TCM Acupuncture and Massage

Chapter 3 Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2)
2. Interaction of Yin and Yang

Yin and Yang are the unity of opposites, and the two are opposite to each other.They are interdependent, and neither can exist without the other.Like up and down, without up, there is no down; without down, there is no up.Left and right, without the left, there is no right; without the right, there is no left.That is, yin and yang, each of which regards the existence of the other as the condition for its own existence. For example, "Yin and Yang" says: "Yin and yang are each other's roots, yang is rooted in yin, yin is rooted in yang; without yang, There is no yin to be born, and there is no yang to transform without yin.”This is the interaction of yin and yang.

The interdependence between yin and yang is not only manifested in the interdependence between relative things, such as qi and blood, qi belongs to yang, and blood belongs to yin; qi is the commander of blood, and blood is the home of qi. Interoperable.Moreover, it is also reflected in the interdependence between the relative functions of the body. For example, the most essential physiological functions of the human body are excitation and inhibition. Excitation is yang, and inhibition is yin. Without excitement, there is no inhibition; without inhibition, there is no excitement. The two are also interoperable.

Yang depends on yin to exist, and yin depends on yang to exist; if for some reason, the mutual relationship between yin and yang is destroyed, it will lead to "a lonely yin does not grow, and a single yang does not grow." ", or even "yin and yang are separated, essence and energy are exhausted" and death.

In addition, the mutual use of yin and yang is the internal basis for the transformation of yin and yang.Because under certain conditions, yin and yang transform into opposite aspects of themselves.If there is no mutual root and interoperability relationship between Yin and Yang, that is to say, Yin and Yang are not in a unity, then there cannot be a relationship of mutual transformation.

3. The balance of growth and decline of yin and yang

The opposition, restriction and interaction between yin and yang are not in a static and unchanging state, but are always in constant motion and change, that is, "balance of growth and decline".The balance between yin and yang is not static and absolutely balanced, but a relative balance is maintained within a certain limit and within a certain period of time.

The growth and decline of yin and yang are in balance, and the movement of things is absolute, while stillness is relative; the growth and decline are absolute, and balance is a relative law.Such as the change of climate in the four seasons, the change of day and night, morning and evening, etc.

The constant changes and constant balance of yin and yang can maintain the normal life activities of the human body.If there is only "Yin disappears and Yang grows" without "Yang disappears and Yin grows", or if there is only "Yang disappears and Yin grows" without "Yin disappears and Yang grows", it destroys the relative balance of Yin and Yang, resulting in partial prosperity or excess of Yin or Yang. Partial decline leads to the imbalance of growth and decline of yin and yang. For the human body, the normal physiological dynamic balance will be out of balance, and pathological changes will occur, resulting in diseases.

4. Mutual transformation of yin and yang

The transformation of yin and yang refers to the opposite sides of yin and yang, which can transform in opposite directions under certain conditions, that is, yin can be transformed into yang, and yang can also be transformed into yin.The mutual transformation of yin and yang is generally manifested in the "extreme matter" stage of the change of things, that is, "the extreme of things must be reversed".If the "ebb and flow of yin and yang" is a process of quantitative change, then the transformation of yin and yang is a qualitative change based on quantitative change.For example, when night turns into day, it turns from yin to yang; when warm spring and summer turn into cool autumn and winter, it turns from yang to yin.

To sum up, yin and yang are relative attributes of things, so there is infinite divisibility; yin and yang are contradictory and restrictive, mutually rooted and interoperable, growth and decline balance and mutual transformation, etc., which illustrate the relationship between yin and yang, not isolation, Static and unchanging, they are interrelated, mutually influencing, opposite and complementary, and cause and effect each other.

([-]) Application of Yin-Yang Theory in Traditional Chinese Medicine

The theory of yin and yang runs through all aspects of the theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine. It is used to explain the organizational structure, physiological functions, and the occurrence and development of diseases of the human body, and to guide clinical diagnosis and treatment.

1. Explain the organizational structure of the human body

The human body is an organic and unified whole. The whole human body and the organizational structure of each part have the relationship of the unity of opposites and unity of yin and yang. They are not only related to each other, but also can be divided into two parts.

The yin and yang attributes of human viscera and organs: In terms of human body parts, the upper part is yang, the lower part is yin; the body surface is yang, the inside is yin; the back is yang, the abdomen is yin; the outside of the limbs is yang, and the inside is yin.Divided according to internal organs, the five internal organs belong to the interior, storing essence and energy but not leaking, so they are yin; the six internal organs are external, transmitting and transforming things without storing them, so they are yang; among the five internal organs, each has its own yin and yang, that is, the heart and lungs are located on the top The lower part belongs to yang, and the liver, spleen, and kidney are located at the lower part and belong to yin; specifically, each viscera is divided into yin and yang, that is, the heart has heart yin and heart yang; the kidney has kidney yin and kidney yang, etc.

