In the rows (horizontal) of the structure tables, the sequence of things and events is always the same as the one of the five Elements. Their order is thus expressed in a circular context (see the arrows in the Sheng&Po Cycle). It is therefore a cyclic-causal link.

In the columns (vertical) of the structure tables, all objects and all events are associated with the same Element.
They have as it were a similar 'chemistry'. Links between phenomena in the columns are therefore based on an associative synthesis of their properties. It is therefore an associative link.

 

As a traditional Chinese scientist, one does not investigate components - phenomena or events - of natural entities by analyzing them, like a Western scientist would according to the Causal Analytical Model (CAM), but by classifying them into groups of five similar objects. Each group of five constitutes a structural level of the unit in question. So, for example, the senses - eye, tongue. skin, nose and ear - form a structural level of humans and animals.

This indicates that there are two eastern science models; a Cyclic-Causal Model (CCM) and an Associative-Synthetic Model (ASM).


The Sheng&Po Cycle can therefore be conceived as the union of these two science models; the CCM in all of the arrows in the cycle, and the ASM because of the five elements.

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