Theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements with Its Creative Inspirations

The Yin-Yang and Five-Element Theory, a wisdom of traditional culture, still has its wide influence on today’s society. It originated in the Spring and Autumn Period (770 B.C.-476 B.C.) and was systematized at the end of the Warring States Period (475 B.C.-221 B.C.). Originally, “Yin-Yang” refers to the natural phenomenon formed by the contrast between light and shadow when the sun shines on the earth. The “Five Elements”, water, fire, wood, metal, and earth, emerged after Yin-Yang, referring to the five essential materials in the daily life of the ancient people. The two ideas were not related to each other at first. Later, Yin-Yang was understood as a pair of opposite yet complementary elements or forces, combining with the relationship of mutual generation and restriction among the Five Elements, the theory came into being and was further extended to explain the generation, transformation, movement, and mutual growth and decline of all things in the universe.

To be specific, the Yin-Yang and Five-Element Theory can be seen as one that explains the relationship between things through classifying them in different ways. The Yin-Yang divides the world into two binary opposites while the Five Elements systematically classify all things in the universe based on their five basic constituent attributes. From today’s scientific perspective, this is undoubtedly a naive understanding and even a form of “pseudoscience”. However, if we perceive the theory solely for feng shui or numerology, we would distort and limit its positive effects.

In fact, the Yin-Yang and Five-Element Theory takes analogous reasoning as its method of argumentation in explaining things. Based on the “similarity” or “commonality” between two things or situations, it derives the attributes or states of one thing from the attributes or states of another. For example, if the Earth and the Mars, both belonging to the solar system, share the characteristic of being “Yang”, then it can be inferred that if life exists on the Earth, life should also exist on the Mars. Of course, the existence of life on the Mars remains to be proven.

Compared to deductive reasoning, which brings out necessary inference, analogy has “probability” in argumentation. Since it uses “similarity” or “commonality” as the basis for inference, analogous reasoning is relatively flexible and resilient in explanation and may further stimulate invention or creation. As the saying goes, “The same sound can produce resonance, and the same scent will blend together,” which means that similar things mutually induce each other due to their similarities, thus play a positive role in generating new ideas.

For example, the “water” of the Five Elements is compared to “gentleness” of the character trait, and the “earth” element can be extended as the similar quality of “honesty”. This is an extended explanation through analogy. Another example is that plants grow upward, so “vertical lines” can be analogous to “wood”; liquids flow here and there, so “curves” can be analogous to “water”; soil is fixed and stable, so “squares” can be analogous to “earth”.  The above examples show that, through the explanation of analogy, things all have similar relationships with each other. Therefore, the classification system constructed by the Yin-Yang and Five-Element Theory is inclusive and far-reaching. If we make proper use of the similarities of similar things, and associate with or extend to the relationships and functions of other things, we can stimulate innovative explanations or inventions. To conclude, the Yin-Yang and Five-Element Theory is positive for the generation of creative ideas.