2. Explain the physiological functions of the human body

The physiological function of the human body, on the one hand, is manifested in the functional scope of various organs and tissues and their interconnections;The former refers to the life activities of the human body, which is the result of the coordination and balance of yin and yang.For example, ascending and descending in and out are the basic forms of human Qi movement.Yang governs ascension, yin governs descending; yang governs exit, and yin governs entry.The physiological functions of the human body are all realized through the rising and falling of Qi.The latter refers to the use of yin and yang to distinguish various substances with different physiological functions in the human body. For example, the "defense qi" with the functions of strengthening and warming the skin surface is called "wei yang"; The "ying qi" in the body is called "ying yin".The physiological activities of the human body are based on matter, and without the movement of matter, no physiological functions can be produced.As a result of physiological activities, the metabolism of substances is continuously promoted.The relationship between human body functions and matter, that is, the relationship between yin and yang interdependence and mutual ebb and flow.If yin and yang cannot be separated for mutual use, human life will come to an end. Therefore, "Suwen Qi Tongtian Theory" says: "When yin and yang are secret, the spirit is cured; when yin and yang are separated, the essence and qi are eliminated."

3. Explain the pathological changes of the human body

The theory of yin and yang is also used in traditional Chinese medicine to explain the pathological changes of the human body, and it is believed that the occurrence of diseases is caused by the imbalance of yin and yang in the human body.There are many manifestations of yin-yang imbalance, which can be summarized as the partial prosperity and partial decline of yin or yang, and the involvement of the other party, etc., which can be collectively referred to as "yin-yang disharmony".In many cases, the process of disease occurrence and development is a process of struggle between good and evil, each winning and losing.This process can be broadly explained by the partial victory of yin and yang, the partial decline of yin and yang, the mutual loss of yin and yang, and the transformation of yin and yang.

Because yin and yang are mutually supportive and mutually reinforcing, so when yin and yang are out of balance, there will be a phenomenon of partial prosperity and partial decline of yin and yang.Using yin and yang to explain the pathological relationship between matter and function, heat symptoms such as hyperfunction and body fluid consumption are mostly yang-exuberant symptoms, while cold symptoms such as insufficiency or decline and turbid yin accumulation are mostly yin-excess symptoms.

(1) Predominance of yin and yang: that is, yin and yang are dominant, and it is a lesion in which either yin or yang is higher than the normal level. "Suwen·Yin and Yang Yingxiang Dalun" pointed out: "When yin prevails, yang disease occurs; when yang prevails, yin disease occurs; when yang prevails, it becomes hot; when yin prevails, it causes cold."

(2) Partial decline of yin and yang: that is, yin deficiency and yang deficiency, which are diseases in which either yin or yang is lower than the normal level. "Su Wen Tiao Jing Lun" pointed out: "Yang deficiency leads to external cold, and yin deficiency leads to internal heat." According to the principle of dynamic balance of yin and yang, the deficiency of either yin or yang will inevitably lead to relative excess of the other.

(3) Transformation of yin and yang: The pathological phenomena of yin and yang imbalance in the human body can also transform in opposite directions under certain conditions, that is, yang syndrome can be transformed into yin syndrome, and yin syndrome can be transformed into yang syndrome. "Suwen Yin and Yang Yingxiang Dalun": "Severe cold is hot, and severe heat is cold"; "Severe yin must be yang, and heavy yang must be yin".

4. Used in the diagnosis of diseases

Since the internal cause of the development and changes of the disease lies in the imbalance of yin and yang, although its clinical manifestations are intricate and ever-changing, they can all be described in terms of yin or yang. "Suwen·Yin and Yang Yingxiang Dalun" said: "Those who are good at diagnosis, check the color and feel the pulse, and first distinguish between yin and yang." For example: bright colors belong to yang; dark and dark belong to yin.In terms of voice, the voice is high-pitched, loud, talkative and restless, which is mostly real, hot, and yang; the voice is low and weak, seldom spoken and calm, mostly empty, cold, and yin.In the pulse condition, a floating, large, flooding and slippery pulse is yang; a sinking, small, fine and astringent pulse is yin.Diseased parts are also divided into yin and yang. Those on the outside and above belong to yang, while those on the inside and below belong to yin.

