{"id":7906,"date":"2026-08-09T08:50:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T08:50:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/?p=7906"},"modified":"2026-08-09T09:00:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T09:00:06","slug":"wuxing-cinq-elements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/wuxing\/","title":{"rendered":"Wuxing (Cinq \u00c9l\u00e9ments) : signification, cycles et philosophie chinoise"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"7906\" class=\"elementor elementor-7906\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-62b7077 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"62b7077\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ee9581e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"ee9581e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-506849b elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-title elementor-page-title elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"506849b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Wuxing (Five Elements): Meaning, Cycles &#038; Chinese Philosophy<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-03c30d7 elementor-hidden-desktop elementor-hidden-tablet elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"03c30d7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Wuxing-Five-Elements-meaning-cycles-and-Chinese-philosophy-with-Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-and-Water-diagram-1024x768.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-44082\" alt=\"Wuxing Five Elements meaning cycles and Chinese philosophy with Wood Fire Earth Metal and Water diagram\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Wuxing-Five-Elements-meaning-cycles-and-Chinese-philosophy-with-Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-and-Water-diagram-1024x768.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Wuxing-Five-Elements-meaning-cycles-and-Chinese-philosophy-with-Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-and-Water-diagram-500x375.webp 500w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Wuxing-Five-Elements-meaning-cycles-and-Chinese-philosophy-with-Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-and-Water-diagram-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Wuxing-Five-Elements-meaning-cycles-and-Chinese-philosophy-with-Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-and-Water-diagram-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Wuxing-Five-Elements-meaning-cycles-and-Chinese-philosophy-with-Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-and-Water-diagram-16x12.webp 16w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Wuxing-Five-Elements-meaning-cycles-and-Chinese-philosophy-with-Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-and-Water-diagram-150x113.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Wuxing-Five-Elements-meaning-cycles-and-Chinese-philosophy-with-Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-and-Water-diagram.webp 1448w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5884da1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-template\" data-id=\"5884da1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"template.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-template\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"container\" data-elementor-id=\"20398\" class=\"elementor elementor-20398\" data-elementor-post-type=\"elementor_library\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-84386e4 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"84386e4\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5bd1b06 elementor-align-left elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-info\" data-id=\"5bd1b06\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-info.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-inline-items elementor-icon-list-items elementor-post-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-cf7a261 elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"author\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/author\/the-china-journey\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"elementor-avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cropped-my-back-photo-1-e1740898990369-96x96.webp\" alt=\"Image de Anthony\" loading=\"lazy\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-author\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-post-info__item-prefix\">Written by <\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAnthony\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-daac7f3 elementor-inline-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-custom\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLast update ao\u00fbt 9, 2026\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0ea6faa elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"0ea6faa\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>\n  .breadcrumbs {\n    font-size: 16px;\n    font-weight: 500;\n    text-align: left;\n    color: black;\n    overflow-x: auto;\n    white-space: nowrap;\n  }\n\n  .breadcrumbs a {\n    color: black;\n    text-decoration: none;\n  }\n\n  .breadcrumbs span {\n    margin: 0 10px;\n  }\n<\/style>\n\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/\">The China Journey<\/a>\n  <span>-<\/span>\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/culture\/\">China Culture<\/a>\n  <span>-<\/span>\n  \n  \n  <span id=\"current-page\"><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n<script>\n  document.getElementById('current-page').textContent = document.title;\n<\/script>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-74c0c84 elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-excerpt\" data-id=\"74c0c84\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-excerpt.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\tUnderstand Wuxing (Five Elements), including Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water, its generating and controlling cycles, history, meanings and birth elements.\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d44ca55 e-con-full elementor-hidden-mobile e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d44ca55\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a8e6da1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"a8e6da1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Wuxing-Five-Elements-meaning-cycles-and-Chinese-philosophy-with-Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-and-Water-diagram-1024x768.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-44082\" alt=\"Wuxing Five Elements meaning cycles and Chinese philosophy with Wood Fire Earth Metal and Water diagram\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Wuxing-Five-Elements-meaning-cycles-and-Chinese-philosophy-with-Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-and-Water-diagram-1024x768.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Wuxing-Five-Elements-meaning-cycles-and-Chinese-philosophy-with-Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-and-Water-diagram-500x375.webp 500w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Wuxing-Five-Elements-meaning-cycles-and-Chinese-philosophy-with-Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-and-Water-diagram-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Wuxing-Five-Elements-meaning-cycles-and-Chinese-philosophy-with-Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-and-Water-diagram-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Wuxing-Five-Elements-meaning-cycles-and-Chinese-philosophy-with-Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-and-Water-diagram-16x12.webp 16w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Wuxing-Five-Elements-meaning-cycles-and-Chinese-philosophy-with-Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-and-Water-diagram-150x113.webp 150w, 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data-settings=\"{&quot;headings_by_tags&quot;:[&quot;h2&quot;],&quot;exclude_headings_by_selector&quot;:[],&quot;marker_view&quot;:&quot;bullets&quot;,&quot;collapse_subitems&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;no_headings_message&quot;:&quot;No headings were found on this page.