略说五行之“五”——阐释五行说的另一个角度

The Number of FIVE in "Wu Xing": A New Interpretation

近代以来,中国哲学对五行说的解释基本上围绕"行"的含义来进行,把五行当作对自然物质的概括,认为其性质不过是对自然的比附。然而,从"五"这个数字出发对五行说进行阐释,可以发现:为了兼有相生和相克关系,"行"的数目既不可能更多,也不可能更少,只可能是五。五行之间的关系可以用内套五角星形的五边形来表示,而且,在五边或五角形图案中,代表五行的任意点与同自己不相邻的两点形成的三角形,表示相互制约的关系,而与自己相邻的两点形成的三角形,则表示相合化的关系。这两类三角关系叠加起来,使五行成为一种对宇宙的结构性认知模式。总之,五行之"五"是数学和逻辑上的必然要求。只有"五"这个数目,才能通过相生相克构成普遍联系并且相互转化和克制的网状结构。五行说的核心是其中所蕴含的功能转换模型。

From the 20th century on, the Chinese philosophy has been trying to interpret the theory of ＂Wu Xing＂ （five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth） in terms of the meaning of ＂Xing＂, which is considered an abstraction of the material world, and the theory of which is an assimilation of the nature. This paper makes an attempt to give a new interpretation of the theory of HWu Xing＂ via the number of I＇Five＂, which has not received due attention from the researchers. It demonstrates that HFive＂ is not a contingent number but a necessary one from the mathematical and logical perspective. The relationship of Usheng＂ （promotion） and ＂ke＂ （restriction）determinates a number that is no more or no less but just ＂Five＂ in this system, and no other number is as representative as Five. Further, the key to a proper understanding of the theory is not its assimilation of the nature, but its logical structure. The five elements of metal,＇ wood, water, fire and earth are not merely the symbols of the outer world, but a model of functional system as well.