This paper addresses the links between the ancient China’s concept of wu xing ( 五行) and Chinese music culture. The key element of China's musical tradition is a five-tone scale – a pentatonic scale. The pentatonic scale, or five tones (wu sheng, 五声), and the twelve-tone musical system shi er lü (十二律) are an integral part of the ancient Chinese culture of yin yang (阴阳) and wu xing (五行); apparently it is based (along with binary and tertiary approaches) on a notion of “quinary”, or a quinary classification. Also, the paper discusses various views on the pentatonic scale origin and development in China, the interrelationship and links between the pentatonic scale and music system of shi er lü (十 二 律).

Keywords: Chinese philosophy, musical mode, concept of wu xing (五行), fivefold conceptual scheme, binary conceptual scheme.