Concept

Five flavours

五味wu wei

2 sources

A classical framework of five flavours — pungent, sweet, sour, bitter and salty — in which each taste is associated with characteristic tendencies, such as pungent dispersing, sweet harmonizing, sour securing, bitter downbearing and salty softening; astringent and bland are sometimes counted alongside them.

Source

Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu)卷一·序例上·神农本经名例·气味（酸咸甘苦辛五味）

Full definition

Classical source text (Chinese) — English summary above.

药有酸、咸、甘、苦、辛五味。

Citations

Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷一·序例上·神农本经名例·气味（酸咸甘苦辛五味）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its definition.
WHO international standard terminologies on traditional Chinese medicine · World Health Organization · WHO IST-TCM 2022, WGM2 #2638 (§3.3, 四气五味)Cited from WHO international standard terminologies on traditional Chinese medicine for its standardized terminology.