&quot;,&quot;icon&quot;:{&quot;value&quot;:&quot;fas fa-circle&quot;,&quot;library&quot;:&quot;fa-solid&quot;,&quot;rendered_tag&quot;:&quot;&lt;svg class=\\&quot;e-font-icon-svg e-fas-circle\\&quot; viewBox=\\&quot;0 0 512 512\\&quot; xmlns=\\&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.w3.org\\\/2000\\\/svg\\&quot;&gt;&lt;path d=\\&quot;M256 8C119 8 8 119 8 256s111 248 248 248 248-111 248-248S393 8 256 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381.516c-9.379 9.335-24.544 9.317-33.901-.04l-22.667-22.667c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941L207.03 130.525c9.372-9.373 24.568-9.373 33.941-.001z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-toc__3918b87\" class=\"elementor-toc__body elementor-toc__list-items--collapsible\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__spinner-container\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"elementor-toc__spinner eicon-animation-spin e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-loading\" aria-hidden=\"true\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M500 975V858C696 858 858 696 858 500S696 142 500 142 142 304 142 500H25C25 237 238 25 500 25S975 237 975 500 763 975 500 975Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5b50ff3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5b50ff3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Quick Answer: What Is Wuxing?<\/h2><p class=\"p1\">Wuxing is a five-part system for describing how phenomena emerge, develop, stabilize, contract and return to a latent state. Its five categories are Wood (\u6728), Fire (\u706b), Earth (\u571f), Metal (\u91d1) and Water (\u6c34). Wood suggests growth and extension; Fire, heat and outward activity; Earth, support and transformation; Metal, consolidation and form; Water, descent, storage and flow.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">The categories operate through two principal relationships. The Generating Cycle (\u76f8\u751f) moves Wood \u2192 Fire \u2192 Earth \u2192 Metal \u2192 Water \u2192 Wood, representing support or continuity. The Controlling Cycle (\u76f8\u514b) moves Wood \u2192 Earth \u2192 Water \u2192 Fire \u2192 Metal \u2192 Wood, representing limits that keep one tendency from dominating. This emphasis on interaction is why academic discussions often translate wuxing as the \u201cFive Phases\u201d or \u201cFive Processes,\u201d although \u201cFive Elements\u201d remains the familiar English name.<sup>[2]<\/sup><\/p><ul><li><strong>Think in relationships:<\/strong> an element has meaning through what it supports, restrains and becomes.<\/li><li><strong>Do not equate generation with good or control with bad:<\/strong> both are necessary to the model.<\/li><li><strong>Do not reduce a person to one element:<\/strong> birth-year labels represent only one layer of a much larger calendrical system.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-daa757b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"daa757b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"p1\">Wuxing (\u4e94\u884c, W\u01d4x\u00edng) is a Chinese model of change built around Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Developed through early Chinese thought and systematized over centuries, it was used to organize recurring patterns in seasons, directions, calendars, government, medicine and ritual. The five names are therefore better understood as modes of activity than as five pieces of physical matter.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">Two interacting cycles give the model its structure: generation describes support and succession, while control describes restraint and regulation. Neither cycle is inherently lucky or unlucky. Wuxing is a traditional cultural framework, not a modern scientific theory, a medical diagnosis or a complete reading of a person&#8217;s character and future.<\/p><h2>What Does Wuxing Literally Mean?<\/h2><h3>Five Elements or Five Phases?<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">Wu (\u4e94) means \u201cfive.\u201d Xing (\u884c) can carry senses such as movement, conduct, operation or a course through which something proceeds. In cosmological contexts, the word points readers toward change: each category describes characteristic ways in which things act, relate and transform. \u201cFive Elements\u201d is still useful because it is the established popular translation and the phrase most readers search for. \u201cFive Phases\u201d is common in scholarship because it better resists the idea of five static substances.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">Neither English expression captures every historical use. Early texts sometimes discuss water, fire, wood, metal and earth through their concrete properties; later correlative systems use them as dynamic classifiers. On this page, Five Elements is the reader-friendly term, while Five Phases highlights the relational meaning.<\/p><h3>Why Wuxing Is Not the Same as the Greek Elements<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">Wuxing is often compared with ancient Greek theories of earth, water, air and fire, but the resemblance is limited. Greek elemental theories commonly addressed the constituents from which material things were made. Chinese Five-Phase thought increasingly focused on patterns of activity, correlation and transformation. Air is not \u201cmissing\u201d from Wuxing because the two systems were asking different questions.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">Qi (\u6c14) should not simply be inserted as a sixth element. Depending on context, qi can suggest breath, vital material force or the dynamic stuff through which change occurs; it has no exact one-word English equivalent and is not identical to modern scientific energy. Greek elemental theory and Wuxing are independent classical models, not rival versions of the same periodic table.<\/p><h2>Where Did the Five Elements Come From?<\/h2><h3>The Five Processes in the Hong Fan<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">One of the earliest influential textual formulations appears in the \u201cHong Fan\u201d (\u6d2a\u8303, \u201cGreat Plan\u201d) chapter of the Shang Shu, or Book of Documents. It lists the sequence as Water, Fire, Wood, Metal and Earth. This is not the later Generating Cycle. The passage characterizes the five by recognizable modes of action: Water soaks and descends; Fire blazes and rises; Wood bends and straightens; Metal yields and changes; Earth supports sowing and harvesting.<sup>[1]<\/sup><\/p><p class=\"p1\">These compact phrases became durable interpretive anchors. \u201cBending and straightening,\u201d for example, connects Wood with both growth and flexibility, while \u201csowing and harvesting\u201d frames Earth through productive support rather than inert soil. The passage is important evidence for early classification, but readers should not assume that every later correspondence table already existed in this form.<\/p><h3>From Early Classification to Han Correlative Cosmology<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">Wuxing was not invented in one moment by one philosopher. Its history joins observations of natural processes, political theories of succession and increasingly elaborate systems of correspondence. The Warring States thinker Zou Yan is traditionally associated with a theory in which dynasties succeeded one another under different \u201cvirtues\u201d or phases. His own writings do not survive, so later reports must be handled with care.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">During the Han dynasty, texts and thinkers brought Wuxing into closer relation with yin and yang, qi, seasons, directions, planets, government, ritual and the body. The Chunqiu Fanlu, traditionally associated with Dong Zhongshu but generally treated as a composite text, is a prominent example of this correlative cosmology. The Han period favored synthesis: inherited categories were coordinated across natural, ethical and political domains rather than kept in isolated schools.<sup>[3]<\/sup> That gradual development explains why later traditions share a recognizable fivefold structure yet differ in some detailed mappings.<\/p><h2>The Five Elements and What They Represent<\/h2><p class=\"p1\">The following meanings begin with classical qualities and then show their most common later correlations. They are symbolic classifiers, not personality diagnoses. Colors, seasons and branches can also vary by school or application.