Glossary

The Five Virtues derive from Confucian ethics, while the Five Poisons relate to harmful emotions in Buddhism. The two come together in the teachings of Wang Fengyi, a 19^th century peasant philosopher who related them to the Five Phases and Organs of Daoism, thus uniting all three main philosophical schools.

Wang taught that physical illness stemmed from emotional poisons (anger, hatred, blame, judgement, disdain), that could fester inside and damage their respective organs. To heal from this disease, one had to transform the Poison into its Virtue through cultivation of its Positive Quality. This was acheived by engaging in a meditative introspection practice called Wen Xing (問性, to interrogate one's nature), whereby practitioners deeply contemplate or chant the Powers associated with the corrupted Phase in order to transform the Source of that Phase from a toxic trait into a virtue through the practice of its Positive Quality.

If this is not possible, because the affected phase was so deeply corrupted that there was no room for virtue, Wang also taught that you could use the Five Phase Generative cycle to engender the necessary Positive Quality. For example, if blame (Earth Poison) was a persistent issue, and the element is too corrupt to form commitment (Earth's Power) to transform Earth's Source into trust (Earth's Positive Quality) directly, then one could use respect/reverence (Fire's Power) to cultivate a connection to the sacred (Fire's Positive Quality) which would then provide the inner strength and grounded stability to engender the Earth Power of commitment through the Sheng Cycle and enable the transformation of blame (Earth's Poison) into integrity (Earth's Virtue) through the practice of trust and reliability (Earth's Power).

As well as the Five Virtues and Five Poisons, he also related other systems to the Five Phases. These include the Five Sources that are the spring from which both virtues and poisons develop, and the Five Taboos which are actions that the Five Poisons inspire and then reinforce the Poison in a positive feedback loop. While these may seem arbitrary at first glance, this is often because it is difficult to find simple translations of complex Chinese characters in English. When analysed it becomes apparent that they all derive from the movement of the Five Phases according to whether that direction develops into a virtue or a poison. In all cases, the Source of the Phase contains the raw principle, which can then be transformed by its Power into a Positive Quality that is the manifestation of the Virtue. If this does not happen, then it can corrupt into the Poison, which can then lead to its Taboo. To give some examples:

• The essential nature of Wood is to grow and expand. If one is able to practice its Power, tolerance (Rong 容), then this expansive quality can plan and strategise (Zhuyi 主意) to influence the outside world for the better, becoming the Virtue of compassion and benevolence (Ren 仁). If it does not, then its expansive nature will become aggression towards others, manifesting in the Poison of anger (Nu 怒) and in extreme cases, even the Taboo of murder (Shasheng 殺生), which is the ultimate expression of forcing ourselves onto another.


• The essential nature of Fire is to rise upwards and connect us to what is above. If one is able to practice its Power, respect and reverence (Jing 敬), then this rising quality becomes a sincere understanding of the our connection to the sacred (Mingli 明禮), itself containing the Virtue of propriety (Li 禮). If it does not, then one loses the ability to connect, manifesting in the Poison of hate (Hen 恨) and the Taboo of sexual immorality (Xieyin 邪淫), which are examples of complete disconnection, even from those we are intimate with.


• The essential nature of Earth is stability at the centre. If one is able to practice its Power, commitment and steadfastness (Zhi 執), then this fixed quality becomes a sense of faith, trust and reliability (Xinshi 信實) and the Virtue of integrity (Xin 信). If one lacks an inner stability, then they will develop the Poison of resentment and blame (Yuan 怨), and practice the Taboo of lying (Wangbu 妄语) to alleviate their guilt and insecurity.


• The essential nature of Metal is to contract and draw towards us. If one is able to practice its Power, discernment (Bie 別), then one can draw others towards us for good, developing status and reputation (Xiangliang 響亮) through the Virtue of being just, fair and dutiful (Yi 義). If it does not, then this attracting property will become the Poison of judgement and irritation with others encroaching on us (Nao 惱), and the Taboo of stealing (Toudao 偷盗), the act of grabbing and taking others' things for ourselves.


• The essential nature of Water is to flow downwards and be humble. If one is able to practice its Power, to descend in order to oversee or nurture that which is below (Lin 臨), then one can develop a gentle, soft and harmonious quality (Rouhe 柔和), to become the Virtue of wisdom and understanding (Zhi 智). If it does not, then this downwards moving energy will become the Poison of disdain (Fan 薠, looking down on others), and may develop into the Taboo of drinking (Yinjiu 饮酒), which, besides being a liquid itself, makes us flow downwards and into the gutter and lose any wisdom, understanding and awareness we had.

Additionally, the Five Relationships and Five Social Roles are also overlayed onto this system and can be used to make a kind of Systemic Family Therapy or Internal Family Systems approach.

References

Fruehauf. H. (2006). All Disease Comes From the Heart: The Pivotal Role of the Emotions in Classical Chinese Medicine. Classicalchinesemedicine.org.

Liu, YS. (2014). Let the Radiant Yang Shine Forth: Lectures on Virtue. Trans. S. Wilms & ZZ. Liu. Happy Goat Productions

Wang, FY. (2017). Twelve Characters: A Transmission of Wang Fengyi's Teachings. Trans. S. Wilms. Happy Goat Productions.