 In addition to yin and yang, the Chunqiu Fanlu also uses the concept of the “five phases” (wu xing) to understand change. The five phases are at the center of what is known as correlative cosmology—the explanation of things in the world by reference to their correlative associations with other things. A thing is associated with a particular phase or element, with principles of change built into the phases or elements, as each has a transformational principle determined by the phase into which it changes. Xing 行 is in this context generally translated as “phase” because of this focus on change. A phase describes not only the nature of a thing in its current state, but more importantly the future states of this thing, that into which it transforms. In this sense, the phases had value as predictive features of things. The five phases situate things with respect to their relationships with other things—in terms of their becoming other things, their location, roles, and coordinating activities. Chapter 42 of the Chunqiu Fanlu explains this use of the phases. After explaining the ordering of the five phases: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, the chapter then discusses their relationships, in terms of transformation, location, reciprocal activity, and reliance.