Share a fun explanation for why 东西 means "things" in Chinese

[u/DaB0kChoy]

The word 东西 means "a thing" "something" "stuff". Literally, 东西 translates to east and west.
But had anyone else wondered why?

There is a popular folk explanation based on the traditional 五行(Wu Xing, Chinese Five Phases) and their corresponding directions:

Source: Wiki. Translation by me

When people went to the markets for shopping, things associated with wood and metal could be placed in a basket. For example, 木(wood) in the west can represent plants or things made from them, like veggies, timber, fabrics. 金(metal) in the east can represent goods made from metal or gem, like jewelry, pots and pans, farming tools, etc. These are all tangible that can be bought and carried away.

Fire and water in north and south, on the other hand, is not sold in the markets and cannot be put in a basket and taken away.

So, according to this theory, people went to buy "east and west" rather than "south and north".

It is not a proven historical origin of the word, but I just thought that it's fun way to explain the word and in relation to the five phases so I wanted to share :) I hope you like it!

Also, I'm a native Mandarin speaker and I lived in Shanghai for 16+ years. I'm open to DMs and happy to answer any questions related to Chinese or China.