<\/p><div style=\"overflow-x: auto; max-width: 100%;\"><table><thead><tr><th>Element<\/th><th>Chinese and Pinyin<\/th><th>Classical Quality<\/th><th>Movement<\/th><th>Season<\/th><th>Direction<\/th><th>Main Color<\/th><th>Heavenly Stems<\/th><th>Primary Earthly Branches<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Wood<\/td><td>\u6728, M\u00f9<\/td><td>Bending and straightening<\/td><td>Growth, extension, rising<\/td><td>Spring<\/td><td>East<\/td><td>Green or blue-green<\/td><td>Jia \u7532, Yi \u4e59<\/td><td>Yin \u5bc5, Mao \u536f<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Fire<\/td><td>\u706b, Hu\u01d2<\/td><td>Blazing upward<\/td><td>Heat, ascent, expansion<\/td><td>Summer<\/td><td>South<\/td><td>Red<\/td><td>Bing \u4e19, Ding \u4e01<\/td><td>Si \u5df3, Wu \u5348<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Earth<\/td><td>\u571f, T\u01d4<\/td><td>Sowing and harvesting<\/td><td>Support, mediation, transformation<\/td><td>Late summer or seasonal transitions<\/td><td>Center<\/td><td>Yellow or ocher<\/td><td>Wu \u620a, Ji \u5df1<\/td><td>Chen \u8fb0, Xu \u620c, Chou \u4e11, Wei \u672a<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Metal<\/td><td>\u91d1, J\u012bn<\/td><td>Yielding and changing<\/td><td>Contraction, shaping, consolidation<\/td><td>Autumn<\/td><td>West<\/td><td>White<\/td><td>Geng \u5e9a, Xin \u8f9b<\/td><td>Shen \u7533, You \u9149<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Water<\/td><td>\u6c34, Shu\u01d0<\/td><td>Soaking and descending<\/td><td>Descent, storage, flow<\/td><td>Winter<\/td><td>North<\/td><td>Black or dark blue<\/td><td>Ren \u58ec, Gui \u7678<\/td><td>Hai \u4ea5, Zi \u5b50<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><h3>Wood (\u6728, M\u00f9)<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">Wood begins with the classical phrase \u201cbending and straightening.\u201d A growing plant extends upward and outward, yet living wood can also flex, branch and adapt. These observations made Wood a useful category for spring, the east, new growth and developing form. Later symbolism may connect it with planning or creativity, but such associations are analogies. They do not mean that everyone born in a Wood year must be outgoing, inventive or flexible.<\/p><h3>Fire (\u706b, Hu\u01d2)<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">Fire \u201cblazes upward\u201d: it gives heat and light while moving visibly outward and above. It therefore corresponds to summer, the south, red and a stage of maximum activity or display. Five-Phase Fire is broader than literal flame; it names a warming, rising and expansive tendency. Its symbolism can include enthusiasm or visibility, but calling every Fire person impulsive or angry turns a relational category into a stereotype.<\/p><h3>Earth (\u571f, T\u01d4)<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">Earth is defined through sowing and harvesting, emphasizing its capacity to receive, nourish and transform. It often occupies the center, mediating the other four directions. Seasonal schemes treat it in more than one way: some associate Earth with late summer, while others place its four branches at transitions between seasons. This variation is not an error; it reflects different attempts to give a five-part model a role within a four-season year. Earth is thus the system&#8217;s carrier and pivot, not merely dirt.<\/p><h3>Metal (\u91d1, J\u012bn)<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">Metal is linked with \u201cyielding and changing,\u201d language that evokes ore refined, cast, cut and shaped. Its later associations include autumn, the west, contraction, order and completed form. Jin must be translated as Metal here, not Gold. It includes metals and the qualities attached to their working; reducing it to gold falsely turns a broad cosmological category into a symbol of wealth.<\/p><h3>Water (\u6c34, Shu\u01d0)<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">Water soaks, descends, flows and gathers in low places. These movements support its associations with winter, the north, storage and latent potential. Water can adapt to a vessel and travel around obstacles, making flexibility a natural later metaphor. Yet that does not prove a Water-year personality is inevitably sensitive, secretive or wise. The traditional category describes a mode of movement before it describes a human trait.<\/p><h2>How the Five Elements Interact<\/h2><h3>The Generating Cycle (\u76f8\u751f)<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">The Generating Cycle, xiangsheng (\u76f8\u751f), expresses support, succession or the conditions through which another phase can develop:<\/p><ol><li><strong>Wood generates Fire:<\/strong> wood serves as fuel for flame.<\/li><li><strong>Fire generates Earth:<\/strong> burning material leaves ash that returns to earth.<\/li><li><strong>Earth generates Metal:<\/strong> ores and metals are found within the ground.<\/li><li><strong>Metal generates Water:<\/strong> later explanations invoke moisture collecting on cool metal or water being contained and made available by metal vessels.<\/li><li><strong>Water generates Wood:<\/strong> water nourishes plant growth.<\/li><\/ol><p class=\"p1\">These familiar images teach the order; they are not claims about modern chemistry or universal physical causation. Historical texts and later schools offered more than one rationale, especially for Metal generating Water. The conceptual point is continuity: one phase supplies, enables or gives way to the next.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">Generation is not automatically beneficial. If one tendency already dominates a system, additional support may intensify imbalance; a producing phase may also be depleted by what it continually supplies. Wuxing therefore asks about proportion and relationship, not whether a single arrow is \u201clucky.\u201d<\/p><h3>The Controlling Cycle (\u76f8\u514b)<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">The Controlling Cycle, xiangke (\u76f8\u514b), describes regulation. \u201cControlling\u201d or \u201covercoming\u201d is more accurate than the popular phrase \u201cDestructive Cycle,\u201d because the relationship need not annihilate either side:<\/p><ol><li><strong>Wood controls Earth:<\/strong> roots penetrate and hold soil.<\/li><li><strong>Earth controls Water:<\/strong> banks, channels and dams direct water.<\/li><li><strong>Water controls Fire:<\/strong> water can extinguish flame.<\/li><li><strong>Fire controls Metal:<\/strong> sufficient heat melts or tempers metal.<\/li><li><strong>Metal controls Wood:<\/strong> metal tools cut and shape wood.<\/li><\/ol><p class=\"p1\">Control supplies limits that generation alone cannot provide. A riverbank does not \u201chate\u201d water; it makes a usable channel possible. Within the traditional model, healthy order depends on support and restraint operating together. This is why reading xiangke as certain conflict, illness or misfortune misses its structural function.<\/p><h3>When the Cycles Become Unbalanced<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">Later theoretical and medical discussions distinguish normal control from distorted relationships. Xiangcheng (\u76f8\u4e58), often translated as Overacting, means that a controlling influence becomes excessive and overwhelms what it normally regulates. Xiangwu (\u76f8\u4fae), translated as Counteracting or Insulting, reverses the expected direction: a phase conventionally being controlled pushes back because the relation has become disproportionate.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">Imagine these as diagnostic language inside the traditional model, not literal measurements. They are useful for understanding how later practitioners described imbalance, but they do not let a reader diagnose a disease, calculate a \u201cweak element\u201d from one birth year or prescribe a color, food or object as a remedy.<\/p><h2>The Traditional Wuxing Correspondence Chart<\/h2><p class=\"p1\">As Wuxing developed, its categories became a shared indexing system. The main chart above gives the widely encountered element-by-element mappings; the table here explains how those correspondence layers function without treating them as one timeless master list. It deliberately omits medical self-diagnosis fields.<\/p><div style=\"overflow-x: auto; max-width: 100%;\"><table><thead><tr><th>Correspondence Layer<\/th><th>How the Five-Part Pattern Is Applied<\/th><th>Why Context Matters<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Time<\/td><td>Four phases align readily with spring, summer, autumn and winter; Earth completes the fifth position.