A Comparison and Interpretation of the Five Elements and Earthly Branches Found in the Yis “Futuo” Diagram and the Qiang Shibis Illustrated Book

Luo+Qu

Abstract：Since ancient times， the concepts of yinyang and wuxing （the five elements） have been an important part of the philosophical world of the Chinese people. It is a component of their “ideological principles”and cosmological belief system. As early as the hongfan chapter of the Shang Shu （The Book of History），one of the principles proposed by Jizi to King Wu for manageing state affairs was related to the five elements. The main ideology he wanted to express is： All the objective things have their own rules； instead of resisting and violating them， they can be revealed， controlled， and used by the people； those people who do not follow the natural rules will be punished by nature. The concept of the five elements was culturally very significant in the preQin period， and influenced related ethnic groups in later times. Especially with regard to the social development of later periods， the five elements， combined with the heavenly stems and earthly branches （the twelve annual animals of the zodiac）， turned into a “universal” principle which deeply influenced peoples world view and society.

Concerning the “pattern” of the Chinese nation， Fei Xiaotong proposed the idea of the “six plates” （the wild zone in the north， high mountain forestry zone in the northeast， QinghaiTibet high plateau， YunnanGuizhou high plateau， coastal area， and the Central Plains area） and three corridors （the Northwest ethnic corridor， TibetanYi corridor， and Nanling corridor）. It is through this pattern that the Chinese nation formed a framework for “diversity within unity”. Every corridor is a cultural circle with its own unique characteristics. However， these cultures also intermingled with each other. Therefore， the cultures of the various ethnic groups not only have unique features， but also share features in common. In the TibetanYi corridor， there are different ethnic groups， including Tibetan， Yi， Qiang， Lisu， Naxi， Bai， Pumi， Dulong， Nu， Hani， Luo， etc. The ancestors of all of them are related to the ancient Qiang. According to scholarly research， the ancient Qiang entered the Central plain four times during ancient times， and entered into marriage relationships with the groups surnamed Jiang and Ji in the Central Plains. Therefore， cultural communications between the ancient Qiang and the Central Plains cannot be refuted—both of them absorbed good aspects of the other sides culture in order to enrich their own. Doubtlessly， some particular cultural factors would be maintained within the cultures of other ethnic groups in later times. These cultural factors might be developed， promoted， and then， would form a kind of ethnic culture with unique characteristics. This paper proposes that the concept of yinyang and the five elements as reflected in the Yis “Futuo” Diagram and Qiang Shibis Illustrated Book， are the result of this phenomenon.

Vol.1 of the wuding lisuan （Wuding Calender）， Vol.59 of Leibo lisuan fa（Leibo Calendar Book）， Vol.66 Vol.69 of bagua tianwen lisuan （Calender of Eight Diagrams and Astronomy ）， and Vol.87Vol.90 of luoping yizu lisuan （Luoping Yis Calendar Book） found in the 106 volumes of bimo jingdian yizhu （Annotations of the Bimo Classics） published by Yunnan minzu chubanshe， and the yuzou renwen lun （On Cosmology and Humanities） and tu lu dou ji， the Guizhou bimos literature published earlier than the 106 Volumes， all contain the Yis divination theories （concept of change） and understanding of mathematics. Among them， the “Futuo” diagram contains the Yi Jings （Book of Changes） concept of yinyang and the five elements. The configuration of the Futuo diagram does not differ from the Hetu found in Han literature. Seen from this text， the Yis interpretation of the five elements found in the Futuo diagram has its own characteristics.

The content concerning the five elements and the twelve zodiac animals in the Bimo literature of the Yi is very rich. For instance， in the yizu xiantian yixue （Congenital Ideology of “Yi” of the Yi Ethnic Group） published by minzu chubanshe in 2015， there are 16 articles whose titles mention the five elements and their characteristics， such as， wuxing de nibu （Arrangement of the Five Elements）， tiangan yu wuxing（Heavenly Stems and Five Elements）， shuxiang yu wuxing （Twelve Zodiac Animals and Five Elements）， etc. In addition to these examples， because the concept of the five elements is a way of thinking， “ideological principle” and “cosmological belief system” of the Yi ancestors， which combined the principles of yinyang， the heavenly stems， and earthly branches （twelve zodiac animals）， there are many other Yi literature whose titles might not include the words “five elements”， but whose content discusses knowledge of yinyang and five elements， or heavenly stems and earthly branches.

