{"id":3846,"date":"2012-01-28T12:00:20","date_gmt":"2012-01-28T17:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=3846"},"modified":"2012-01-28T11:39:10","modified_gmt":"2012-01-28T16:39:10","slug":"harnessing-your-inner-qi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/harnessing-your-inner-qi\/","title":{"rendered":"Harnessing your Inner Qi: Traditional Medicine Theory"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Now that we’ve introduced traditional forms of) Chinese medicine, it’s time to take a look at the theory behind these timeless practices. Traditional Chinese Medicine (\u4e2d\u533b) is based on\u00a0Yinyangism<\/a> (later absorbed by\u00a0Daoism<\/a>).From this follows the belief that all parts of the universe (including the human body) are interconnected by\u00a0correspondence of “qi”, blood, bodily fluids, zang-fu, and meridians within the body. When all five are in harmony, the body is at balance between yin and yang, leaving the subject in good health. However, if these five are out of sync, according to Chinese medicine, the subject will become ill.<\/p>\n

Here’s how the five are related and interact:<\/p>\n

Qi (\u6c14\uff09<\/strong><\/p>\n

Traditional Chinese medicine covers a number of different kinds of practices, most of which focus on balancing the distribution or movement of the body’s\u00a0qi<\/a> (\u6c14)–a putative energy that has no real correlate in western medicine according to\u00a0Daoist philosophical and\u00a0religious conceptions of\u00a0yinyang.\u00a0In general, traditional Chinese medical theory holds that there is a finite amount of qi available in the body, sometimes distinguishing between natal (inborn\/innate) qi and developed (harnessed\/gained).<\/p>\n

Qi is believed to be partially generated from food and drink, and partially from air (by breathing).\u00a0Another considerable part of it is inherited from the parents and will be consumed in the course of life.\u00a0Chinese traditional medicine distinguishes not only one but several different kinds of qi (\u6c14).Qi is defined by five “cardinal functions”:<\/p>\n

1) Actuation (\u63a8\u52a8, tu\u012bd\u00f2ng) – of all physical processes in the body, especially the circulation of all body fluids such as blood in their vessels.<\/p>\n

2) Warming (\u6e29\u7166, w\u0113nx\u00f9) – the body, especially the limbs.<\/p>\n

3) Defense (\u9632\u5fa1, f\u00e1ngy\u00f9) – against Exogenous Pathogenic Factors<\/p>\n

4) Containment (\u56fa\u6444, g\u00f9sh\u00e8) – of body fluids, i.e. keeping blood, sweat, urine, semen etc. from leakage or excessive emission.<\/p>\n

5) Transformation (\u6c14\u5316, q\u00echu\u00e0) – of food, drink, and breath into qi and blood.<\/p>\n

Blood (\u8840):<\/strong><\/p>\n

In contrast to qi, blood, or \u8840 (<\/span><\/strong>xu\u011b<\/span>) is a tangible aspect of Chinese medicine.<\/span> It is, nevertheless, defined by its functions: nourishing all parts and tissues of the body, safeguarding an adequate degree of moisture,<\/span> and sustaining and soothing both consciousness and sleep.<\/span> Typical symptoms attributed to a dysfunction of xu\u011b (such as a lack of it) are pale complexion, dry skin and hair, dry stools, numbness of hands and feet, forgetfulness, insomnia, excessive dreaming, and anxiety<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Body Fluids (\u6d25\u6db2):<\/strong><\/p>\n

Closely related to blood are blody fluids or \u00a0\u6d25\u6db2 (<\/span><\/strong>j\u012bny\u0117).<\/span> Just like blood, body fluids are considered to be yin in nature, and defined first and foremost by the functions of nurturing and moisturizing the different structures of the body.\u00a0Their other functions are to harmonize yin and yang, and to help with secretion of waste products.\u00a0Body fluids are ultimately extracted from food and drink, and constitute the raw material for the production of blood; conversely, blood can also be transformed into body fluids.Their phsycial manifestations are: \u00a0tears, sputum, saliva, gastric juice, joint fluid, sweat, urine, etc…<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Z\u00e0ng-f\u01d4 (\u810f\u8151):<\/strong><\/p>\n

Z\u00e0ng-f\u01d4 or\u00a0\u810f\u8151 constitutes\u00a0the centre piece of Chinese traditional medicine’s systematization of bodily functions. Bearing the names of organs, they are, however, only tied to rudimentary \u00a0anatomical assumptions (the f\u01d4 a little more, the z\u00e0ng much less).\u00a0Because zang fu is primarily defined by functions,\u00a0zang fu organs are not equivalent to the anatomical organs.<\/p>\n

The term z\u00e0ng (\u810f) refers to the five entities considered to be yin in nature –\u00a0Heart,\u00a0Liver,\u00a0Spleen,\u00a0Lung,\u00a0Kidney\u00a0, while f\u01d4 (\u8151) refers to the six yang organs –\u00a0Small Intestine,\u00a0Large Intestine,\u00a0Gallbladder,\u00a0Urinary Bladder,\u00a0Stomach and\u00a0S\u0101njia\u014d.\u00a0The z\u00e0ng’s essential functions consist in production and storage of q\u00ec and blood; in a wider sense they are stipulated to regulate digestion, breathing, water metabolism, the musculoskeletal system, the skin, the sense organs, aging, emotional processes, mental activity etc…The f\u01d4 organs’ main purpose is merely to transmit and digest\u00a0substances like waste, food, etc…<\/p>\n

Since their concept was developed on the basis of\u00a0W\u01d4 X\u00edng<\/a> philosophy, each z\u00e0ng is paired with a f\u01d4, and each z\u00e0ng-f\u01d4 pair is assigned to one of five elemental qualities (i.e., the Five Elements or Five Phases).These correspondences are stipulated as:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n