<\/td><td>Earth may represent late summer or shorter transitions between seasons, depending on the system.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Space<\/td><td>East, south, west and north correspond to the four seasonal phases, while Earth occupies the center.<\/td><td>Practical feng shui schools may combine these with trigrams, forms and other directional systems.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Calendar<\/td><td>Five phases combine with yin and yang to form the ten stems, which pair with twelve branches.<\/td><td>The stem, branch, Na Yin and full Four Pillars layers are related but not interchangeable.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Visible symbols<\/td><td>Colors provide a compact ritual or visual code for the five categories.<\/td><td>Shade names and the importance assigned to them vary by period and practice.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Five visible planets<\/td><td>Traditional East Asian names associate Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury with Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.<\/td><td>This is a historical naming and correlation system, not a claim that the planets consist of those five materials.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><p class=\"p1\">No single table represents every historical school. Ritual systems, Chinese medicine, calendrical practice and different <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/feng-shui\/\">feng shui traditions<\/a> can assign or emphasize details differently. The chart is a cultural reference, not a universal formula for arranging a room, predicting weather or reading a life.<\/p><h2>How Wuxing Relates to Yin, Yang and Qi<\/h2><p class=\"p1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/yin-and-yang\/\">Yin and Yang<\/a>, qi and Wuxing overlap, but they are not interchangeable. Yin and yang provide a twofold language for paired and changing tendencies such as shaded and sunny, resting and active, descending and rising. Wuxing offers a fivefold language for recurring modes and relationships. Qi is the concept through which many texts discuss the dynamic material or vital processes taking these different configurations.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">Every phase can be differentiated again by yin and yang. The ten Heavenly Stems, for example, pair a yang and yin stem with each of the five phases: Jia and Yi are Yang and Yin Wood; Bing and Ding are Yang and Yin Fire; the pattern continues through Earth, Metal and Water. Han correlative cosmology increasingly coordinated these once-distinct schemes rather than reducing one to another.<sup>[3]<\/sup><\/p><p class=\"p1\">Later diagrams sometimes present a single creation sequence linking the Supreme Ultimate, yin-yang, Wuxing and the Eight Trigrams. Such diagrams can be meaningful within their own textual or religious traditions, but they should not be projected backward as the one original formula accepted by every pre-Qin thinker. Readers interested in the trigram system can continue to the separate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/feng-shui-bagua\/\">Feng Shui Bagua guide<\/a>.<\/p><h2>What Is My Chinese Element?<\/h2><h3>Your Birth-Year Element Comes from the Heavenly Stem<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">In the familiar element-animal label, the animal comes from the year&#8217;s Earthly Branch and the element comes from the year&#8217;s Heavenly Stem. The ten stems pair yin and yang with the five phases, while the twelve branches form the animal cycle. Pairing them in sequence produces the 60-year Gan-Zhi cycle described in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/heavenly-stems-earthly-branches\/\">Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches guide<\/a>.<sup>[4]<\/sup><\/p><div style=\"overflow-x: auto; max-width: 100%;\"><table><thead><tr><th>Element<\/th><th>Yang Stem<\/th><th>Yin Stem<\/th><th>Common Year Label Example<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Wood<\/td><td>Jia \u7532<\/td><td>Yi \u4e59<\/td><td>Wood Rat, Wood Ox and so on<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Fire<\/td><td>Bing \u4e19<\/td><td>Ding \u4e01<\/td><td>Fire Tiger, Fire Rabbit and so on<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Earth<\/td><td>Wu \u620a<\/td><td>Ji \u5df1<\/td><td>Earth Dragon, Earth Snake and so on<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Metal<\/td><td>Geng \u5e9a<\/td><td>Xin \u8f9b<\/td><td>Metal Horse, Metal Goat and so on<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Water<\/td><td>Ren \u58ec<\/td><td>Gui \u7678<\/td><td>Water Monkey, Water Rooster and so on<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><p class=\"p1\">For example, 1990 is Geng-Wu (\u5e9a\u5348): Geng is Yang Metal and Wu is the Horse branch, so it is commonly called a Metal Horse year. The year 2026 is Bing-Wu (\u4e19\u5348): Bing is Yang Fire, so it is a Fire Horse year. The animal repeats every 12 years, but the same element-animal pairing repeats every 60 years.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">A birth-year element is not a person&#8217;s \u201cmaster element,\u201d favorable element or full constitutional profile. It is simply the phase assigned to the year stem. The separate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/five-elements-and-zodiac\/\">Five Elements and Zodiac guide<\/a> explains how the stem layer modifies familiar zodiac-year labels without turning them into fixed personalities.<\/p><h3>The Last-Digit Shortcut and Its Limitation<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">For a quick check, the last digit of a Gregorian year follows a repeating stem-element pattern:<\/p><ul><li><strong>4 or 5:<\/strong> Wood<\/li><li><strong>6 or 7:<\/strong> Fire<\/li><li><strong>8 or 9:<\/strong> Earth<\/li><li><strong>0 or 1:<\/strong> Metal<\/li><li><strong>2 or 3:<\/strong> Water<\/li><\/ul><p class=\"p1\">Within each pair, the first digit corresponds to a yang stem and the second to a yin stem. This shortcut works only after the relevant Chinese year boundary has been identified. Someone born in January or early February may still belong to the preceding Chinese year, so applying the Gregorian digit without checking the date can give both the wrong element and the wrong animal.<\/p><h3>Chinese New Year vs. Start of Spring<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">For popular zodiac use on this site, the year changes at Lunar New Year, the first day of the first lunar month. The Hong Kong Observatory&#8217;s Gregorian-lunar conversion tables make these varying dates checkable rather than assuming January 1.<sup>[4]<\/sup> Use the exact-date <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/what-is-my-chinese-zodiac\/\">Chinese zodiac and element calculator<\/a> if your birthday falls near the boundary.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">Four Pillars (BaZi) practice commonly changes the year pillar at Lichun, the Start of Spring solar term. Lunar New Year and Lichun can fall on different dates, so a person born between them may receive different results from a popular zodiac calculator and a BaZi chart. This page uses the Lunar New Year convention for everyday zodiac labels; it does not perform Four Pillars analysis. For the calendrical context of Lichun, see the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/the-twenty-four-solar-terms\/\">Twenty-Four Solar Terms<\/a>.<\/p><h3>Year Element, Fixed Zodiac Element, Na Yin and BaZi Are Not the Same<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">\u201cMy Chinese element\u201d can refer to four different layers. Much online disagreement comes from answering one layer as though it were another:<\/p><ul><li><strong>Fixed branch element:<\/strong> every Earthly Branch has a primary phase association; Zi (Rat) is associated with Water and Wu (Horse) with Fire, for example.<\/li><li><strong>Year-stem element:<\/strong> the Heavenly Stem supplies labels such as Metal Horse or Fire Horse.<\/li><li><strong>Na Yin element:<\/strong> each stem-branch pair belongs to a separate 60-term symbolic classification. It does not replace the year-stem element. Read the full distinctions in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/nayin-five-elements\/\">Na Yin Five Elements guide<\/a>.