A good book about the popularization of Chinese medicine is especially suitable for people who have no foundation in Chinese medicine and are very interested in Chinese medicine.
Extract the essence of a chapter:
Approaching the Essence of TCM: Chapter III: The Essence of Health
The definition of health in Ci Hai is: the organ system is well developed, the function is normal, the body is strong, energetic and the labor efficiency is good. If congenital dysplasia or deformity is excluded, health should meet two conditions, that is, all tissues and organs of the body can operate normally and harmoniously, maintain the dynamic balance inside the human body, and the human body does not feel discomfort or pain subjectively.
The human body is an organic whole composed of various tissues and organs, which are composed of various cells with different functions and properties. Tissues, organs and cells are interrelated and interact with each other through nerves, hormones, media, active ingredients and other substances, thus forming a complex whole. The changes of any organ, cell or even some components are actually closely related to and influenced by the whole body. Therefore, when we understand diseases and health, we can't take human internal organs seriously.
Let's make a simple analogy: "A pool of stagnant water stinks and turns black. Through the analysis of water quality, we can find that a large number of spoilage bacteria breed in the water, but if we think that spoilage bacteria are the root cause of the foul smell and blackening of the pool, we hope to improve the water quality by killing spoilage bacteria. Everyone knows that this method is not desirable, because it ignores that the fundamental reason why the pool stinks and turns black is that the overall ecological balance is destroyed after the pool loses its fluidity. An environment suitable for the breeding of spoilage bacteria is formed, which leads to the phenomenon that the water quality stinks and turns black. If the breeding environment of spoilage bacteria is not fundamentally eliminated (such as introducing tap water to restore the ecological balance of the pool), it is impossible to fundamentally improve the water quality by killing spoilage bacteria, and so is the understanding of diseases. Only by considering the human body as a whole can we have a correct view of the disease.
"To convey the spirit with images" means that Chinese medicine adopts another method, which is also a more scientific method. That's a method we mentioned earlier to explore the internal laws of things through their external signs. The ideological core of this method is "entirety" and "balance".
The theory of "holism-balance", the so-called "holism-balance", means that the understanding of diseases in TCM always starts from two aspects.
As a whole, people are a complex whole, and any local lesions are closely related to the whole. Therefore, when we understand diseases, we need to always proceed from the whole.
② Balance, any disease is the result of the overall balance being destroyed, and different parts of the balance being destroyed will produce different symptoms. Therefore, we can judge the destruction of internal balance by analyzing and studying the external symptoms of human body, so as to grasp the essence of the disease. Grasp the outcome of the disease.
Only by studying patients as a whole can we closely link local diseases with the overall situation, recognize the whole picture of diseases, take balance as the criterion of normal human body, and judge the real root of diseases according to their different manifestations. The theory of "overall balance" makes it possible for Chinese medicine to explore the internal laws through the external manifestations of the human body, and also makes Chinese medicine embark on a road different from modern medicine when exploring the mysteries of life and the origin of diseases.
Therefore, our understanding of the mystery of life goes beyond the level of micro-molecules, so that we can know and understand diseases from a comprehensive and holistic perspective.
In terms of research ideas and methods, the "wholeness-balance" of traditional Chinese medicine enables us to firmly grasp the changing law of life movement in various situations, while ignoring the complex and changeable structure and components inside the organism and the dynamic process of changing movement all the time. Although diseases are ever-changing, they can't escape the six categories of TCM: exterior and interior, deficiency and excess, cold and heat, internal injuries, exogenous diseases and internal and external causes. It can't escape the positioning of the six meridians and viscera of traditional Chinese medicine.
The continuous development of various inspection instruments in modern medicine also provides more clues for us to explore the overall balance law of human body. But when using these tests, we should pay attention to the relationship between these test results and the overall balance, and treat and apply these laboratory tests from the perspective of dynamic balance.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) found in medical observation and practice that there is a regular relationship between the five zang-organs and this relationship is expounded by the theory of "five elements interacting with each other" and "five elements interacting with each other", in which "five elements interacting with each other" refers to the relationship between the zang-organs, and the five zang-organs form a unified whole through this relationship and restriction.
The Five Elements is a way for China's ancient philosophy to understand the material world. Through the analysis and induction of the basic characteristics of various substances, the ancients believed that everything in the universe was composed of five basic elements, namely, wood, fire, earth, gold and water, and each element had its own characteristics.
Wood is characterized by upward growth and outward extension, so everything with growth, rising, smoothness, comfort and other functions or properties can be attributed to "wood" fire, which is characterized by warmth and rising, so everything with warmth, rising, activity, rising or properties can be attributed to "fire" soil, which is the basis for the growth of all things. Therefore, anything with fertility, acceptance, reproduction, biochemical function or nature can be attributed to "soil". The characteristics of gold are astringent, heavy and stable, so everything with the functions and properties of cleanliness, depression and astringency can be classified as "gold", and the characteristics of water are moistening, cooling and cold, so everything with the functions or properties of cooling, moistening and cooling can be classified as "water".
