Abstract Five Phases.7

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Major Point

• Commentary

o History

ABSTRACT

DISCUSSION OF THE FIV

The theory of the Five Phases (‘Wu

medicine. However, there exist inc

(Notes 1 and 2). This paper is to re

provide additional insight by analyz

FIVE PHASES

o The earliest reference to th

Documents’ (Shu Jing, c. 4t

‘Of the five phases,

fourth, METAL 金 ;

This is known as the ‘Cosm

o The Five Phases were also

Warring States period (476

‘Heaven sends the

o The Five Pentatonic Notes

Figure 1 The Earliest Five Ph

• It is interesting to note

Bible in that the world

Genesis 1:2 ‘The ea

deep. And the Spir

Water

1

D#,

La

C#,

So

Nov

E PHASES & FIVE PENTATONIC NO

Xing’五行, also known as Five Elements) is deep-r

onsistency and limitation in the application of the t

iew the history of the Five Phases theory, examine

ing the closely-related Five Pentatonic Notes (‘Wu

e Five Phases appeared in the ‘Great Plan’ section

century B.C.). It states:

the first is WATER 水 ; the second FIRE 火 ; the thir

and the fifth, EARTH 土 .’

gonic sequence’.

alled 5 ‘Abilities’, ‘Talents’ or ‘Materials’ (cai,材

).

-221 B.C.) says,

Five Abilities (Talents or Materials) and the people

hat correspond to the Five Phases are:

ases with Corresponding Five Pentatonic Notes

that the Cosmogonic sequence of the Five Phases a

begins with water:

rth was without form, and void; and darkness was

it of God was hovering over the face of the waters.’

Fire

2

Wood

3

A#,

Mi

Meta

4

G#,

Re

P a g e | 1

hean M. Chang

mber 10, 2009

ES

oted in Chinese

heory to medicine

its limitation, and

in’五音).

f the ‘Book of

, WOOD 木 ; the

ne book in the

se them’.

grees with the

n the face of the

l Earth

5

F#,

Do



Major Point

• Commentary

o History

P a g e | 2

Shean M. Chang

November 10, 2009

• The order of the phases (1 for Water, 2 for Fire … 5 for Earth) coincides mysteriously with

that of the pitch of corresponding pentatonic notes: D# (La) the highest, C# (So) the 2nd

, A#

(Mi) the 3rd

, G# (Re) the 2nd

lowest and F# (Do) the lowest. This is a movement down the

pentatonic scale and it signifies creation descends from the highest frequency – that of Water to the lowest – that of Earth, like rain precipitating downward from heaven. The Five

Pentatonic Notes is believed by some people to be the natural precursor of the Five Phases.

o The Five Phases theory was systemized by Zou Yan (305-240 B.C.) when he proposed a ‘Five

Virtue Cyclic Sequences of Ends and Beginning’, i.e., the controlling sequence of the Five Phases:

Figure 2 The Controlling Sequence of the Five Phases

o Liu Xiang (77-6 BCE) and his son Liu Xin advocated a generating sequence of the Five Phases:

Figure 3 The Generating Sequence of the Five Phases

WATER

水

virtue

FIRE

火

virtue

METAL

金

virtue

WOOD

木

virtue

EARTH

土

virtue

WATER

水

virtue

WOOD

木

virtue

FIRE

火

virtue

EARTH

土

virtue

METAL

金

virtue



Major Point

• Commentary

o History

P a g e | 3

Shean M. Chang

November 10, 2009

• Both the controlling and the generating sequences have a wide application in Chinese

medicine. While the controlling Five Phases theory has received criticism such as from a

respectable scientist and scholar in the Han dynasty, consistency doses not always prevail in

the generating theory, either. Water generates Wood, Fire generates Earth and Earthgenerates Metal as nature seemingly allows. Wood, however, does not readily catch Fire.

Wood needs to be drilled to generate fire or to be ignited by thunder, for example. Lastly,

Metal will only melt into liquid under a high temperature and high pressure condition.

FIVE PENTATONIC NOTES

o The Yellow Emperor’s pentatonic scale consists of musical notes related by perfect fifths (the

most harmonious of all musical intervals) which confers health and tranquility on all beings

coming in contact with it (Note 3). When arranged in a circle of ascending fifths to fashion the‘Five Virtue Cyclic Sequences of Ends and Beginning’, the Five Pentatonic Notes are in the

following order:

Figure 4 Five Pentatonic Notes in Ascending Perfect Fifths

• Inconsistency becomes apparent in above circle of fifths because the end fails to meet the

beginning. The interval between notes A# and F# is not a perfect fifth, rather it is an

augmented fifth, i.e., a fifth plus half a step or one semitone. The perfect fifth above A# is F.

The inconsistency, however, may only be a superficial observation. An in-depth analysis

from this work has revealed that an F# lies 8 (perfect) fifths above A#. This F# is 7 octaves

above the beginning F# in the circle of fifths. Figure 5 depicts a brand new presentation of

the circle of fifths for the Five Pentatonic Notes:

C#

G#

D#

A#

F#

F



Major Point

• Commentary

o History

P a g e | 4

Shean M. Chang

November 10, 2009

Figure 5 Five Pentatonic Notes in a Circle of Fifths where the interval between A# and the ending F# is 8 perfect fifths.

(Note: the ending F# is 7 octaves above the beginning F#)

In such an arrangement, the Five Pentatonic Notes, which are closely connected to the Five

Phases, fit the model of Zou Yan’s ‘Five Virtue Cyclic Sequences of Ends and Beginning’.

Interestingly, 8 is the number of ‘new beginning’, therefore, the ending F#, 8 perfect fifths

above A#, can be a new beginning F# of the next cycle. Also, 7 is the number of ‘completion’.

Since the ending F# is 7 octaves above the beginning F#, this means the completion of a

cycle.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

• The Five Phases and the corresponding Five Pentatonic Notes theory are not flawless.

However, they are not unscientific superstition, either. The theory should be applied with

discretion to medicine. A mechanical fit of the theory to reality should be avoided.

Note 1: Ted J. Kaptchuk, “The Web That Has No Weaver”, Criticism of Five Phases Theory, p. 351.

Note 2: Giovanni Maciocia, “The Foundations of Chinese Medicine”, The System of Correspondences in 5-Element Physiology, p.

25.

Note 3: “Acutone, A New System of Healing Based on the Ancient Science of Sound”, Dean Lloyd, John Pirog, P. 6-11. The ‘Book

of Master Guan’ (Guan Zhi, c. 4th

century B.C.) said that the Yellow Emperor’s pentatonic scale was created by a process called

‘generation by the fifth’ from the fundamental note ‘Gong’. The frequency of Gong is the Yellow Bell (Huang Zhong) pitch, the

fundamental frequency of the earth, which comes from a pitch-pipe of 81 fen long and corresponds to F# to G# in the modern

scale.

C#

p5th

G#

p5th

p5th

D#

8 x p5th

A#

p5th

F#

F#