The Forgotten 6th Element

I studied Acupuncture for a year although I didn't complete my studies. I still have a book that mentions a 6th element in the history of element theory.

The Foundations of Chinese Medicine by Giovanni Maciocia says on page 20:

Some of the earliest references to elements do not call them 'elements' at all; instead, an element is a 'seat of government'... and they were at one point considered to be six rather than five. They were in fact called either the 'Five Abilities' or the 'Six Seats of Government'. A book from the Warring States period says: 'Heaven sends the Five Abilities and the people use them. And it also says: 'The Six Seats of Government... are Water, Fire, Metal, Wood, Earth, and Grain. Thus 'Grain' was considered to be the sixth 'element'.

​

The unabridged Chinese-Chinese character dictionary, Hanyu Da Cidian, defines Qi as "present food or provisions" for the xì pronunciation. The modern ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary enters xì 餼 as "grain; animal feed; make a present of food", The forgotten 6th element is Qi previously referring to 'Grain.'

The earliest references to elements mention the 6th element. It was called 'grain'. The missing link between 'grain', the forgotten 6th Chinese element and 'air' is the word Qi. Qi is the 6th element. The modern meaning of Qi is 'Air'. Aether and Qi form the Yin and yang, respectively, of the sixth element Air. For a reference from the Dalai Lama to the existence of 6 elements, view the Links page.