<\/li><li><strong>Four Pillars balance:<\/strong> BaZi considers the stems and branches of year, month, day and hour, along with their relationships. A birth year alone cannot determine this pattern.<\/li><\/ul><p class=\"p1\">The same Horse branch can therefore appear in a 1990 Metal Horse year and a 2026 Fire Horse year, while each stem-branch pair also has a different Na Yin name. These are parallel classifications used for different purposes, not conflicting answers that must be collapsed into one element.<\/p><h2>How Wuxing Is Used in Chinese Culture<\/h2><p class=\"p1\">Wuxing became influential because it could coordinate several domains through one relational vocabulary. That does not mean every application is identical or that traditional claims have modern scientific proof.<\/p><div style=\"overflow-x: auto; max-width: 100%;\"><table><thead><tr><th>Field<\/th><th>Traditional Use of Wuxing<\/th><th>Responsible Boundary<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Calendar and seasonal thought<\/td><td>Relates phases to seasons, directions, stems, branches and monthly patterns.<\/td><td>A cultural way of organizing time, not a method for forecasting modern weather.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Gan-Zhi year naming<\/td><td>Combines a stem phase with an animal branch in the 60-year cycle.<\/td><td>A calendrical label, not a complete personality or destiny reading.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Traditional selection of dates<\/td><td>Compares phase relationships when choosing times for activities.<\/td><td>A folk or specialist custom, not objective evidence that an event will succeed.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Traditional Chinese medicine<\/td><td>Uses fivefold correspondences to organize functional relationships within a historical medical system.<\/td><td>Not a basis for self-diagnosis, delaying care, prescribing herbs or treating disease.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Feng shui and Bagua traditions<\/td><td>Coordinates directions, forms, colors and trigram associations in different schools.<\/td><td>No single universal layout formula and no evidence-backed guarantee of changing fortune.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Zodiac and relationship folklore<\/td><td>Adds element language to sign and compatibility interpretations.<\/td><td>Cannot determine whether a marriage, friendship or partnership will work.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Political and ritual history<\/td><td>Connected phases with dynastic succession, colors, institutions and ritual order.<\/td><td>Best read as historical ideology and symbolism, not a law of political change.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><p class=\"p1\">Seasonal correlations also intersect with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/chinese-lunar-calendar\/\">Chinese lunar calendar<\/a>, but the two are not synonyms: the calendar combines lunar months, solar terms and cyclical naming, while Wuxing provides one classificatory layer. Likewise, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/chinese-zodiac\/\">Chinese zodiac<\/a> is a twelve-branch animal cycle; Wuxing adds relations and year-stem distinctions without replacing those twelve signs.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">Traditional Chinese medicine deserves particular care. Five-Phase correspondences are part of its historical theoretical vocabulary, but contemporary evidence and safety vary substantially by practice and product. The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health advises people not to use traditional Chinese medicine to replace or delay conventional care and notes safety concerns with some herbal products.<sup>[5]<\/sup> This article explains cultural concepts only and gives no treatment advice.<\/p><p class=\"p1\">Wuxing is also not exclusively Daoist. Pre-imperial and Han materials place it across court scholarship, ritual, political theory, medicine and cosmology; Daoist traditions later adopted and developed it in their own ways. Its broad cultural reach is precisely why careful readers should ask which period, text and practice a particular correspondence comes from.<\/p><h2>Common Misunderstandings About the Five Elements<\/h2><div style=\"overflow-x: auto; max-width: 100%;\"><table><thead><tr><th>Myth<\/th><th>More Accurate Explanation<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Wuxing names five physical substances that make everything.<\/td><td>The terms grew into dynamic, relational categories, although early texts also draw on concrete material properties.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Jin means Gold, so Metal represents money.<\/td><td>Jin means Metal in this system. Wealth symbolism is a later association, not its defining meaning.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Generation is always lucky and control is always harmful.<\/td><td>Support and restraint both maintain balance; either relationship can become disproportionate.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Everyone has one permanent personal element.<\/td><td>A fixed branch element, year-stem element, Na Yin and Four Pillars balance are different layers.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>If an element is \u201cmissing,\u201d a color, crystal or accessory will fix your life.<\/td><td>Such consumer prescriptions are not established by a birth-year label and should not guide major health or financial decisions.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Wuxing belongs only to Daoism.<\/td><td>Its roots predate organized Daoism, and it developed across philosophical, political, calendrical and medical traditions.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Na Yin is another name for the birth-year stem element.<\/td><td>Na Yin is a separate classification assigned to complete stem-branch pairs.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><p class=\"p1\">A useful rule is to ask what level a claim describes. Is it a classical quality such as \u201cWater descends,\u201d a later correspondence such as Water and winter, a zodiac-year label, or a specialist interpretation? Keeping those levels visible prevents symbolic language from being mistaken for scientific fact or personal certainty.<\/p><h2>Frequently Asked Questions About Wuxing<\/h2><h3>What are the five elements in Chinese philosophy?<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">They are Wood (\u6728), Fire (\u706b), Earth (\u571f), Metal (\u91d1) and Water (\u6c34). Together they form Wuxing, a traditional framework for classifying patterns of movement, relationship and transformation. The categories interact through generating and controlling cycles rather than functioning as five isolated substances.<\/p><h3>Why are they called Five Phases instead of Five Elements?<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">\u201cFive Elements\u201d is the familiar popular translation. \u201cFive Phases\u201d is often preferred in academic discussion because xing suggests movement, operation and changing states. The latter helps distinguish Wuxing from theories of fixed material building blocks, although translation can vary with the historical context.<\/p><h3>Why is there no Air in the Chinese Five Elements?<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">Air is not missing because Wuxing is not the Chinese version of a Greek material-element list. Qi is sometimes loosely translated as breath or vital energy, but it operates across Five-Phase and yin-yang discussions rather than serving as a sixth parallel phase.<\/p><h3>Which Chinese element is the strongest?<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">No phase is universally strongest. Traditional systems describe strength as contextual: season, position and surrounding relationships all matter. Spring may favor Wood symbolism and summer Fire symbolism, but that does not establish an absolute hierarchy or tell a person&#8217;s complete elemental balance.<\/p><h3>How do I find my Chinese birth element?<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">For the common year-element label, identify the correct Chinese year and read its Heavenly Stem. A last-digit shortcut provides a rough result, but January and February birthdays may fall before Lunar New Year. An exact-date calculator is safer near the boundary.<\/p><h3>Is my zodiac element the same as my Na Yin element?