originally a moral theory associated with Zisi, the grandson of Confucius, and Mencius. In the 3rd century BCE, the sage-alchemist Zou Yan introduced a systematic cosmological theory under the same rubric that was to dominate the intellectual world of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). In ancient Chinese cosmology, the five basic phases that explain change in the cosmos are earth, wood, metal, fire, and water. These elements were believed to overcome and succeed one another in an immutable cycle and were correlated with the cardinal directions, seasons, colours, musical tones, and bodily organs.

The wuxing cycle served as a broad explanatory principle in Chinese history, philosophy, and medicine; it was first linked to dynastic history by Zou Yan. The neo-Confucian philosophers of the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE) returned to the notion of wuxing as the Five Virtues (benevolence, righteousness, reverence, wisdom, and sincerity).