Mexico. Zuni. China. _North_. Red, Fire. Yellow, Air. Black, Water. _West_. Yellow, Earth. Blue, Water. White, Metal. _South_. Blue, Air. Red, Fire. Red, Fire. _East_. Green, Water. White, Earth. Blue, Wood. _Middle_. Many colors. Middle, All Yellow, Earth. colors. A deep-seated analogy may, however, be traced between the Chinese assignment of “wood” to the Middle and the Maya-Mexican employment of the tree as a symbol of life proceeding from the centre, stretching above and below and spreading its branches to the four quarters. It remains to be seen how far the Chinese assignment of “wood” to the Middle approached the American tree-symbolism. The marked differentiation in the assignment of colors to the cardinal points in the above comparative table leads to the conclusion that their choice had been arbitrary and was possibly influenced by local environment, the possibility of obtaining certain pigments in given directions, or by language, the names of certain colors or elements resembling in sound those of the cardinal points, etc.(83) After studying the above comparative lists it becomes clear that, whilst the fundamental principle of the system was identical, the mode of carrying it out was different in China and America, a fact which indicates independence and isolation at the period when elements and colors, etc., were chosen and assigned to the directions in space. An analogous instance of divergence is shown in the following assignment of parts of the body to the cardinal points: CHINESE. North Kidneys. West Lungs. South Heart. East Liver. Middle Stomach. Zenith —— Nadir ——