WU XING, THE FIVE ELEMENTS

In ancient China, Taoist developed a profound understanding of life based on observation of nature which called Wu Xing or the Five Elements. The Elements represents transformation that occurs around us which interact and relate to each others. Despite of Five Elements concept is old, but the concept can be applied to our modern life.

Wu Xing (Chinese: 五行; pinyin: wǔ xíng) also known as the Five Elements is a fivefold concept that many traditional Chinese fields used to explain a wide array of phenomena. This concept of Five Elements was used to describe interactions and relationships between phenomena, such as Feng shui, astrology, traditional Chinese medicine, music, military strategy, and martial arts. The Five Elements are Wood (木 mù), Fire(火 huǒ), Earth (土 tǔ), Metal (金 jīn), and Water (水 shuǐ).

Wood Element is yang/masculine character which represents the pioneer that can do strategic plan and directing. One quality of Wood Element is leadership which needs to be strong and flexible, like bamboo. The leaders that can take charge, determine a plan of action, and always seek to grow.

Fire Element is yang/masculine character which represents the wizard that can do socializing and marketing stuffs. This Fire Element associated with the qualities of dynamism, strength and persistence. It provides warmth, enthusiasm, and creativity which match with the marketing person.

Earth Element is a balance of both yin and yang. It represents the mediator which associated with patience, thoughtfulness, practically, hard work, and stability. The Earth Element seeks to draw all things together in order to bring harmony and stability. This element represents human resources.

Metal Element is is ying/feminine character which represents the alchemist which is organizing and judging. This element represents the minerals, crystals, and gems of the world. This element is the breath of life. This element associated with the qualities of metal which are unyieldingness, rigidity, persistence, strength, and determination.

Water Element is ying/feminine character which represents the philosopher and thinker. Water Element associated with intelligence and wisdom, flexibility, softness and pliancy. Water can be fluid and weak, but it can also be a great power when it floods and overwhelms the land.

Every element has its own strengths. These elements are actually related to each other because it can control one another. For example, fire controls metal because it can melts metal into liquid. Water controls fire because water extinguished a fire. Earth controls water because earth absorbs water. Wood controls earth because it holds the earth together and can also break it apart. Metal controls wood because metal can cuts down trees into wood.

This Five Elements represents the harmony of life. When a family, work team, or any organizations that have all of this five elements within its member, it is said that they would enjoy a lot of harmony. For example, in working place, if you are a leader of a company and are looking to hire people to work with you, it would be good to find people of signs that are “controlled” by you. If you are Fire sign, you would find it best to employ people of a Metal Sign because like it is said before that fire controls metal.

Chinese conceptual is interesting, including this Five Elements. This may not be true but believe it or not it may be true too, so you can considered it when you want to hire people and working with people in your organizations.

Metal is important element which also included in Five Chinese Elements. Metal represents the minerals which are rigid, strong, and determine. Shanghai Metal Corporation which based in China is one of the leading businesses in the manufacturing of metalworking industry. We can produce and export the best quality of metal products, shipping containers, and service. We prioritize the efficient of manufacturing and environmental sustainability.

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Source: Wikipedia, Innerjourneyseminars, Tsemrinpoche

Ardelia Sassie/SMC Editor

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Solar-Powered Water Wheel in Baltimore cleans 50,000 Pounds of Trash per Day

source: http://www.nbcnews.com

If you go to Baltimore this summer,you might see a strange looking machine strolling slowly in the Harbor. This machine is called the Inner Harbor Water Wheel and its main task is to clean up the trash that gets thrown into the water.Powered by 30 solar panels and the water current, the wheel is able to remove approximately 50,000 pounds of trash per day. It’s estimated that the wheel will stay in use for at least 15 years and by 2020 the harbor will become clean enough to be used for recreational purposes.

