The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2706 page)

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ABLUTIONS
.

 
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Wu-hsing
,
also known as wu-te

(Chin., ‘five movers’). Five virtues, the five elements which work as agents, fundamental in Chinese and Taoist understanding of the cosmos and history. The five are not physical substances, but the metaphysical forces associated with the nature of the substances. The five are wood, fire, earth, metal, water. The basic identifications are obvious, connected with the seasons and the cycle of life: spring, summer—autumn, winter. Earth mediates between the four, sustaining and being sustained by them.

 
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WU-CH'ANG
.

 
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(1183–1260)
. Chinese Buddhist. Successor of Wu-tsu Fa-yen in the Yang-ch'i line of
Rinzai
, although in an offshoot represented in the teacher Yüeh-an Shan-kuo, whose dharma-successor (
hassu
) he became. He was also taught by Yueh-lin, who set him the
mu
k
an
; after six years he had not progressed through it, and he resolved not to sleep until he did so. In a desperate state, he heard the midday drum, and reached enlightenment.

 
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K
AN
.

 
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