Upon the fall of the preceding dynasty, the Ch’in dynasty, the Han dynasty arose with an extremely powerful general, who held all of the power of an emperor, Hsiang Yu. [i] He separated the Western Han into many different areas, and used devoted generals from both the Han and Ch’in dynasty (provided they showed allegiance to the Han Dynasty) to rule.[ii]
In 202 B.C, general (or wang, as all generals were called) Liu Bang overthrew General Hsiang Yu, and was declared emperor, and renamed Kao Tsu[iii]. Due to the many responsibilities he carried as general and the very large amount of land there was to be governed, so Kao Tsu shared the responsibilities of emperor with family members and trusted appointees, as well as the multitude of military commanders while keeping the title of emperor all to himself.[iv]
Unlike many other cultures, the Han dynasty appointed and held many leaders from lower classes as emperors or generals, who managed to come into power with brains, potential, and charm. General Hsiang Yu was one of the noble class, however General Liu Chi was one
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Fire and Water contribute food, Wood and Metal administrate prosperity, and Earth lays the foundation[x]. The doctors affiliated number 5 with “earthly phenomena”[xi]. The 5 Elements are also shown as movement and stages of seasonal cycles. The elements are put together in different ways in their relationships with each other[xii]. The “Controlling Sequence” is a chain of which element controls which element. Wood controls Earth, Earth controls Water, Water controls Fire, Fire controls Metal and Metal controls Wood[xiii]. There are other ways the elements interact, all for the sake of balance. The doctors of the Han dynasty believed that each element was in charge of an organ or part of the body, just like Yin and Yang[xiv]. The Yin and Yang and 5 elements helped for quick diagnoses and