Baltimore solar powered wheel – source: healthyharborbaltimore.org

The wheel was invented by John Kellett and it works as follow: two orange booms help funnel debris towards the Wheel, where  trash is intercepted and pushed it onto a moving conveyer belt which empties out into a 16 yard dumpster, located on top of a floating dock. Once the dumpster is full, the dock is detached, hooked up to a boat, and then taken to a RESCO waste-to-energy plant, where the trash is incinerated and turned into electrical energy. The incredible machine has also a secondary use which is to put more oxygen into the water through the rotation of the waterwheel. It helps to attract more fish and improve habitat conditions and water quality. . As a project of the Healthy Harbor Living Laboratory, the Water Wheel also serves to educate people about storm-water management and the Inner Harbor.

source: blog.savatree.com

source: nbcnews.com

The important element about the wheel is the material used. In fact Galvanizing was chosen as a coating because of its sustainability and its reaction to a constant contact with water. Galvanized steel has a very high resistance to humidity but also doeasn’t require costly maintenance over the next 15 years.  Another factor was keeping down maintenance costs to a project that already cost over $800,000 to put together.

source: inhabitat.com, galvanizeit.org

Shanghai Metal Corporation understand the importance of a green environment and is a manufacturer of Galvanized steel and many other products used for sustainable projects all over the world. For more information, you can visit the company’s website or contact us for any inquiry.

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Houria // SMC Editor

Silver Water! Myth or Reality?

First I heard about Silver Water from my mom.  We used to have a bottle of water with a small silver spoon on the bottom. Once I asked her what’s for we need a silver spoon in the water, she told me that this little spoon will protect our family from any kind of disease. As I always believe my mother, I haven’t thought about it too serious until recently. Lets  see is a Silver Water myth or reality?

So, when my mom said that silver water will protect us from disease, she basically meant that silver is a specific metals which can stop the growth of germs and microbes on contact. Silver and copper are best known in this regard and are often used in commercial applications. Among germicidal metals, however,silver is of greater importance because it is the only metal that is completely non toxic to the body. In fact, silver has been used since ancient times to not only keep stored water “sweet” and germ free, but also to speed the healing of wounds and minimize the formation of scar tissue. Also I even read an amazing story about a miracle effect of a silver water which helped to cure a bone infection. Check the article if you’re interested. 

Just think about, silver is everywhere… we are eating off silver plates, storing our water and wine in silver vessels, drinking from silver cups and eating with silver utensils.

But if the main purpose of a still water is disinfection, what stops us of buying a pure water which is also have a wide list of a good recommendations? I guess it’s all up every person decision. Here the link to the silver water company where you can find more detailed information.  Also you can check our website to read and know more about silver and any related products or send us your inquiry, we have English-speaking stuff that will help you to find the best product for you. Don’t forget to follow us on social media and download an application by scanning QR code below.

    

Maria Z.//SMC Editor

Credits: shanghaimetal.com, silverwater.biz

Looks Prettier than It Costs!

Are you tired of high water bills? Think it’s too much effort maintaining your gardens and football pitch? Well, at SMC, we have the solution to your gardening problems!

Artificial lawn is becoming more and more popular by the day, as it is ever-green all year round, requires little maintenance, has easy installation, and creates a breath-taking scenery, and most of all saves you from high water bills!

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At SMC, our building systems subsection is concerned about all your building needs. Enhance the look of your gardens and sports arena with our artificial grass! While you are at it, take it up a notch and incorporate our shipping containers which you can recycle to create extra living space with an open patio setting. Recycled containers used in design and decor, are a great architectural success to creating contemporary gardens! They allow you to create your own lush and unique garden, at minimal cost. SAY BYE-BYE TO WATER BILLS and HELLO to beautiful lush gardens all year round! NO lawn mowing, no pruning, no watering! You save a lot!

SMC is a professional artificial grass manufacturer and is one of the leading building systems supplier in China. Having a world-wide market, we produce world-class artificial grass from synthetic turf; which is widely used in home gardens, golf landscape, and sports arena.

Moreover, our artificial grass is also safe for children to play on, hence it’s perfect for school play grounds.

Enjoy beautiful views in your homes and sports arena with our artificial grass, with no fuss of high maintenance. At SMC, we understand the problem of water scarcity; so come to SMC to save water and pay less money for your water bills and garden maintenance personnel. All that cost forgone is  accompanied by breath-taking landscape architecture!

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Read more about how best we can meet your building system needs by visiting our website or make an inquiry.

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Lebogang Seopane//SMC Intern

Sources: Google images, SMC website

A Cheap Way to Create Drinking-Water from Contaminated Water

Providing a safe drinking-water is still one of the major concerns in most of developing countries. Water purification methods exist, but they are expensive and therefore, not easily accessible for many people. In ancient time, people in India believe that drinking water stored in a copper vessel gives benefits for your health. According to the Hindu traditional medicine, Ayuverda, copper is believed to possess anti-microbial, antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic and anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, making it perfectly fit for the drinking purpose. But is there any scientific evidence that support this believe? Let us find out.

