Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy (Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 中国哲学; Traditional Chinese characters, traditional Chinese: 中國哲學) refers to the philosophical traditions that originated and developed within the historical ...

, fire () is one of the five concepts that conform the ''wuxing''. Fire is the great yang symbol of Yinyang character. Its motion is expanded and its energy is fermenting, ripening and convective. Fire is associated with

Summer Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

, the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

in the northern hemisphere and North in the Southern hemisphere and the planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

, the color red (associated with extreme luck), hot weather, daylight, and the

Vermilion Bird The Vermilion Bird ( zh, c=朱雀, p=Zhūquè) is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. According to Wuxing (Chinese philosophy), Wu Xing, the Taoism, Taoist five elemental system, it represents the Fire (Wu Xing), Fire element, ...

(Zhu Que) in the Four Symbols. There is debate based on the logic of fire, summer and the south as to whether

feng shui Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...

should be changed for the southern hemisphere.

Attributes

Traditional Chinese Medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

, ''Fire'' is associated with the Heart, the Emperor or Sovereignty, and therefore Virtue. Its attributes are considered to be dynamism, spontaneity, and enlightening; however, it is also connected to restlessness when out of balance and is burning out of control. The fire element provides warmth, connection, enthusiasm, and creativity; however when in excess or deficiency it can bring cold emotional responses or hot tempered behaviour including hatred, impatience, and impulsive behaviour. In the same way, fire provides heat and warmth; however, an excess can also burn too bright leading to dehydration, listlessness, and exhaustion. Fire is the prosper of the matter, or the matter's prosperity stage. The organs associated with the Fire element are the Triple Heater,

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

and by extension the cardiovascular system ( yin), small intestine ( yang), tongue and a body's pulse. It is associated with the Spirit of the Shen (神).

Astrology

The element plays an important role in

Chinese astrology Chinese astrology is based on traditional Chinese astronomy and the Chinese calendar. Chinese astrology flourished during the Han dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD). Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy (theor ...

and

. Fire is included in the 10 heavenly stems (the five elements in their

yin and yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...

forms), which combine with the 12

Earthly Branches The Earthly Branches (also called the Terrestrial Branches or the 12-cycle) are a system of twelve ordered symbols used throughout East Asia. They are indigenous to China, and are themselves Chinese characters, corresponding to words with no co ...

(or Chinese signs of the

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

), to form the 60 year cycle. Yang Fire years end in 6 (e.g. 1976). (Yang years end in an even number.) Yin Fire years end in 7 (e.g. 1977). (Yin years end in an odd number.) Fire governs the

Chinese zodiac The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year (or duodenary) cycle. The zodiac is very important in traditional ...

signs

Snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

and

Horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

.findyourfate.com
/ref> Flying Star Feng Shui uses number 9 to represent Fire. The current 20-year cycle from 2024-2044 (Period 9) is governed by star 9 fire. The South corner releases energy of Fire as

I Ching The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...

and

Feng Shui Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...

states. It is generally referred as energy of destroying and rebuilding. Fire/red traditionally symbolizes happiness, relating to a lucky love life, which is why Chinese brides traditionally wear red.

Cycles of Wu Xing

In the regenerative cycle of Wu Xing,

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

engenders Fire as "fire is generated by rubbing together two pieces of wood" and it must be fueled by burning wood; Fire begets

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

as "fire reduces everything to ashes, which become a part of the earth again". In the restraining or in excess also called the conquest cycle, the Wisdom of

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

helps to cool the Heart fire so as to not burn out by overreacting in daily life as "nothing will rationalize desire as water's wisdom."; ''Fire'' regulates metal's tendency to be cut off and aloof from people and life, when fire is in excess it overcomes metal's ability to have form and structure by affecting its self-righteousness. Thus, metal's ability to stay straight and true becomes compromised.

References

{{Wu Xing Wuxing (Chinese philosophy) it:Fuoco (elemento)#Tradizione cinese