History
In Europe and in the Middle Ages, alchemists had tried to turn
base metal to gold. They based their assumed model of how things work on the
manipulation of earth, air, fire, water and wood. They believed that by using
these elements that they could magically create different substances. As the
European sciences started to advance this was proved to be nonsensical. As more
knowledge became available about atomic structures, atoms and compounds, it was
possible to predict how certain elements and compounds would react and what
they would turn into. This analytical approach made redundant anything that the
alchemists had done.
Then came in from the East a whole system, supposed to do
incredible things but using as its model the same system that the alchemist had
used. Obviously this was a nonsense because serious scientific scrutiny had
dismissed this system. Unfortunately, some of the major properties of the
system seemed to work. Some of the curative properties were attributed to the
placebo effect but it was difficult to explain all of these by this. The
trouble with people, both East and West, is that when they build 'ivory towers'
to their subjects they find it very difficult to realise that what they know is
not all that there is to know. So instead of investigating why things work, if
things fall outside the range of knowledge, they simply dismiss it.
At the same time there were those who were investigating systems
that were being used in ancient Northern Europe and Africa. There were many
mysteries and very few answers but the two of these entities were linked. Both
had in common the usage of the mysterious force 'Ki'.
So we have something, which has existed for a very long time, and it has been used by many societies throughout the ages. As for the concept of using earth, air, fire, water and wood as a model for your science this still seems to make no sense. No sense of course unless you add one major factor that is missing and that is the light. Light and its properties and its application to these elements begin to make this all make a little more sense. Study this concept and it may become far more apparent of how the system works.