<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">No. A zodiac branch has a fixed phase association, a year stem supplies the common element-animal label, and Na Yin assigns another symbolic category to the complete stem-branch pair. They answer different classification questions and should be displayed separately.<\/p><h3>Does a generating relationship always mean compatibility?<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">No. Generation means that one phase supports or supplies another within the model. Excess support can still produce imbalance, and a single phase relation cannot determine a real relationship. Communication, values, circumstances and responsibility matter more than a zodiac element label.<\/p><h3>Is Wuxing a Taoist belief?<\/h3><p class=\"p1\">Not exclusively. Wuxing has pre-imperial roots and was developed across court, philosophical, ritual, calendrical and medical contexts. Daoist traditions later incorporated it, but the framework belongs to a much broader history of Chinese thought and cannot be assigned to one religion alone.<\/p><h2>Final Takeaway<\/h2><p class=\"p1\">Wuxing is best understood as a language of patterned change. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water describe tendencies that generate, regulate and transform one another, not five scientific substances or five fixed personality types. The model offers a powerful window into Chinese philosophy, calendars, ritual, medicine, feng shui and zodiac culture when its historical layers remain clear. Use it to understand a cultural system\u2014not to self-diagnose, buy a supposed elemental cure or let one birth-year label decide a major life choice.<\/p><h2>Sources<\/h2><ol><li><a href=\"https:\/\/ctext.org\/shang-shu\/great-plan\/ens\">Chinese Text Project, \u201cShang Shu: Great Plan\u201d<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/iep.utm.edu\/2012\/03\/\">Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, \u201cWuxing (Wu-hsing)\u201d<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/archives\/spr2026\/entries\/han-dynasty\/\">Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, \u201cPhilosophy in Han Dynasty China\u201d<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hko.gov.hk\/en\/gts\/time\/stemsandbranches.htm\">Hong Kong Observatory, \u201cHeavenly Stems and Earthly Branches\u201d<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hko.gov.hk\/en\/gts\/time\/conversion.htm\">Gregorian-Lunar Calendar Conversion Table<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nccih.nih.gov\/health\/traditional-chinese-medicine-what-you-need-to-know\">National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, \u201cTraditional Chinese Medicine: What You Need To Know\u201d<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f71e571 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"f71e571\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1af943a elementor-widget elementor-widget-template\" data-id=\"1af943a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"template.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-template\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"section\" data-elementor-id=\"5246\" class=\"elementor elementor-5246\" data-elementor-post-type=\"elementor_library\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5cad685 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"5cad685\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-08f8d96 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"08f8d96\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-942b494 elementor-post-navigation-borders-yes elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-navigation\" data-id=\"942b494\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-navigation.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post-navigation\" role=\"navigation\" aria-label=\"Navigation de publication\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post-navigation__prev elementor-post-navigation__link\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/chinese-zodiac-compatibility-guide\/\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"post-navigation__arrow-wrapper post-navigation__arrow-prev\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-angle-left\" viewBox=\"0 0 256 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M31.7 239l136-136c9.4-9.4 24.6-9.4 33.9 0l22.6 22.6c9.4 9.4 9.4 24.6 0 33.9L127.9 256l96.4 96.4c9.4 9.4 9.4 24.6 0 33.9L201.7 409c-9.4 9.4-24.6 9.4-33.9 0l-136-136c-9.5-9.4-9.5-24.6-.1-34z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"elementor-screen-only\">Pr\u00e9c\u00e9dent<\/span><\/span><span class=\"elementor-post-navigation__link__prev\"><span class=\"post-navigation__prev--label\">Previous<\/span><span class=\"post-navigation__prev--title\">Chinese Zodiac Compatibility Chart: All 78 Matches<\/span><\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post-navigation__separator-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div 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class=\"elementor-screen-only\">Suivant<\/span><\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3b0090d elementor-author-box--image-valign-middle elementor-author-box--avatar-yes elementor-author-box--name-yes elementor-author-box--biography-yes elementor-author-box--link-no elementor-widget elementor-widget-author-box\" data-id=\"3b0090d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"author-box.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/author\/the-china-journey\/\" class=\"elementor-author-box__avatar\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cropped-my-back-photo-1-e1740898990369-300x300.webp\" alt=\"Image de Anthony\" loading=\"lazy\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box__text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/author\/the-china-journey\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-author-box__name\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAnthony\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box__bio\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tI\u2019m Anthony, the founder and editor of The China Journey.\r\nI create practical, experience-based guides covering travel, food, and culture across China, with a focus on helping international travelers make clear planning decisions.\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-98825d0 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"98825d0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7747397 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"7747397\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Interesting Articles for You<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-52b7006 elementor-grid-3 elementor-grid-tablet-2 elementor-grid-mobile-1 elementor-posts--thumbnail-top elementor-card-shadow-yes elementor-posts__hover-gradient elementor-widget elementor-widget-posts\" data-id=\"52b7006\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;cards_columns&quot;:&quot;3&quot;,&quot;cards_columns_tablet&quot;:&quot;2&quot;,&quot;cards_columns_mobile&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;cards_row_gap&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:35,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;cards_row_gap_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;cards_row_gap_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"posts.cards\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-posts-container elementor-posts elementor-posts--skin-cards elementor-grid\" role=\"list\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"elementor-post elementor-grid-item post-14971 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-fortune category-zodiac-year tag-175 tag-fate tag-fortune tag-fortune-telling tag-rooster tag-wuxing tag-zodiac\" role=\"listitem\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__card\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-post__thumbnail__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/1945-zodiac-fate-and-fortune\/\" tabindex=\"-1\" ><div class=\"elementor-post__thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1945-Zodiac-Wood-Rooster-Forecast-for-2026-1024x683.