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Although early Chinese philosophy, literature and even historiography is full of elements basing on correlative thinking, we do not possess any theoretical books about this part of Chinese philosophy and worldview. The Warring States period 戰國 scholar Zou Yan 鄒衍 was the most eminent theoretician of the philosophy of Correlative Thinking, but there are no writings by Zou Yan that have survived. For our knowledge of this basical Chinese philosophy we have to rely on different sources like Lüshi chunqiu 呂氏春秋 "Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals", the Hongfan 洪範 chapter of the Shangshu 尚書 "Book of Documents", or the Yueling 月令 chapter of the Liji 禮記 "Book of Rites."
The term "correlative thinking" designates a philosophy that correlates every aspect of human life and of nature with an underlying cosmic cycle influencing life on earth. It is the cycle of five processes (wuxing 五行), five phases, five powers, or "five elements" that determines the cosm and life on earth. From the colors of imperial robes down to musical tones, numbers, flavours and diseases (compare the Huangdi neijing 黃帝內經 "Inner Classic [of Medicine] by the Yellow Emperor"), every one of the Five Processes dominates human life. The table below gives an overview of these aspects. The Five Processes are in first instance correlated with the four seasons and the four cardinal directions, while the fifth process (earth) with the corresponding color yellow is in the center of the world - hence yellow as the traditional color for the imperial robes, basing on the first ruler of China, the mythical Yellow Emperor 黃帝. With a dynastical change, the imperial colors also changed to the next of the five processes. Thus, the color red with the "element" fire of the Zhou Dynasty 周 changed to black and the element "water" with the founding of the Qin Dynasty 秦.
The order of the Five Phases is not alike with every literary source, the oldest sequence or process is water - fire - wood - metal - earth (Hongfan), assuming that every following element will destroy or swallow the previous.
| FIVE ELEMENTS | Wood | Fire | Earth | Metal | Water |
| Direction | east | south | center | west | north |
| Season | spring | summer | late summer | autumn | winter |
| Color | green | red | yellow | white | black |
| Weather | wind | heat | damp | dry | cold |
| Planet | Jupiter | Mars | Saturn | Venus | Mercury |
| Numerology | 3+5=8 | 2+5=7 | 5 | 4+5=9 | 1+5=6 |
| Animal | chicken | goat | cow | horse | pig |
| Crop | wheat | shu millet | ji millet | rice | bean |
Music note /
instrument | jiao 角;
lute | zhi 徵;
pipe | gong 宮;
drum | shang 商;
resonant | yu 羽;
string |
| Flavor | sour | bitter | sweet | pungent | salty |
| Smell | urine | scorched | fragrant | fishy | rotten |
Correlative Thinking does not necessarily comprise the Five Phases or Processes. Numbers, tones, animals, plants, starry constellations are intensively correlated with the twelve months:
| Month | I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII |
| SEASON | spring | summer | autumn | winter |
| Celestial stems | jia 甲,
yi 乙 | bing 丙,
ding 丁 | geng 庚,
xin 辛 | ren 壬,
gui 癸 |
| Sovereign | Taihao 太皞 | Yandi 炎帝 | Shaohao 少皞 | Zhuanxu 顓頊 |
| Spirit | Goumang 句芒 | Zhurong 祝融 | Rushou 蓐收 | Xuanming 玄冥 |
| Animal | scaly | feathered | hairy | shell-covered |
| Musical note | jiao 角 | zhi 徴 | shang 商 | yu 羽 |
| Pitchpipe |
taicu 太簇
jiazhong 夾鍾
guxian 姑洗 |
zhonglü 仲呂
ruibin 蕤賓
linzhong 林鍾 |
yize 夷則
nanlü 南呂
wuyi 無射 |
yingzhong 應鍾
huangzhong 黃鍾
dalü 大呂 |
| Number | 8 | 7 | 9 | 6 |
| Taste | sour | acrid | bitter | salty |
| Smell | rank | burning | rank | putrid |
| Offering place | door | furnace | gate | path |
| Sacrificial object | spleen | lungs | liver | kidney |
Yin 陰 and Yang 陽 are actually designations for the northern (shadowy) resp. southern (sunny) slope of a hill or the northern (sunny) resp. southern (shadowy) bank of a river. In Correlative Thinking, Yin and Yang are potentials of the primordial energy, ether, breath or vapor (qi 氣) that is seen as a kind of stimulating or vitalizing energy occupying every object and being. In the natural cycle of the year, Yin and Yang determine growing, riping and invernal pause of life. In winter life is controlled by Yin, the plants are reduced to roots beneath the earth, down at the "Yellow Sources" (huangquan 黃泉), grain is stored in barns, and people are resting at home, it is the time of the spinning and weaving women. With the spring, gentle breezes awake plants, sprouts come out of the soil, enjoying the growing power of Yang. In summer, with the greatest heat, Yin is at its weakest point, and Yang dominates the nature, it is the time of man who works the fields, and the time for military campaigns. Accordingly, Yin again becomes strong in autumn, when it is the time of harvest, but also the time of sadness and farewell: death penalties were executed only in autumn.
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