5. It is used in the treatment of diseases. The root cause of diseases is the imbalance of yin and yang. Therefore, the basic principle of treatment is to adjust yin and yang, supplement the deficiency, purify the excess, and restore the relative balance of yin and yang. "Su Wen Zhizhenyao Dalun" says: "Be careful to observe the location of yin and yang and adjust them, so as to be equal."To guide the treatment of diseases with the theory of yin and yang, one is to determine the principles of treatment, and the other is to summarize the properties of drugs.

(1) Determining the treatment principle: Yin and Yang are superior, and it is a sign of excess.If yang heat prevails, it will easily damage yin liquid; if yin cold prevails, it will easily damage yang qi.Therefore, when adjusting the partial strength of yin and yang, one should pay attention to whether there is a corresponding decline of yin and yang.If there is none, the method of "destroying more than enough" can be adopted; if one party is declining, it should take into account its deficiency and cooperate with the method of strengthening yang or benefiting yin.

If Yin and Yang are weak, it is a sign of insufficiency.Those who are deficient in yin and cannot control yang and cause hyperactivity of yang belong to deficiency-heat, and cold and cool medicines should not be used to directly reduce the heat, but should be "the master of strengthening water, to control sunlight", and use the method of nourishing yin and strengthening water to suppress hyperactivity of yang and fire. "Nei Jing" calls it "Yang disease cures Yin".If yang deficiency cannot control yin and cause yin excess, it belongs to deficiency and cold, and it is not suitable to use pungent and warm dispersing medicine to dispel yin and cold, but to use "the source of benefiting fire to eliminate yin and shade", that is, the method of supporting yang and strengthening fire to subside The abundance of yin, "Neijing" calls this "yin disease yang treatment".In addition, according to the principle of mutual roots of yin and yang, there is also the treatment method of seeking yang from yin and yin from yang.Zhang Jingyue's "Jingyue Quanshu Xinfang Bazhen" says: "Those who are good at tonifying yang must seek yang in yin, and then yang will get the help of yin to endlessly biochemical; those who are good at tonifying yin must seek yin in yang, and then yin will be obtained The sun rises and the fountain is inexhaustible."Therefore, the general principle of traditional Chinese medicine treatment is: purify the surplus and make up the deficiency.Those with excess yang can expel heat, those with excess yin can dispel cold; those with deficiency of yang can support yang, and those with deficiency of yin can nourish yin, so that the abnormal phenomenon of yin and yang partial gain and partial decline can return to a normal state of balance and coordination.

(2) Summarize the properties of drugs: Summarize the properties, flavors and functions of drugs with yin and yang as the basis for guiding clinical medication.Generally speaking, the performance of medicines is mainly determined by their qi (nature), taste, and ups and downs, and the qi, taste, and ups and downs of medicines can all be explained in terms of yin and yang.

The medicinal properties are mainly cold, hot, warm, and cool, also known as "four qi".Warmth belongs to yang, and coldness belongs to yin.The medicines that can alleviate or eliminate cold syndrome are mostly warm or hot, such as aconite and dried ginger.The medicines that can alleviate or eliminate heat syndrome are mostly cold or cool in nature, such as Scutellaria baicalensis and gardenia.

Five flavors: pungent, sweet, sour, bitter and salty.Among them, pungent, sweet, and bland are yang, and sour, bitter, and salty are yin.

Lifting and sinking: rising means ascending, descending means descending, floating means floating, and sinking means weight.Most of the medicines that have the functions of promoting yang, expelling wind and cold, vomiting, resuscitating, etc., mostly ascend and outward, and their nature rises and floats (for yang); Drugs with functions such as dispersing stagnation, reducing adverse effects, and astringent, all have subsidence (yin).[-]. The theory of the five elements The five elements, like the theory of yin and yang, also belong to the category of ancient philosophy.The Five Elements Theory is a world view and methodology to understand the world, explain the world and explore the laws of the universe based on the characteristics of the five substances of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water and the laws of "coexistence" and "phase restraint".Therefore, everything in the universe can be classified according to the characteristics of the five elements.There is a relationship of restraint and restraint among them. Through these interactive relationships, the five elements as a whole achieve a dynamic balance, thereby maintaining the survival and development of things.

The "Huangdi Neijing" applies the theory of the five elements to medicine, organically combines philosophical theories with medical knowledge, and forms the theory of the five elements in traditional Chinese medicine.Traditional Chinese medicine uses the theory of the five elements to understand the part and the whole of the human body, the organic connection between the body surface and internal organs, and the unity of the human body and the external environment to explain the physiological functions of the human body and explain the pathological changes of the body. It is used for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and has become a theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine. important parts of.