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-33742\" alt=\"1945 Zodiac Wood Rooster &amp; Forecast for 2026\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1945-Zodiac-Wood-Rooster-Forecast-for-2026-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1945-Zodiac-Wood-Rooster-Forecast-for-2026-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1945-Zodiac-Wood-Rooster-Forecast-for-2026-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1945-Zodiac-Wood-Rooster-Forecast-for-2026-18x12.webp 18w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1945-Zodiac-Wood-Rooster-Forecast-for-2026-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1945-Zodiac-Wood-Rooster-Forecast-for-2026.webp 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__badge\">Fortune<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__text\">\n\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-post__title\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/1945-zodiac-fate-and-fortune\/\" >\n\t\t\t\t1945 Zodiac Wood Rooster &amp; Forecast for 2026\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__excerpt\">\n\t\t\t<p>A clear and elegant 2026 forecast for people born in 1945, focusing on retirement life, relationships, wealth stability, health care, and refined daily guidance.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"elementor-post elementor-grid-item post-18945 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-province tag-province tag-province-basic-info tag-qinghai\" role=\"listitem\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__card\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-post__thumbnail__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/qinghai\/\" tabindex=\"-1\" ><div class=\"elementor-post__thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"601\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Snow-capped-mountains-of-Qinghai-The-majestic-snow-capped-peaks-of-Qinghais-mountains-bathed-in-sunset-light-offering-breathtaking-views-of-the-Tibetan-Plateaus-natural-beauty-e1745138893540-1024x769.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-19085\" alt=\"Snow capped mountains of Qinghai The majestic snow capped peaks of Qinghais mountains bathed in sunset light offering breathtaking views of the Tibetan Plateaus natural beauty\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Snow-capped-mountains-of-Qinghai-The-majestic-snow-capped-peaks-of-Qinghais-mountains-bathed-in-sunset-light-offering-breathtaking-views-of-the-Tibetan-Plateaus-natural-beauty-e1745138893540-1024x769.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Snow-capped-mountains-of-Qinghai-The-majestic-snow-capped-peaks-of-Qinghais-mountains-bathed-in-sunset-light-offering-breathtaking-views-of-the-Tibetan-Plateaus-natural-beauty-e1745138893540-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Snow-capped-mountains-of-Qinghai-The-majestic-snow-capped-peaks-of-Qinghais-mountains-bathed-in-sunset-light-offering-breathtaking-views-of-the-Tibetan-Plateaus-natural-beauty-e1745138893540-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Snow-capped-mountains-of-Qinghai-The-majestic-snow-capped-peaks-of-Qinghais-mountains-bathed-in-sunset-light-offering-breathtaking-views-of-the-Tibetan-Plateaus-natural-beauty-e1745138893540-16x12.webp 16w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Snow-capped-mountains-of-Qinghai-The-majestic-snow-capped-peaks-of-Qinghais-mountains-bathed-in-sunset-light-offering-breathtaking-views-of-the-Tibetan-Plateaus-natural-beauty-e1745138893540-150x113.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Snow-capped-mountains-of-Qinghai-The-majestic-snow-capped-peaks-of-Qinghais-mountains-bathed-in-sunset-light-offering-breathtaking-views-of-the-Tibetan-Plateaus-natural-beauty-e1745138893540.webp 1167w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__badge\">Province<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__text\">\n\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-post__title\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/qinghai\/\" >\n\t\t\t\tQinghai\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__excerpt\">\n\t\t\t<p>Explore Qinghai, a land of diverse cultures, from Kunlun heritage to Tibetan, Hui, and Tu traditions. Discover its rich history, breathtaking landscapes, and festivals.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"elementor-post elementor-grid-item post-32536 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-news tag-china-immigration tag-chinas-national-immigration-administration-nia tag-news tag-policy tag-visa-free-entry\" role=\"listitem\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__card\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-post__thumbnail__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/china-unveils-10-new-immigration-facilitation-measures\/\" tabindex=\"-1\" ><div class=\"elementor-post__thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"445\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/China-Unveils-10-New-Immigration-Facilitation-Measures-news-on-nia-official-website-1024x569.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-32541\" alt=\"China Unveils 10 New Immigration Facilitation Measures news on nia official website\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/China-Unveils-10-New-Immigration-Facilitation-Measures-news-on-nia-official-website-1024x569.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/China-Unveils-10-New-Immigration-Facilitation-Measures-news-on-nia-official-website-300x167.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/China-Unveils-10-New-Immigration-Facilitation-Measures-news-on-nia-official-website-768x427.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/China-Unveils-10-New-Immigration-Facilitation-Measures-news-on-nia-official-website-1536x854.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/China-Unveils-10-New-Immigration-Facilitation-Measures-news-on-nia-official-website-2048x1138.webp 2048w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/China-Unveils-10-New-Immigration-Facilitation-Measures-news-on-nia-official-website-18x10.webp 18w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/China-Unveils-10-New-Immigration-Facilitation-Measures-news-on-nia-official-website-150x83.webp 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__badge\">News<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__text\">\n\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-post__title\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/china-unveils-10-new-immigration-facilitation-measures\/\" >\n\t\t\t\tChina Unveils 10 New Immigration Facilitation Measures\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__excerpt\">\n\t\t\t<p>China announced 10 new immigration measures to support openness and high-quality development, including visa, e-channel, and policy upgrades.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"elementor-post elementor-grid-item post-13697 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-fortune tag-fate tag-fortune tag-fortune-telling tag-pig tag-wuxing tag-zodiac\" role=\"listitem\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__card\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-post__thumbnail__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/1995-zodiac-fate-and-fortune\/\" tabindex=\"-1\" ><div class=\"elementor-post__thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1995-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Pig-forecast-cover-with-pig-bamboo-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-steady-growth-themes-1024x768.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-43264\" alt=\"1995 Chinese Zodiac Wood Pig forecast cover with pig bamboo career wealth relationships health and steady growth themes\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1995-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Pig-forecast-cover-with-pig-bamboo-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-steady-growth-themes-1024x768.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1995-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Pig-forecast-cover-with-pig-bamboo-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-steady-growth-themes-500x375.webp 500w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1995-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Pig-forecast-cover-with-pig-bamboo-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-steady-growth-themes-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1995-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Pig-forecast-cover-with-pig-bamboo-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-steady-growth-themes-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1995-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Pig-forecast-cover-with-pig-bamboo-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-steady-growth-themes-16x12.webp 16w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1995-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Pig-forecast-cover-with-pig-bamboo-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-steady-growth-themes-150x113.