Chiyang Daoren, Eastern Taoism
This article discusses the face-reading method based on the generating and overcoming relationships of “the Five Phases” and on changes in complexion. Face reading holds that changes in a person's complexion are the outward expression of balance or imbalance in the generating and overcoming relationships of the Five Phases, and on the basis of this outward expression, using the theory of the Five Phases “generating” or “overcoming” one another, it infers a chain of consequences.
1. The Generating and Overcoming Relationships of the “Five Phases”
“Generating” borrows the metaphor of “mother passing on to child” to describe how energy is transmitted among the Five Phases. The “mother” is the source, representing one's inborn endowment and foundation; the “child” is the continuation, representing one's later fortune and development. For example, Wood generates Fire: Wood is the “mother,” corresponding to the forehead and governing fortune in early life; Fire is the “child,” corresponding to the eyes and governing health and mental state. The fullness of Wood can nourish the vigor of Fire; this is what face reading calls “a thriving mother makes a strong child,” showing that fortune in early life can be passed on, making a person robust and in good spirits. “Overcoming” refers to the normal state of “restraint and balance” among the Five Phases. When the overcoming relationships are normal, the Five Phases restrain one another and reach a kind of balance.
2. The Shift to “Overacting and Insulting” Among the “Five Phases”
If the overcoming relationship loses its balance, it shifts into “overacting and insulting.” In face reading, “overacting” (cheng) means excessive overcoming: one side is too strong and “over-suppresses” the other. For example, when Wood qi is excessive and restrains Earth too much, damaging the function of Earth, this is “Wood in excess overacting on Earth.”
In face reading, “insulting” (wu) means reverse overcoming: one side is too weak and is “suppressed in reverse” by the side it ought to restrain. Taking Wood and Earth again: normally Wood overcomes Earth, meaning Wood and Earth restrain each other moderately and maintain a dynamic balance. But if Earth qi is too weak, Earth—which should restrain Wood from growing excessively—is instead suppressed in reverse by Wood (reverse overcoming); this is “Earth deficient and insulted by Wood.” Such “overacting” or “insulting” is the key point at which the overcoming relationships of the Five Phases turn from “balanced restraint” to “destructive imbalance,” and it provides the logical basis for the “transmission of change.”
3. How the “Five Phases” Generate One Another
What, then, is the underlying logic of the generating and overcoming of the Five Phases in face reading? First, “generating.” Its underlying logic is as follows:
Wood generates Fire: wood burns to produce flames, providing Fire with its source of energy;
Fire generates Earth: the ashes left after burning return to the soil and nourish the land;
Earth generates Metal: metal ores lie buried in the soil and are born and nurtured by Earth;
Metal generates Water: droplets easily condense on metal surfaces, and smelting metal produces liquid metal, which the ancients also regarded as a form of water;
Water generates Wood: water nourishes the roots of plants and promotes the growth of Wood.
4. How the “Five Phases” Overcome One Another
Next, “overcoming.” Its underlying logic is as follows:
Wood overcomes Earth: plant roots can penetrate and loosen the soil, preventing Earth from becoming congested—congestion meaning long-term stagnation caused by blockage, in which nothing can flow;
Fire overcomes Metal: high-temperature flames can melt and forge metal, changing its form;
Earth overcomes Water: soil can absorb and hold back water, preventing floods;
Metal overcomes Wood: metal tools can fell and prune trees, checking the excessive growth of Wood;
Water overcomes Fire: water can directly put out flames, checking the spread of Fire.
On the whole, the outward expression of the logic of overcoming is the balancing constraint by which “the overcomer restrains the overcome.” The core of this “restraint” is “using the strong to check the weak, using movement to control stillness, and using growth to break stagnation”: restraint prevents any one side from becoming excessively dominant, maintains overall balance, and forms a cycle of mutual restraint. In face reading, “the overcomer restrains the overcome” is expressed as “a dynamic balance of fortune among the areas of the face corresponding to the Five Phases.”
To help you, dear readers, picture the balancing constraint of “the overcomer restrains the overcome” in face reading, take “Wood overcomes Earth”: Wood is the overcomer and Earth the overcome. In this pairing, Wood corresponds to the forehead and governs fortune in early life, and Earth corresponds to the nose and governs finances and the accumulation of wealth. Its “restraint” then appears as the enterprise of early life (Wood) driving the accumulation of one's career in middle age (Earth), while the accumulation of middle age (Earth) in turn repays the fulfillment of early goals (Wood), forming a “virtuous circle.”
5. The Complexions of the “Five Phases”
With the generating and overcoming relationships of the Five Phases in face reading understood, let us look at the basic correspondence between the Five Phases and complexion. Face reading divides facial complexion into five colors—blue-green, red, yellow, white, and black—which correspond respectively to the Five Phases and to different signals of fortune and health. Details follow:
Wood corresponds to blue-green. A normal complexion is a pale blue-green with a faint luster, like trees sprouting in spring; the associated fortune is well-directed enterprise in early life and steady development in middle age, with career, finances, relationships, and health all in a virtuous circle. An abnormal complexion is bluish-purple or dark blue-green, or bluish-gray; the associated fortune is fluctuation, such as confusion in early life, bottlenecks in middle age, and conflicts with others.
