Beyond the Rainbow

The five colors blind the eye.The five tones deafen the ear.The five flavors dull the mouth.

Racing through the field and hunting make the mind wild.

Searching for precious goods leads astray.

Therefore, the sage attends to the belly,

And not to what he sees.

He rejects the latter and chooses the former.

Moderation : © Stefan Stenudd.

The five colors in the Chinese tradition are green, red, yellow, white, and black. The five tones of the Chinese musical scale are C, D, E, G, and A. The five flavors are sweet, bitter, salty, sour, and pungent.

This division into five is likely to have come from the Chinese concept of the five elements: water, fire, wood, metal, and earth. In ancient China it was believed that everything in the world was made up of these five materials. This can be compared to the old Greek elements, which…

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