As a kind of “ideological principle” and “cosmological belief system”， the culture of yinyang and the five elements spread and developed among various ethnic groups of China. In the aspect of elite culture， scholars in ancient times also connected the five elements with political culture， and made it the symbol for the replacement of dynasties. In the folklore of various ethnic groups， yinyang and the five elements were combined with the philosophy of the twelve zodiac animals， and formed a cultural system for the “prediction of ones destiny” and for driving away disasters and praying for good luck. This is reflected both in qiangzu shibi tujing （ The Qiang Shibis Illustrated Book） and the scriptures of the Yi Bimo. However， the five elements in The Qiang Shibis Illustrated Book or the Futuo of the Bimo of the Yi， have their own characteristics.

Because the Yi and Qiang both have a close relationship with the ancient Qiang， and the ancient Qiang also had a close relation with the culture of the ancestors of the Central Plains people， the system of the five elements and earthly branches of the Yi and Qiang must have be related with that of the Central Plains. Only due to the differences that occurred when it was later passed down， did different ethnic characteristics appear. Because the Qiang have no writing system to record their concept of the five elements and twelve earthly branches， it has become more important and urgent to rescue and research it.

From the five elements and twelve earthly branches found within the Yis Futuo diagram and The Qiang Shibis Illustrated Book， we can observe their ancestors“ideological principles” and “cosmological belief system”. It can be said that these diagrams are their ancestors“spiritual products”， “spiritual food”， and the organic content of their traditional spiritual world. Seen from a preliminary interpretation， we can perceive that there are both similarities and differences concerning the five elements and twelve earthly branches contained in the Yis Futuo diagrams and the Qiang Shibis Illustrated Book—both have their own characteristics.

The similarities are that， in both of the sources ， the five elements are identified as metal， wood， water， fire and soil. One difference is that the Yis Futuo diagram is also called “wu sheng shi cheng”. It is believed that the appearance of the five elements creates a world full of vigor. Wu sheng shi cheng is a diagram which reflects the formation and development of all things in the world. Moreover， the Futuo diagram also reflects the Yis ancestors theory of mathematics： “25 white circles represent the heaven， 30 black dots represent the earth， and the total number of the heaven and earth is 55”. In addition， because the Yi have their own writing system， their concept of yinyang and the five elements， as well as the heavenly stems and earthly branches， are all recorded in the ancient Yi scriptures.

In the Qiang Shibis Illustrated Book， instead of using a special section to describe the five elements， a combination of the five elements with the twelve zodiac animals， an interpretation to the sign of good or ill luck， weal and woe， as well as suggestions on the relevant countermeasures， are described at the very beginning of the book. There are some differences concerning how the five elements and the twelve zodiac animals are generated and restricted. However， generally speaking， they all have a cultural homogeneity with the general knowledge held by ordinary people. This kind of homogeneity is a reflection of the pattern or framework of “diversity within unity” of the Chinese nation， and is a result of the exchanges between the ancient Qiang culture and Central Plains culture in ancient times. The Qiang people， who have a direct original relationship with the ancient Qiang， have inherited the ancient Qiangs culture of the five elements and twelve zodiac animals， and developed it during the process of time， forming a concept of the five elements and twelve zodiac animals with Qiang characteristics. However， because the Qiang people have no script， the concept of the five elements and twelve zodiac animals has to be memorized， chanted and disseminated through the rituals conducted by the Qiangs Shibi priests. Due to the limitation of peoples memory， it is difficult to transmit the concepts systematically. Even so， if we could conduct a comprehensive research combining the culture of the five elements and twelve zodiac animals contained in the Qiang Shibis Illustrated Book with the Qiang Shibi priests oral scriptures and their religious beliefs， we could uncover the true face of the Qiangs culture of the five elements and twelve zodiac animals， and add new sources to the research of the five elements and twelve zodiac animals in Chinese culture. Thus， devoting greater effort on the rescue and research of the Qiangs culture of the five elements and twelve zodiac animals will have important cultural significance.

Key Words：Futuo diagram of the Yi； Qiang Shibis Illustrated Book； five elements and twelve zodiac animals

References：

Li Shaoming. zang yi zoulang minzu lishi wenhua（Ethnic History and Culture in the TibetanYi Corridor）.Beijing：minzu chubanshe，2008.

Liu Xiaohong.shenmi de wuxing（Mysterious Five Elements ）. Nanning：guangxi renmin chubanshe，2009.

Luo Guoyi，Chen Yin trans. yuzou renwen lun （On Cosmology and Humanities ）.Beijing：minzu chubanshe，1984.

qiangzu shibi tujing （The Qiang Shibis Illustrated Book [Vol.1 and Vol.2]）. Chengdu：sichuan minzu chubanshe，2010.