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Chapter 34 of 39
Wu Xing Da Yi — Great Meaning of the Five Elements
Overall Paraphrasing
Since the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors🌄, there was no fixed model for the official system. Positions were often named based on auspicious signs or natural phenomena (such as birds, dragons, clouds, fire, etc.), reflecting the ancient wisdom of observing celestial patterns and earthly geography. Although times changed, the principles of the Five Elements (Wu Xing) remained central. By the time of Zhuanxu, official positions began to be defined based on human affairs: the Southern Official "Zhong" managed celestial matters and communication with deities, while the Northern Official "Li" handled earthly affairs and governance of the people, achieving a separation of divine and human governance. Gaoxin (Emperor Ku) formally established officials based on the Five Elements: Gou Mang as Wood Official, Zhu Rong as Fire Official, Ru Shou as Metal Official, Xuan Ming as Water Official, and Hou Tu as Earth Official, each managing the functions of the five directions. The four sons of Shao Hao (Zhong, Gai, Xiu, and Xi), along with Zhuanxu’s son Li and Gong Gong’s son Gou Long, respectively became the five deities of Wood, Metal, Water, Fire, and Earth. They served as high officials during their lifetimes and became revered deities after death, collectively known as the "Five Sacrifices" (Wu Si), aligned with the Five Elements.
The Book of Zhou records that when King Wu built Luoyi, the gods of the four seas demanded that the King of Zhou know their names, or they would bring disasters. Tai Gong responded with the names of the Five Element deities: Zhu Rong (South Sea🔥), Gou Mang (East Sea🌱), Xuan Ming (North Sea🌊), and Ru Shou (West Sea⚔️). The Book of Rites: Monthly Ordinances clearly assigned the five deities to the four seasons: Gou Mang for spring, Zhu Rong for summer, Ru Shou for autumn, Xuan Ming for winter, and Hou Tu for the center, forming the Five Directions and Five Elements system. The Yellow Emperor established the Three Dukes (Feng Hou, Tian Lao, and Wu Sheng) to mirror the Three Stars (San Tai), and set up Left and Right Overseers, also aligning with the principles of the Five Elements. Yao appointed the four sons of Xi and He to manage the four seasons, known as the "Four Peaks" (Si Yue). Tai Gong explained the Four Auxiliary Officials: Front Doubter (Grand Preceptor🌞, in charge of summer), Rear Supporter (Grand Historian❄️, in charge of winter), Left Assistant (Grand Tutor🌱, in charge of spring), and Right Aide (Grand Guardian🍂, in charge of autumn), each responsible for remonstrance and ensuring balanced governance.
The numerical logic of the official system followed the principles of heaven, earth, and yin-yang: Three Dukes, Nine Ministers, Twenty-Seven Senior Officials, and Eighty-One Scholars, with a threefold structure totaling 120 positions. Yi Yin’s response to Shang Tang stated: the Three Dukes comprehend heaven and earth, the Nine Ministers are well-versed in geography, the Senior Officials understand human affairs, and the Scholars uphold justice, forming a governance framework of "Tao, Virtue, Benevolence, and Righteousness." The official system mirrored heaven: the Three Dukes resembled the Five Peaks⛰️, the Nine Ministers resembled rivers and seas🌊, the Senior Officials resembled mountains and hills, and the Scholars resembled valleys and mounds. Among the star officials, the Three Powers (San Neng) represented the Three Dukes, the Big Dipper represented the Nine Ministers, stars like She Ti represented the Senior Officials, and stars like Lang Wei represented the Scholars, corresponding to the twelve months🌙, embodying the concept of "the five essences flowing to establish official positions."
The Zhou Officials defined six roles:
Confucius stated that these roles respectively embodied Tao, Virtue, Benevolence, Sagehood, Rites, and Righteousness. Failure in these roles led to chaos: disorder in Zhong Zai caused collapse of state discipline, failure in Si Tu endangered people’s livelihoods, disharmony in Zong Bo led to social discord, bias in Si Ma resulted in military unrest, corruption in Si Kou led to unjust punishments, and negligence in Si Kong caused financial scarcity. Thus, performance evaluations and corrections were necessary according to the four seasons.
Huainanzi and Chunqiu Fanlu offered alternative interpretations of officials aligned with the Five Elements: Wood for Si Nong🌱 (agriculture), Fire for Si Ma🔥 (military), Earth for Si Kong⛰️ (construction), Metal for Si Tu⚔️ (land), and Water for Si Kou🌊 (justice). Although the names differed, the principles remained the same. Yu’s appointment as Si Kong for flood control, Bo Yi’s management of rites, Qi’s dissemination of education, and Gao Yao’s enforcement of justice all aligned with the Five Elements’ functions. The number of officials started with three (the beginning of yang numbers) and peaked at eighty-one (the ultimate number of nine). High-ranking officials took the initial numbers, while lower-ranking officials took the final numbers, with the Son of Heaven as the "head" (Yuan Shou), unique and unparalleled. The official ranks of the Three Dynasties stopped at nine appointments, based on the measure of three, aligning with the proper yang numbers.
Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches as official methods (Hong Fan Wu Xing Zhuan):
Heavenly Stems:
Earthly Branches:
Yi Feng aligned the five zang organs with the six fu organs:
Failure in official duties led to disasters: for example, corruption in the Duty Officer caused pest infestations🐛, disorder in the Household Officer led to population displacement🚶, malpractice in the Granary Officer sparked theft and banditry🏴, injustice in the Metal Officer resulted in unfair trade⚖️, and negligence in the Merit Officer led to tiger and wolf attacks🐅, reflecting the chaos of disordered Five Elements.
The ancient official system was not arbitrarily established but was based on the Five Elements cosmology🌌, meticulously coupling natural laws (heaven, earth, four seasons, Five Elements) with social governance (official positions, functions, evaluations) to form a system of "correspondence between heaven and humanity." The allocation of official roles reflected the characteristics of the Five Elements (e.g., Wood governs growth, Metal governs execution). Imbalance in duties led to natural or social disasters, emphasizing that "appointing the right person ensures national prosperity, while the wrong person endangers the state."
Behind the official system lies the ancient pursuit of unity between cosmic order (Tian Dao) and social order (Ren Dao)🌐. Incorporating多元 systems like stars, stems and branches, and zang-fu organs into the official system reflects a holistic view of "interconnectedness of all things," rather than mechanical division of labor. This idea of "officials mirroring heaven and earth" contains both mystical elements and ecological wisdom: human organizations should be an extension of natural order, not a对抗.
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