Fire corresponds to red. A normal complexion is a pale red, bright, moist, and understated, like the blazing Fire of summer; the associated fortune is ample heart qi and rational action, with career, finances, relationships, and health all in a virtuous circle. An abnormal complexion that is bright red is associated with blazing heart fire, a tendency to lose money, and emotional agitation; one that is purplish-red is associated with omens of misfortune—calamity, quarrels and gossip, hidden cardiovascular problems, and the like.
Earth corresponds to yellow. A normal complexion is a pale yellow, bright and moist with luster, like Earth in late summer transforming all things; the associated fortune is the accumulation of wealth and a healthy digestive system. An abnormal complexion that is sallow yellow is associated with a weak spleen and stomach, lack of strength, and low fortune; one that is yellow and puffy is associated with spleen deficiency and excess dampness, frequent illness, and a tendency to lose money.
Metal corresponds to white. A normal complexion is a pale white, moist and lustrous, like the gathering-in of Metal in autumn; the associated fortune is ample lung qi and rational action, with career, finances, relationships, and health all developing steadily. An abnormal complexion that is glaringly pale—a sickly pallor—is associated with deficient lung qi, a tendency to lose money, and poor immunity; one that is bluish-white is associated with liver fire attacking the lungs—obstacles in one's career, loss of money, respiratory illness, low spirits, and the like.
Water corresponds to black. A normal complexion is a pale black, faintly visible with a hidden luster, like Water sealed and stored in winter; the associated fortune is ample kidney qi and rational action, with career, finances, relationships, and health in old age all settling into rich blessings. An abnormal complexion that is dark black without luster is associated with depleted kidney essence, declining fortune, and many calamities; one that is bluish-black is associated with cold congealing in the kidney channel, persistent illness, calamities, and the like.
6. The Body Types of the “Five Phases”
Now let us discuss “mixed-type people” in face reading. Face reading divides people into five basic body types: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Among these five, however, there are often “mixed types,” in which two of the Five Phases are combined. Changes in the complexion of mixed-type people directly affect the direction of their fortune. Details follow:
Wood-type people: a pure Wood type has a bluish-brown complexion. If mixed with the Metal type, the complexion is a withered white; because Metal overcomes Wood, a Wood type mixed with Metal will find it hard to succeed in their career. If mixed with the Fire type, the complexion is a moist red; because Wood generates Fire, a Wood type mixed with Fire will have both wealth and rank.
Fire-type people: a pure Fire type has a pale red complexion. If mixed with the Water type, the complexion is slightly black; because Water overcomes Fire and keeps Fire from becoming excessive, a Fire type mixed with Water enjoys peace, blessings, and emolument. But if, in the mix with Water, the Water qi is too heavy, the complexion is a sooty black; then Water is strong and Fire goes out, and one's whole life is unfavorable.
Earth-type people: a pure Earth type has a moist yellow complexion. If mixed with the Metal type, the complexion is slightly white; because Earth generates Metal, an Earth type mixed with Metal has strong help from benefactors. But if, in the mix with Metal, the Metal qi is too heavy, the complexion is a withered white; this leads to Metal being strong and Earth drained, and one's career is ruined.
Metal-type people: a pure Metal type has a pale white complexion. If mixed with the Water type, the complexion is slightly black; because Metal generates Water, a Metal type mixed with Water has unobstructed fortune. But if the Metal qi is too heavy, the complexion is glaringly pale, that is, pallid and bloodless; this leads to too much Metal making the Water turbid, and fortune easily goes back and forth.
Water-type people: a pure Water type has a moist black complexion. If mixed with the Earth type, the complexion is a moist yellow. Because Earth overcomes Water, here the “steadiness” of the Earth type makes up for the “restlessness” of the Water type, giving it the ability to bring things down to earth, while the “nimbleness” of the Water type activates the “conservatism” of the Earth type, injecting the drive to innovate. So when a Water type is mixed with Earth and their mutual restraint is just right, fortune goes smoothly in every respect; this is the dynamic balance of “generation within overcoming, and overcoming within generation.” But if the Earth qi is too heavy, the complexion is a withered yellow; this leads to heavy Earth making the Water turbid, and health is poor.
Finally, the link between the generating and overcoming of the Five Phases and complexion in face reading must likewise be viewed rationally, taking the essence and discarding the dross. First, it has a certain positive cultural and psychological value. For example, it can serve as an “intuitive reminder” for managing one's health: observing facial complexion can indirectly point to potential problems in the body and lead people to pay attention to their health, which in fact fits the Chinese medical idea of “treating illness before it arises.” Second, face reading is part of traditional Chinese culture; its logic of “the generating and overcoming of the Five Phases” and “harmonizing complexion” embodies the ancients' philosophical outlook of “the unity of heaven and humanity” and “holism,” and it is a window onto traditional culture and folk psychology. In viewing the link between the Five Phases and complexion in face reading, one should neither entirely deny the cultural value of this traditional wisdom nor, still less, believe superstitiously in the “supernatural” part of it that claims to “predict fortune.”
