Background

The Chinese system of cycles

The ancient Chinese observed nature in order to learn to cope with it. They handed down their observations from generation to generation and, over time, discovered that everything in nature follows its own pattern. They also discovered that many patterns repeat in cycles, and that many cycles influence other cycles.

Cycles come in all sizes. A day is cycle. A year is a cycle. There are also cycles that last 10 years, 12 years, 180 years and 540 years, among others. Most cycles are related to astronomical cycles.

By studying the cycles and their interrelations, the ancient Chinese eventually learned to make predictions about the weather, the environment, agriculture, health, natural disasters and, over time, business, human behaviour and more.

The Law of yin and yang

Later, ancient Chinese thinkers formulated laws of nature to explain how the universe works, from which Chinese sciences developed. The simplest law states that everything has two opposite sides that alternate, balance each other and complement each other: day and night, up and down, hot and cold, light and dark, etc.

If yin and yang — the two opposites — are balanced, things go smoothly; if they aren't, problems develop. For instance, if it's cold, we can put on warm clothing; if we don't, we risk frostbite.

The Law of yin and yang also tells us that every argument has two sides, every effect has a side effect, what goes up must come down, etc.

The Law of five elements

Other thinkers saw that many things in nature have similar characteristics and classified everything into five categories, called elements. For instance, hot weather, the south direction, the heart and joy are all things that are warm, so they belong to the Fire element.

Wood	Fire	Earth	Metal	Water
green	red	brown, yellow	white	blue, black
spring	summer	late summer	autumn	winter
wind	heat	dampness	dryness	cold
east	south	centre	west	north
sour	bitter	sweet	pungent	salty
anger	joy	worry	grief	fear
liver	heart, mind	stomach	lungs	kidneys

As in the Law of yin and yang, the five elements alternate (i.e., they go through a cycle), balance each other and complement each other. When they're in balance, things go smoothly; if one or several elements are out of balance, problems develop. For instance, eating too much of one kind of food is likely to cause some illness.

There are relationships within an element. For instance, spring tends to be windy; wind and sour foods affect the liver; the liver is at its most active in spring. There are also interrelationships between the elements. These help restore balance, for instance in Chinese medicine: sour food is best reduced in spring (because the liver is already at its most active at that time) and increased in autumn (because the liver is at its least active).

Every period in the system of cycles belongs to one of the five elements. In 2005, for instance, four of the elements are in balance, but the Metal element is low; 2005 is therefore called a year of Deficient Metal.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), diseases are thought to be caused by one or several organs being out of balance, which means they are working too hard or not hard enough. Such imbalances are caused in part by the local climate and weather and by eating foods that are unsuitable. (TCM also recognizes innate predispositions, but that's beyond the scope of this blog.)

The goal of TCM is to bring the organs back into balance, using herbs (which belong to the Wood element), acupuncture (Metal), diet, exercise and other modalities.

Prevention is also central to TCM. Eating according to the season and local climate is the most important thing we can do to stay healthy.

More information on these and other topics can be found in The Chinese Almanac.