([-]) The basic concept of the five elements
Five refers to the five substances that make up the world, such as wood, fire, earth, gold, and water.Xing refers to the movement and changes of these five substances.

"Shangshu Dazhuan" said: "Water and fire are what the people eat and drink; metal and wood are what the people are doing; soil is what all things are born for, and they are for people."

"Shangshu Hongfan" understanding of the five elements: "One day water, two days fire, three days wood, four days metal, five days soil. Yuan Jiarong." It made a classic interpretation of the characteristics of the five elements, and based on this as the basic basis to classify various things.

([-]) The main content of the Five Elements Theory
The main content of the theory of the five elements includes: the characteristics of the five elements, the classification of the five elements of the attributes of things, the restraint of life between the five elements, the relationship between mother and child.

1. The characteristics of the five elements

(1) The characteristics of wood: "the wood is straight and straight". "Curved and straight" means that the branches of trees have the characteristics of growth, softness, bending and straightness, so it is extended to things with the properties and functions of growth, rising, stretching, and comfort, which all belong to wood.

(2) The characteristic of fire: "Fire rises as the sun rises". "Yan Shang" means that fire has the characteristics of warming and rising.Therefore, it is extended to mean that things with properties and functions such as warming, rising, and upward belong to fire.

(3) The characteristics of the soil: "earth farming". "Harvesting" generally refers to the agricultural activities of human beings planting and harvesting grains, so it is extended to things that have the properties and functions of biochemistry, carrying, and receiving, and all belong to soil.Therefore, there are sayings that "soil contains four elements", "all things are born in the soil", "all things are destroyed in the soil" and "soil is the mother of all things".

(4) The characteristics of gold: "Golden day follows the leather". "From leather" means that gold is produced through transformation, the so-called "leaves from soil to gold".Gold is heavy and is often used for killing, so all things that have the properties and functions of sinking, chilling, and restraining belong to gold.

(5) The characteristic of water: "Water moistens every day". "Moistening down" refers to the characteristics of water that moisten and descend, so it is extended to things that have the properties and functions of moistening, descending, cooling, and closing storage, all of which belong to water.

2. Five-element classification of object attributes
The Five Elements Theory uses the characteristics of the five elements to deduce and summarize the attributes of the five elements of things.Therefore, the five-element attributes of things are not equal to wood, fire, earth, metal, and water themselves.Instead, the nature and function of things are compared with the characteristics of the five elements, and the attributes of the five elements are obtained.If the property of a thing is similar to that of wood, it belongs to wood, and if the property of something similar to water, it belongs to water.

3. The Five Elements

(1) Mutual generation and mutual restraint: Mutual generation, which has the meaning of endowment, encouragement, and promotion. The mutual breeding and mutual promotion relationship between the five elements is called the mutual generation relationship of the five elements, that is, one thing has the effect of promoting, promoting, and breeding on another thing. ; Phase restraint, has the meaning of restriction, restraint, and restraint. The mutual restraint relationship between the five elements is called the five-element mutual restraint relationship, which means that one thing has the effect of restraining and restricting the growth and function of another thing.Intergeneration and mutual restraint are considered to be normal phenomena in nature in the Five Elements Theory; they are also normal physiological phenomena in terms of human physiology.It is precisely because of the relationship between things that produce and inhibit each other that the ecological balance can be maintained in nature.To maintain physiological balance in the human body, that is, "controlling biochemistry".

The order of the five elements' mutual generation: wood gives birth to fire, earth gives birth to metal, water gives birth to wood; the order of five elements' mutual restraint: wood restrains earth, restrains water, restrains fire, restrains gold and restrains wood.Since there is a relationship between the five elements of mutual generation and mutual restraint, from any "one line" of the five elements, there are four aspects of the relationship: Existence at the same time, take fire as an example, what gives birth to me is wood, what gives birth to me is earth, what restrains me is water, what restrains me is metal.

②Multiplication and insult: The multiplication and mutual insult between the five elements refer to a series of abnormal mutual restraint phenomena that appear after the restraint between the five elements is destroyed.In the mutual restraint relationship among the five elements, mutual generation and mutual restraint are two inseparable aspects.Mutual biochemical, mutual restraint, there is restraint in life, and life in restraint.Without birth, there is no occurrence and growth of things; without restraint, normal change and development cannot be maintained.It is through this restraint relationship among the five elements that the excess and deficiency of each element are prevented, and any thing is regulated as a whole, so as to maintain and promote the balance, coordination and development of things.

(End of this chapter)