Fire heats upwards. Wood is both crooked and straight. Metal can be changed into various shapes. Earth is for planting crops. Moistening downwards makes the salty taste.
Heating upwards makes the bitter taste.
Crookedness and straightness make the sour taste. Changing into shapes makes the pungent taste. Crops make the sweet taste.1 Chinese civilization was born with agriculture. Here Shangshu speaks of the five elements in the words of an ancient Chinese farmer who also had handicraft skills in making wood and metal into implements. In agriculture, life was incorporated into the seasonal changes of the year which came to mankind repeatedly as a routine.