In the ancient China, before even the word "China" was formed, the people already started their investigation on "Chinese science" to find out more and more patterns of nature. Astronomy is one big field that the Chinese dig into. This logo below, is the Tai Chi Logo which we already explained here, talking about the meaning and what it is all about.

But then, it is not enough. The Chinese need more knowledge to explain about nature and how the pattern works. Therefore, they observed the planets and stars at night, which allow them to found the 5 major planet that orbits around the sun as well and they also found the big dipper and of course the 28 constellations. Wait, are we talking about 5 elements here? Yes, we are not going off track, I am going to bring you back in time to find out the five elements together with me here! Tag along!

The 28 Constellations

The above diagram is the Chinese version of the 28-constellations. In Chinese we call it Yi Sup Baat Suk 二十八宿 which means 28-constellations. What are these constellations? They are groups of stars that are around the ring that planet earth orbits on surrounding the sun. The ancient Chinese recorded these constellations and named them by their "shape" which looks like a dragon, a phoenix, a tiger and a turtle. That is an abstract way to describe it, but of course these aren't just for shows, they are named that way due to a deep long formula as well.

This basic knowledge of the constellation gave birth to the 5 elements. During this ancient period, people found that there is a pattern with these constellations and the 5 major planet of Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mars and Mercury. In Chinese, these 5 planets are called:

金星 Gum Sing / Gold Star - Venus

木星 Mook Sing / Wood Star - Jupiter

水星 Sui Sing / Water Star - Mercury

火星 Foh Sing / Fire Star - Mars

土星 Toe Sing / Earth Star - Saturn

Do you see why there is the five elements? Gold, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth? Now let's take a look at this amazing diagram below which is called the "Hoh Toe" 河圖, meaning the river-diagram. This diagram shows us the theory with the 5 planets.. let me explain! According to the directions given with the bottom being "north". left is the "east", top is the "south" and right is "west". Now let's take a look.

The ancient Chinese discovered when does the 5 major planets appear. Here is what they found out, according to the lunar calendar: during the month of November and June (11 and 6) the water-star (水星) which is Mercury will appear in the north around sunset. (see 1 and 6 at the bottom?)

During the month of lunar March and August (3 and 8) the wood-star (木星) which is Jupiter, will appear in the east during the early evening. (see the 3 and 8 on the left?)

During the month of lunar February and July, (2 and 7) the fire-star (火星) which is Mars, will appear in the south during the early evening. (see the 2 and 7 on the top row?)

During the month of lunar May and October, (5 and 10) the earth-star (土星) which is Saturn, will appear in the middle of the sky during the early evening. (see the 2 rows of 5 in black that connects to 10 and the cross of 5 in the center?)

During the month of lunar April and September, (4 and 9), the gold-star (金星) which is Venus, will appear in the west during the early evening. (see the 4 and 9 on the right side?)

Now as you can see where the 5 elements comes from! Who started it all? 伏義 Fuk Hey! He is a wise man in the early ancient China who was well known for the best leader or king. He is one of the 3 major King in the pre-China era which is way back in time when China was not even in it's first dynasty yet. This wise man invented a lot of things which brought the whole ancient China to another realm. He is also the founder of bagwa, yin yang, and many other cool inventions! During a day when Fuk Hey was thinking and doing his brain works, he saw a very special creature which he called it the "Dragon Horse" appeared in the yellow river and he just saw a very cool pattern on the horse's back! He quickly recorded it down and somehow this diagram is just 99% like the one above that described the 5 major planets and their relationships with the month! From then on, he finalized the diagram and called it the "River Diagram" Hoh-Toe 河圖.

The cycle of the Hoh-Toe 河圖 and 5 elements relate to the seasons and months as well. This is going to be very fun but let's take a break and come back for another lesson later!

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