Listen to this articlewǔ háng xiàng shēng 五行相生
The Five Elements, Each in Turn Producing the Next
五行循环生成。“五行”本指五种基本事物，即木、火、土、金、水。世间万物都由这五种事物构成，或具有这五种事物的属性。“五行相生”之说描述了这五种事物之间所具有的循环生成关系。木生火，火生土，土生金，金生水，水生木。同时，具有这五种属性的事物之间也遵循这样的生成关系。
This refers to the concept of the five basic elements, each in turn giving rise to the next. The five basic elements are: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. All things in the world are composed of these five elements or possess their properties. According to this concept, wood produces fire; fire produces earth; earth produces metal; metal produces water; and water produces wood. Similarly, things with the properties of these five elements also have similar relations between themselves.
引例 Citations：
◎五行者，五官也，比相生而间相胜也，故为治，逆之则乱，顺之则治。（董仲舒《春秋繁露·五行相生》）
（五行，如同五个官职，相邻的事物依次生成而相互间隔的事物依次克胜。因此治理国家人事，悖逆了五行次序就会混乱，顺应了五行次序则会安定。）
The five elements are comparable to five official positions. Adjacent things come into being in certain sequences. If things do not emerge in order, each will check the next. This principle also applies to the governance of a state and all social affairs. Chaos grows if the order of the five elements is disrupted; peace prevails if the five elements are in good order. (Dong Zhongshu: Luxuriant Gems of The Spring and Autumn Annals)
