Wuxing – the connections between the Five Dragon Kings (Ref) and the Five Elements philosophy
To better understand the origins of the Five Dragon Kings and the ancient Chinese legend, it is worth mentioning the wuxing of natural philosophy, which states that all things are composed of five elements: fire, water, wood, metal and earth.
The underlying idea is that the five elements 'influence each other, and that through their birth and death, heaven and earth change and circulate'.
The five elements are described as followed:
Wood/Spring: a period of growth, which generates abundant vitality, movement and wind.
Fire/Summer: a period of swelling, flowering, expanding with heat.
Earth is associated with ripening of grains in the yellow fields of late summer.
Metal/Autumn: a period of harvesting, collecting and dryness.
Water/Winter: a period of retreat, stillness, contracting and coolness.
The wuxing system, in use since the Han dynasty (2nd century BCE), appears in many seemingly disparate fields of early Chinese thought, including music, feng shui, alchemy, astrology, martial arts, military strategy, I Ching divination, and traditional medicine, serving as a metaphysics based on cosmic analogy.
The wuxing originally referred to the five major planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Mars and Venus), which were thought of as the five forces that create life on earth. Wu Xing litterally means moving star and describes the five types of Qi (all the vital substances) cycles through various stages of transformation. As yin and yang continuously adjust to one another and transform into one another in a never-ending dance of harmony, they tend to do so in a predictable pattern.
The lists of correlations for the five elements are diverse, but there are two cycles explaining the major interaction. The yin-yang interaction, which by increasing or decreasing the qualities and functions associated with a particular phase, it may either nourish a phase that is in deficiency or drain a phase that is in excess or restrain a phase that is exerting too much influence (see below):
The Creation Cycle (Yang)
Wood feeds Fire
Fire creates Earth (ash)
Earth bears Metal
Metal collects Water
Water nourishes Wood
The Destruction Cycle (Yin)
Wood parts Earth
Earth dams (or absorbs) Water
Water extinguishes Fire
Fire melts Metal
Metal chops Wood
The Huainanzi (2nd BCE) describes the five colored dragons (azure/green, red, white, black, yellow) and their associations (Chapter 4: Terrestrial Forms), as well as the placement of sacred beasts in the five directions (the Four Symbols beasts, dragon, tiger, bird, tortoise in the four cardinal directions and the yellow dragon.
みなさん!「CHEN JAPAN TOUR 2023 - Polaris -」まであと少し!
会場でお会いしましょう♪"
Translation: "Hey, EXO-L-JAPAN, 'CHEN JAPAN TOUR 2023 - Polaris -' will be starting very soon! In his goal to give his best performance for EXO-L-JAPAN, Chen has begun his rehearsals and he is just as excited as you all are!
Chen decided to get a short haircut before this performance. It's been a while since he last saw the Japanese staff. On the first day of rehearsal he greeted the staff with his iconic bright smile and said, 'Japan is pre~tty hot too!' Despite the initial shock at Japan's hot weather, Chen was as energetic as ever in the studio.^^
When he met the band face to face for the first time he greeted them with, 'Nice to meet you! I'm Chen!'^^
Before the rehearsal, the band sent Chen some sample tracks to listen to. He listened to the music a lot and when he met the band, he told them, 'Wow, you guys are amazing! Thank you so much! I look forward to working together!'^^
Adding his own flare, he worked with the band to make some adjustments to the music. He spoke Japanese with the band saying things like, 'Nice!' and 'Let's start again from the chorus'! They worked diligently on each song, one by one.♪
Chen checked out some of the samples of the tour merchandise at the rehearsal. When he saw the T-shirt he smiled and said, 'It has my handwriting on it! And the fabric is nice and strong!'. He then proceeded to put the shirt on!^^
We also have some behind-the-scenes photos from the rehearsal to show EXO-L-JAPAN!
Everyone! 'CHEN JAPAN TOUR 2023 - Polaris -' is right around the corner!
Let's meet at the venue!♪"
Photo link: 1, 2
Credit: translation, dailyexo.tumblr.com, Source: Official EXO-L Japan.
About a dozen or so species of hazel species are found in the marshy regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The hazel leaves are rounded with jagged edges, velvety soft to the touch, and turn yellow or pink in the fall. The hard nuts of the hazelnut ripen from mid-August to October. Wrapped in ragged leaves, it is said that it takes 9 years for a hazelnut to bear a full crop. The number nine is the sacred number of the muses who are in charge of our intellectual activities. This is one of the reasons why, since ancient times, the hazel has been associated with inspiration in the arts and learning.
The ancient Celts regarded the hazel as a tree of knowledge. All knowledge was intertwined within the husk of the hazel nut. This is where the idiom "in a nutshell" comes from. The hazel is the tree of white magic and healing, the poet's tree. Its sacred berries were the food of the gods as well as a source of inspiration and immortality. For the ancient Celts, there was no better expression than poetry, neither in art nor in magic.
An ancient Irish code, handed down to posterity as the 'Sacred Triad', stipulates that anyone who intentionally cuts down a hazel tree is guilty of death. No other tree has been given such high status, except the apple.
The hazel is said to be a talisman of good health and protection against all kinds of disasters. In Ireland, on Beltine and Solstice, a cow is led in front of two huge torches, with its back covered in hair roasted with a flaming hazel wand, as a curse against magic and bad luck. Sometimes hazel twigs were also tied to horses' manes to protect them from fairy magic.
The planet that rules the hazel is Mercury. The hazel is inseparable from water, but the ruling element is air. It is said that the hazel is surrounded by the magical power of mercury, which enhances mood and brings inspiration.
古代ケルト人はハシバミを知識の木と見なしていた。すべての知識はハシバミの実の殻の中で縒り合わされていた。「一言でいえば (in a nutshell)」という慣用句はここから来ている。ハシバミは白魔術と癒しの木であり、詩人の木である。その神聖な実は神々の食物であり、インスピレーションと不死の源でもあった。古代ケルト人にとって、芸術においても魔術においても、詩に勝る表現はなかった。