Rice

Rice is read as daily provision and, in Chinese tradition, as the standing image for ordinary sustenance. Rice is Earth and staple. Traditional Chinese sources use it almost idiomatically — losing the rice bowl means losing the living, not the meal.

It points to a function rather than an event. Rice is read as daily provision and, in Chinese tradition, as the standing image for ordinary sustenance. Traditional readings ask what the object is for and whether it is working, rather than treating it as a sign. A single grain of rice is a known minimalist variant, read as the smallest unit of something ample.

The grain's state matters: raw, cooked or scattered rice are three different readings, and scattered is the most frequently recorded. It is grouped under Earth (土) in the five-element system.