A recent study (2012) has evaluated the effect of copper vessel on a contaminated drinking water by storing it in a copper vessel for 16 hours. The result  was satisfying and showed that copper vessel can be use as a cheaper solution for especially developing countries to have a more easy access to drinking-water. One of the best part about this material is that it never becomes stale and can store water for long periods of time.

The benefit of copper doesn’t stop here ! Copper is an essential nutrient for our body and have diverse roles in biological electron and oxygen transportation. It can be found in several food such as beef, oyster, lobster, cocoa, black pepper, nuts, sunflower seeds, avocados, etc. Taking water stored in a copper vessel can help you to supply your daily requirement of copper.

If you’re interested in getting this copper vessel, Shanghai Metal Corporation produces slitting, edging, and oscillate winding to fit your specific copper requirements. To find out more, please check out our website or send us your inquiry. We have English speaking staff that will guide you to find your wanted product with the best quality and price. Don’t forget to follow us on Social Media to get news about our product and company.

    

Ayu P.//SMC editor

How Academia Changes What We Think About Shipping Containers

The new application possibilities of shipping containers have already managed to attract the attention of various communities including artists, designers and architects. Universities are also applying shipping containers in their research on engineering, arts and human sciences. Here we will present some examples.

Shanghai’s Tongji university’s students came up with an idea of a light-weight, solar-powered and self-sufficient house that could be built out of shipping containers. Their work, the Y container, is a structure that uses photovoltaic panels for heating floor and water. The six containers form wings that direct wind for natural ventilation. The Y container was built for a Chinese couple that could not afford independent housing. (via Inhabitat)

The students of Geneva University of Art and Design together with Bureau A built a container housing complex that helps to observe people’s living habits. The eight inhabitable shipping container pods all have different functions. For example one container is meant to study people’s engagement in communal decision making. (via BUREAU A)

As we can see through these examples, the academic communities worldwide contribute to finding new applications for shipping containers. New applications attract new stakeholders and create more demand.

 

The catch of this story is that no matter how many applications they come up with, the standardized shipping containers themselves will stay the same. They will also be provided by Shanghai Metal Corporation. You can visit our website to find more details about our shipping containers. Check also our social media platforms for future updates.

    

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: BUREAU A, Inhabitat

Container Towers of Deep Dives And High Flies

A Polish design studio MOKO Architects an extreme sports venue that will be built on two abandoned concrete silos and a series of shipping containers. A 25 meter twin tower in 12 km from Warsaw’s nucleus will be built during 2015.

One the 25 meter towers will be completely filled with water. On the top people can dress their scuba wear and dive into the depths. In the bottom there is a cave that takes to the other tower. The rest of the other tower will be built for exercising skydiving.

Shipping containers will be used to build additional facilities to support the visiting extreme sportsmen. The containers will be turned into offices, kitchens, hostels, changing rooms, reading rooms, exhibition centers and cafeterias.

This a great example on how environmental conditions can be enhanced by putting used material into reuse. It also shows how already existing structures, in this case silos and shipping containers, can have new applications that many people have never thought before.

A same kind of sports venue could also be built by replacing the silos with oil tanks making the diving section wider. We sell high-quality oil tanks and shipping containers in Shanghai Metal Corporation. You can see details in our webpages. For any inquiries and questions, please use this form. Check also our social media platforms for future updates.

    

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

via Dezeen and Inhabitat

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The Many Architectural Applications of Shipping Containers vol.8

An interesting phenomenon related to shipping container architecture is that it has also pushed the development of other technology. One these technologies is water recycling and power generation technologies that have already been applied in container greenhouses.

Companies such as Freight Farms and PodPonics have introduced a new business model that converts second hand shipping containers into high-quality greenhouses that can be relocated almost everywhere. The technology associated with the business ensures a safe plantation of fruits, herbs and vegetables.

