參考譯文

　　The theory of five elements is a concept of matter in ancient China. The five elements include metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The theory of five elements emphasizes on an overall concept, describing the structural relationships and forms of movement of matters. The theory holds that everything in the universe is based on the movement and change of these five elements. These five elements interact with each other, affecting a person's fate as well as making the universe move in endless cycles. The theory got mature in the Han Dynasty and was widely employed in the fields like traditional Chinese medicine, architecture, and martial arts.

　　翻譯詳解

　　1.第2句五行中的“金”指“金屬”，而非“黃金”，故第2句中應譯為metal，而非gold。

　　2.第3句中的第2個分句“描繪了事物的結構關系和運動形式”可處理為狀語，表伴隨狀態，用分詞短語describing the structural relationships and forms of movement of matters 來表達。

　　3.第4句中的“五行學說認為”可譯為the theory holds that...，亦可譯為according to the theory，承前句，“五行學說”可簡單轉換表達為“該學說”(the theory)。“宇宙萬物”可譯為the universe，強調整體，也可表達為 everything in the universe。

　　4.第5句有三個分句，可把“這五個要素相互作用”處理成主干，“不但影響到……，同時也使宇宙萬物……”處理為結果狀語，用分詞短語來表達，“不但……同時也”可用結構both... and...或... as well as...來表達，故整句譯為 These five elements interact with each other, affecting...as well as making...。

　　5.最后一句“五行學說成熟于漢代，之后廣泛應用于……”可用并列結構譯出：The theory got mature in the Han Dynasty and was widely employed...。翻譯賓語“中醫、建筑和武術等領域”時，先譯出中心詞fields，再用like或者such as來引出例子。