According to the different functions and characteristics of the five internal organs of human body, TCM developed the theory of five elements.
Among them, the liver has the function of soothing the liver and regulating qi (referring to the movement state of qi), so it belongs to wood, and the heart has the function of promoting blood circulation and warming the body, which is similar to fire, so it belongs to fire, and the spleen has the functions of transporting diet, hematopoiesis and immunity. And it is the source of nutrients in various tissues and organs of human body, which is similar to soil, so it belongs to soil, and lungs have their own characteristics.
It should be pointed out that the concept of five zang-organs in TCM is different from that in anatomy. Liver, heart, spleen, lung and kidney in traditional Chinese medicine not only refer to these five organs, but also include the functions of various systems related to these five organs. It can be said that the five internal organs referred to by Chinese medicine are actually five systems, each with its own functional characteristics!
This understanding of the five zang-organs in TCM is obtained under the research method of "wholeness-balance", because the five zang-organs do not exist alone in the body, but are studied in isolation as five independent organs, so our understanding of the five zang-organs is often incomplete, and even mistakes may occur, while TCM studies the five zang-organs through various relationships and connections in the process of completing their physiological functions.
The five elements theory of traditional Chinese medicine is not static, and all the five internal organs belong to the isolated five elements. On the contrary, it explores the interrelation and mutual restriction among the five elements, so as to realize the dynamic balance of the whole. The so-called symbiosis means that one thing can promote, encourage and breed another thing, and the so-called mutual restriction means that this thing can inhibit and restrict the growth and function of another thing.
The relationship between the five elements is as follows: wood makes fire, fire makes soil, soil makes gold, gold makes water, and aquatic wood.
How is the relationship between the five elements established? This is actually very easy to understand. Drilling wood can make a fire, so wood can make a fire. What will happen to combustible materials such as wood and paper when they catch fire? Of course, it will turn into ashes or dust, so fire can produce soil. Where do metals such as gold, silver, copper and iron come from? Of course, it comes from underground metal mines, so the soil can produce gold. What will metal become when it melts? It is liquid water, so gold can produce water. What is the most important thing for the growth of trees? Of course it's water, so water can make wood. The five elements are so clear! Corresponding these relationships with the five zang-organs is: liver gives birth to heart, heart gives birth to spleen, spleen gives birth to lung, lung gives birth to kidney, and kidney gives birth to liver. These relationships enable each organ to get support and nutrition from other organs, so as to play the best functional state.
Traditional Chinese medicine calls the living "mother" and the living "son". The relationship between the five zang-organs determines that the mother's viscera and the child's viscera are interdependent and complementary. The mother's prosperity is the son's prosperity, and the mother's deficiency is the son's deficiency.
Therefore, in traditional Chinese medicine, the method of "nurturing the mother" is often used to treat diseases with weak viscera, which is called "nourishing the mother due to deficiency" and treating diseases with excess viscera by "purging the child". For hyperactive diseases, the so-called "diarrhea", if the symbiotic relationship between the five internal organs is normal, each organ can play its maximum functional state. If the synergy is insufficient, the viscera will decline or be disordered due to the loss of maternal assistance, thus affecting its play.
The relationship between the five elements is as follows: Mutuke, Tukeshui, Shuihoke, Huojinke and Jin Kemu.
How to understand the relationship of mutual respect? It's also very simple. Wood can absorb nutrients from the soil, so it can block the soil. As the saying goes, "the enemy will block it and the water will cover it." There is no doubt that soil is the nemesis of water, so soil can block water and water can put out fire, so water can block fire and fire can melt metal. So fire can stop gold, and knives and axes can cut down trees. What are knives and axes made of? Of course, it is metal, so Jin Kemu, the five elements correspond to the five internal organs; Liver governs spleen, spleen governs kidney, kidney governs heart, heart governs lung, and lung governs liver.
Interrelation can restrict the functional activities of various organs to a certain extent, so that all organs can achieve a state of mutual coordination and dynamic balance. Reciprocal relationship is the restriction of one system on another. According to the degree of restriction, there are often three results: one is balance, the other is not enough, and the third is too much.
The theory of "five elements generating grams" is actually the concrete embodiment of contact and restriction, which ultimately boils down the functions of various organs of the human body to a whole. The functional state and activities of any organ are not only influenced by other organs, but also affect other organs all the time. Therefore, we can think that the viscera are interdependent, which makes the whole human body reach a state of dynamic balance, which is the essence of human health, and once this dynamic balance is destroyed, various diseases will appear in the human body.