
-
Rick Carlson
CEO
ProNova Partners
825 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 536
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone: 830-465-4676
Email: RC0322@ProNovaPartners.com
Web: https://www.ProNovaPartners.com
_______________________________________