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1995-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Pig-forecast-cover-with-pig-bamboo-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-steady-growth-themes.webp 1448w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__badge\">Fortune<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__text\">\n\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-post__title\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/1995-zodiac-fate-and-fortune\/\" >\n\t\t\t\t1995 Chinese Zodiac: Wood Pig Meaning, Dates &#038; Personality\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__excerpt\">\n\t\t\t<p>Learn the 1995 Wood Pig dates, Yi-Hai meaning, Fire on the Mountain Na Yin, personality symbolism, compatibility, and zodiac boundaries.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"elementor-post elementor-grid-item post-13754 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-fortune category-zodiac-year tag-175 tag-fate tag-fortune tag-fortune-telling tag-rat tag-wuxing tag-zodiac\" role=\"listitem\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__card\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-post__thumbnail__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/1984-zodiac-fate-and-fortune\/\" tabindex=\"-1\" ><div class=\"elementor-post__thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1984-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Rat-forecast-cover-with-bamboo-rat-illustration-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-lucky-elements-1024x768.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-43381\" alt=\"1984 Chinese Zodiac Wood Rat forecast cover with bamboo rat illustration career wealth relationships health and lucky elements\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1984-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Rat-forecast-cover-with-bamboo-rat-illustration-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-lucky-elements-1024x768.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1984-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Rat-forecast-cover-with-bamboo-rat-illustration-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-lucky-elements-500x375.webp 500w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1984-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Rat-forecast-cover-with-bamboo-rat-illustration-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-lucky-elements-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1984-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Rat-forecast-cover-with-bamboo-rat-illustration-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-lucky-elements-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1984-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Rat-forecast-cover-with-bamboo-rat-illustration-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-lucky-elements-16x12.webp 16w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1984-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Rat-forecast-cover-with-bamboo-rat-illustration-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-lucky-elements-150x113.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1984-Chinese-Zodiac-Wood-Rat-forecast-cover-with-bamboo-rat-illustration-career-wealth-relationships-health-and-lucky-elements.webp 1448w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__badge\">Fortune<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__text\">\n\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-post__title\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/1984-zodiac-fate-and-fortune\/\" >\n\t\t\t\t1984 Chinese Zodiac: Wood Rat 2026 Forecast\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__excerpt\">\n\t\t\t<p>Discover the 1984 Wood Rat zodiac meaning and 2026 forecast, including personality, career, wealth, love, health, lucky elements, and practical advice.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"elementor-post elementor-grid-item post-27827 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-faqs tag-forbidden-city tag-why\" role=\"listitem\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__card\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-post__thumbnail__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/why-are-there-9999-rooms-in-the-forbidden-city\/\" tabindex=\"-1\" ><div class=\"elementor-post__thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"1019\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Snow-covered-Forbidden-City-view-from-Jingshan-Park-showcasing-the-majestic-architecture-and-serene-winter-atmosphere-in-Beijing-e1779804116330-804x1024.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1304\" alt=\"Snow covered Forbidden City view from Jingshan Park showcasing the majestic architecture and serene winter atmosphere in Beijing\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Snow-covered-Forbidden-City-view-from-Jingshan-Park-showcasing-the-majestic-architecture-and-serene-winter-atmosphere-in-Beijing-e1779804116330-804x1024.webp 804w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Snow-covered-Forbidden-City-view-from-Jingshan-Park-showcasing-the-majestic-architecture-and-serene-winter-atmosphere-in-Beijing-e1779804116330-393x500.webp 393w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Snow-covered-Forbidden-City-view-from-Jingshan-Park-showcasing-the-majestic-architecture-and-serene-winter-atmosphere-in-Beijing-e1779804116330-236x300.webp 236w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Snow-covered-Forbidden-City-view-from-Jingshan-Park-showcasing-the-majestic-architecture-and-serene-winter-atmosphere-in-Beijing-e1779804116330-768x978.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Snow-covered-Forbidden-City-view-from-Jingshan-Park-showcasing-the-majestic-architecture-and-serene-winter-atmosphere-in-Beijing-e1779804116330-9x12.webp 9w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Snow-covered-Forbidden-City-view-from-Jingshan-Park-showcasing-the-majestic-architecture-and-serene-winter-atmosphere-in-Beijing-e1779804116330-150x191.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Snow-covered-Forbidden-City-view-from-Jingshan-Park-showcasing-the-majestic-architecture-and-serene-winter-atmosphere-in-Beijing-e1779804116330.webp 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__badge\">FAQs<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__text\">\n\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-post__title\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechinajourney.com\/fr\/why-are-there-9999-rooms-in-the-forbidden-city\/\" >\n\t\t\t\tWhy Are There 9999 Rooms in the Forbidden City?\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post__excerpt\">\n\t\t\t<p>The Forbidden City\u2019s \u201c9999 rooms\u201d is a legend symbolizing imperial power and respect for Heaven, not the actual count\u2014modern surveys found about 8,700 rooms.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Comprenez le Wuxing (Cinq \u00c9l\u00e9ments) : Bois, Feu, Terre, M\u00e9tal et Eau, ses cycles de g\u00e9n\u00e9ration et de contr\u00f4le, son histoire, ses significations et les \u00e9l\u00e9ments de naissance.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[111,28,124,123],"class_list":["post-7906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-china","tag-culture","tag-philosophy","tag-wuxing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO Pro 5.0.1 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Forbidden City\u2019s \u201c9999 rooms\u201d is a legend symbolizing imperial power and respect for Heaven, not the actual count\u2014modern surveys found about 8,700 rooms.\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anthony\"\/>\n\t<meta name=\"msvalidate.01\" content=\"97c77332fb2942ab930264b0468265cc\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"p:domain_verify\" 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