Damien Chivialle‘s model of urban farm units (UFU) has a system that uses live fishes and to to fertilize and recycle the farms water. Every container has a fish tank whose water flows in a closed circuit. The fish feces are broke into pieces that are utilized as fertilizers. The system also produces some methane for the farms secondary energy source. (source)

One major advantage of container farms is that now farms can be located closer to the places where the food will be eaten. Thereby, say, restaurants can minimize their shipping costs and still offer their customers fresh and high quality food. What’s more the greens are produced without any chemicals cutting the amount of pesticides to zero.

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft has also contributed to container related power producing technology. His competition for designing toilets for developing countries has produced many ideas including Duke University’s innovation. The creative solution sanitizes human waste and creates electricity as a by-product. You can read more about it in our former article.

If you are looking for containers to start or expand your business, we in Shanghai Metal Corporation can offer them. We have many kinds of containers with different door solutions. You can check our website for further details or send us a message through this form. Check also our social media platforms for new updates.

    

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and Original articles: Singularityhub, Designboom, Forbes, Overgrow the System, Pando Daily, Motionpictures blog

Continue to chapter 9.

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Stand under my Air-brella

Umbrellas in history

Umbrellas, probably a converted branch of tree,  first appeared in ancient Egypt more than 3 000 years ago and were used mostly for protecting royalty from sunlight. The first waterproof umbrellas were discovered in 11th century BC in China and they were made of leather. Nowadays majority of modern umbrellas are made in China. One Chinese city, Shangyu, has more than 1 000 factories for producing umbrellas! People at that time would be very surprised to see that the invisible air umbrella concept was created. Will it be more useful than the “normal” umbrellas?

This concept uses forced air to repel falling water. It was created by UK industrial design student Quentin DeBaene and a research team in China claims it could create this umbrella by 2015.

How does it work?

The air umbrella uses high-powered jets to emit forced air to repel falling raindrops away from your body, before they can even hit your body. As this umbrella uses ultra high speed fan, the research team has found the way how to charge the batter only for 30 minutes, so this umbrella won’t be useful for a long walk. The retail price is expected to be around $200. I would maybe buy 20 umbrellas instead of this one, half an hour working umbrella. But who knows, it can be changed in the future. See the video here and judge the creation. (via inhabitat, core77)

Shanghai Metal Corporation is still loyal to classic umbrellas and offers phosphorized steel wire, that is widely used for producing umbrellas, and other steel products. For more information visit the main website or send us inquiry. English speaking staff will guide you further. Download a new application by scanning QR code below or follow us on Social media.

    

Silvia M.//SMC Editor

Read more articles written by this author here.

Credits : inhabitat.com, core77.com, umbrellahistory.net, googleimages

How to improve the taste of tap water

The taste of tap water isn’t as good as it used to be. The water pollution is one of the most serious problems in the world. More countries don’t have drinkable water so many of people just started to buy bottles of water in shops. BUT! Don’t forget that you can improve the taste of tap water and purify it at home by yourselves, you just need some copper.

We drink water every day and drinking safe water is extremely important for our health. Specific amounts of lead, arsenic or radioactive particles may lead to illness and even to death. There are few methods of purifying water and I will introduce you the way using copper.

Copper-zinc method

This water filtration technology (sold under name KDF) uses granules of  copper and zinc allow to purify water. These copper and zinc molecules are like different poles on a battery. Certain water contaminants are drawn toward the zinc while others are drawn toward copper. Chemical reactions are releasing ozone and other particles which can kill bacteria and organisms but it can’t remove organic contaminants and pesticides. It can effectively removes metals and chlorine.

Crystal and copper purifying water

Studio Formafantasma has created a collection of engraved crystal and copper vessels with charcoal to purify and serve water. Activation of charcoal perforates it with tiny holes, increases its surface area and removes impurities from water.

Designers made these vessels of these materials because they wanted to make from water purification a daily routine.  Patterns engraved into the crystal represent a microscopic view of bacteria found in rivers in 19th century. This collection was a part of an exhibition in Milan.

So what do you think? It is modern, original, useful and can make your water tasty or as designers describe it “the most humble and fundamental of all drinks”.

 

In Shanghai Metal Corporation we offer high-quality copper products or other metal products. For more information visit our website or send us inquiry. Our English speaking staff will help you to find the best product for you. Download a new application by scanning QR code below.

    

Silvia M.//SMC Editor

Read more articles written by this author here.

Credits : dezeen.com, formafantasma.com, drdavidwilliams.com, googleimages