 Again, Zhu Xi conceived the world as a patterned (li) totality made up of a cosmic vapor (qi) that under various conditions condenses and solidifies into countless permutations, from the purest transparent yuanqi (primordial qi), to the Yin-Yang poles modulated by the primal taiji (supreme polarity) pattern, to the wuxing (five phases), each of which bears an identifying inner pattern and set of propensities (xing) that involve interconvertability and recombination with the other four phases, and finally to the phenomenal world: Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things (tiandi  wanwu).[6] 