Yin-yang and five elements are originally two sets of theories. Yin and Yang first appeared in Zhouyi. Although there is no direct reference to the thought of Yin and Yang, the divination of one yin and one yang is the embodiment of this thought.
The five elements first appeared in Hong Fan, saying that they were given to Xia Yu by God. It was Zou Yan of Qi State who carried forward the Five Elements Theory, and he founded the "Five Virtues Always Said". The son of heaven wants to occupy a virtue in the five elements and adopt a whole set of systems belonging to the virtue, so that God will show the symbol. This represents the son of heaven's mandate and the legitimacy of the monarchy. For example, the Yellow Emperor is an earth virtue, still yellow, wearing yellow clothes, and the symbol should be Huanglong. Tude declined, and later generations were Muxia, Jinshang and Huozhou respectively. The State of Qin was Shuide, and it was still black, so it was said that it was the black dragon captured by Qin Wengong five hundred years ago.
In the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang accepted the system of the Qin Dynasty with a bunch of uneducated brothers, and even Germany took over, still being a water virtue. Later, when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty exclusively respected Confucianism, he re-established the official ideology and reformed it, changing the virtue of the Han Empire into the virtue of the earth. When I arrived at Wang Mang, I reorganized my ideology. The five elements were changed into mutual restraint, and the virtue of the Han Empire was changed into fire virtue. After Han, this virtue was a bit chaotic.
so what is virtue? Some Japanese scholars say that "virtue" is a spiritual force endowed by heaven, which makes the listener open his mind. According to Tao Te Ching, "virtue" is the embodiment of "Tao", which is understandable, but not easy to explain. However, the term psychic force is simple, rude and easy to understand.
So according to this set of theories, what "virtue" should it be now? There is a saying that the fire is bright, the water is clear, the local people, the wood is strong, and finally the fire is wood. We are now the fire virtue. Celebration!
It's the Mid-Autumn Festival, so let's have a prosperous holiday!