บทที่ 48 จาก 134
五行大义
Punishment, bearing the name of killing and penalty 🌩, is originally a penalty for unrighteous acts, not an intentional mutual subjugation. The Five Elements each occupy a direction; cold and heat alternate in cycles, moving in response to the seasons without losing rhythm, and do not encroach on each other, so there is no individual that solely endures punishment. But punishment must be applied with a non-harsh approach in governance; it cannot be discarded altogether, hence the Five Elements mutually subjugate one another. For instance, using metal to govern metal can form vessels; using people to govern people can establish state governance. Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals says: Punishment cannot be abolished in a state, nor can anger be abolished in a family. The five punishments have three thousand categories, all rooted in the Five Elements. The Book of Zhou says: Because the Five Elements mutually subjugate one another, the five punishments were established—tattooing (inking the face), nose-cutting (cutting off the nose), foot-cutting (removing the foot), castration (removing reproductive capability), and death penalty (execution). Fire can transform the color of metal, so tattooing changes the body; metal can subjugate wood, so foot-cutting removes bones and joints; wood can subjugate earth, so nose-cutting removes the nose; earth can block water, so castration halts licentiousness; water can extinguish fire, so death penalty ends life. In the time of Emperor Wen of Han, corporal punishments were abolished and replaced with flogging, and later penalties such as beheading, hanging, execution, and exile all did not exceed the scope of the five punishments. The Book of Documents says: Exile is a lenient form for the five punishments; the five exiles are each separated by five hundred li. The number of lashes starts from ten and accumulates to one hundred, corresponding to the number of the ten Heavenly Stems. The Book of Documents: On the Virtue of Punishment says: Execution mirrors heavenly justice, and the number of penalty redemptions is three thousand, harmonizing with Heaven, Earth, and humanity. The subjugative relationships of solar and lunar cycles based on Stems and Branches also have three forms: 1. Branch subjugates Branch; 2. Branch subjugates Stem; 3. Stem subjugates Branch.
Branch subjugates Branch: Zi subjugates Mao, Mao subjugates Zi; Chou subjugates Xu, Xu subjugates Wei, Wei subjugates Chou; Yin subjugates Si, Si subjugates Shen, Shen subjugates Yin; Chen, Wu, You, and Hai each subjugate themselves. In the Book of Han, Yi Feng's court statement says: As wood falls, it returns to its root, so the Ming Yang Wood position [Hai, Mao, Wei] is subjugated in the north—Hai self-subjugates, Mao subjugates Zi, Wei subjugates Chou; water flows toward its end, so the Shen, Zi, Chen water position is subjugated in the east—Shen subjugates Yin, Zi subjugates Mao, Chen self-subjugates; metal is hard and fire is strong; each returns to its homeland, so the Si, You, Chou metal position is subjugated in the west—Si subjugates Shen, You self-subjugates, Chou subjugates Xu; the Yin, Wu, Xu fire position is subjugated in the south—Yin subjugates Si, Wu self-subjugates, Xu subjugates Wei.
Branch subjugates Stem: Yin subjugates Geng, Mao subjugates Xin, Chen subjugates Jia, Si subjugates Gui, Wu subjugates Ren, Wei subjugates Yi, Shen subjugates Bing, You subjugates Ding, Xu subjugates Jia, Hai subjugates Ji, Zi subjugates Wu, Chou subjugates Yi.
Stem subjugates Branch: Jia subjugates Shen, Yi subjugates You, Bing subjugates Zi, Ding subjugates Hai, Wu subjugates Yin, Ji subjugates Mao, Geng subjugates Wu, Xin subjugates Si, Ren subjugates Chen and Xu, Gui subjugates Chou and Wei. In all these, subjugation is based on the overcome element.
In divination practices, encountering subjugation is not auspicious, yet for the matters sought, only through subjugation can one obtain results. The Shi Su Bibliography on Tortoise Divination says: What ought to be accomplished but is not depends on the subjugation shown in the omen. Another question: The Six Associations are auspicious, yet Si and Shen subjugate each other—why? Answer: Metal brings water and is born in fire; fire is the ghost of metal, water is the ghost of fire; metal and water are both born from fire, thus the ghost resides in the body. Shen is the position of metal yet harbors water; Si is the position of fire yet again engenders metal; they remain hostile to each other, therefore constituting subjugation. Subjugation has an upper and a lower aspect: For example, Yin subjugates Si; Si is the upper subjugation, Yin is the lower; similarly for other cases. The military book says: When wind comes from above the subjugation (criminal), the seated must hasten to rise, and the traveler must hasten to stop—this is such a principle. The Three Subjugations: For instance, Yin subjugates Si, Si subjugates Shen; if on a Yin day at the Shen hour wind rises above or omens appear from Si's directions, it is called the Three Subjugations. Other cases follow the same pattern. Additionally, there is subjugation based on vital energy, contrasted with virtue; these have been explained earlier and are not described anew.
The essence of punishment is a mechanism of subjugation rooted in the Five Elements, originating from the constraints of the natural order and used to maintain balance. It is not malicious harm, but a correction of iniquity or imbalance, embodying the governance wisdom of "using punishment to stop punishment." The ancients connected punishment with the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and humanity and the Stem-Branch system, creating a complete symbolic framework.
In a modern context, punishment can be understood as rules, constraints, internal conflicts, or external challenges. For example:
The mutual subjugation of the Five Elements can be mapped onto modern systems theory: Elements mutually constrain each other (e.g., 🔥fire vs. 🌊water) to maintain dynamic balance. The subjugation rules of Stems and Branches resemble data algorithms for pattern analysis (such as divination or risk assessment).
Subjugation is deeply embedded philosophy through compensation and balance: Without subjugation law would lack order; with excess it becomes violence. It reflects the law of cause and effect in the universe—every action has a reaction. Modern minds can learn: Challenge (subjugation) is a catalyst for growth, not a pure obstacle; true harmony incorporates measured tension.
Linguacy: Our thorough review tracks early documented expression about how brain adapts subject to behavioral recalibration through compensating behavior methods associated with subjugation (or, modern analogy to ‘cognitive dissonance’ theories — promoting transformation-oriented processes regarding psychological actions using correction response models).
