What are the four seasons in ancient times?

Four Seasons Health Care in Ancient China

Four-season health care is to adjust the functions of various parts of the human body according to the changing laws and characteristics of the four seasons throughout the year, so as to achieve the purpose of health and longevity.

China's ancient regimen was based on the philosophy of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi. Laozi said in the twenty-fifth chapter of Tao Te Ching: "People should learn from the land, the land should learn from the sky, the sky should learn from the Tao, and the Tao should be natural." Advocate people to conform to nature.

Zhuangzi inherited Laozi's view of nature, and advocated learning from nature, conforming to nature and further mastering the law on the basis of conforming to the law of nature. "Zhuangzi Tian Yun" said: "Those who enjoy themselves should first treat them with personnel, obey them with righteousness, treat them with five virtues, treat them with nature, and then adjust them to four seasons, and everything will blend in." It is advocated that the weather should be timely and the health should be adjusted under the condition of mastering the laws of the four seasons.

Under the guidance of this holistic view of conforming to the natural environment and the correspondence between man and nature, China thought in ancient times that all life activities of the human body must conform to the objective law of the ebb and flow of Yin and Yang in the four seasons, and thus put forward the principle of keeping healthy in the four seasons with "nourishing Yang in spring and summer and nourishing Yin in autumn and winter" as the general principle.

The changes of yin and yang, seasons and day and night cycles in nature will inevitably affect the physiology and pathology of human body, so corresponding measures must be taken for health preservation. In nature, spring grows and summer grows, and autumn harvests and winter storage. People must also adapt to the characteristics of birth, growth, harvest and storage.

spring

Mastering the characteristics of spring qi rising and relaxing, controlling and spreading the qi of spring yang, focusing on protecting the liver.

summer

Yang is the most abundant and easily metabolized. To make the qi in the body smooth and vent freely, we must show an open mind and pay attention to protecting the heart yang.

autumn

Hide the yin in it, keep your heart calm, converge and protect your lungs.

winter

Keep a closed mind, go to bed early and get up late, keep good spirits and protect your kidneys.

"Nourishing yang in spring and summer, nourishing yin in autumn and winter" is an important principle of health preservation put forward by our ancestors on the basis of health preservation in four seasons. Yang is abundant in spring and summer, so it is necessary to nourish Yang by the growth of Yang, and nourish Yin by the gathering of Yang in autumn and winter. The yang maintained in spring and summer prepares for the collection in autumn and winter; Yin Qi, which is maintained in autumn, is preparing for the growth of next spring and summer. In this way, the balance of yin and yang, nature and the natural state of the human body can be maintained.

The influence of natural environment (including climatic environment and geographical environment) on human body is obvious. Geographical location, latitude and longitude, moisture, air, soil, light, temperature, humidity and other natural environments are not only the space for human survival, but also the important conditions for shaping human beings and affecting their physiology, pathology and life. "The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic Su Wen Yin and Yang should be like a big theory" has long pointed out: "If you don't use the principle of land, it will be a disaster." As early as thousands of years ago, the ancients in China pointed out the importance of the environment to human beings, and believed that only the right time, the right place and the right people could make people harmonious.

Four-season health preservation is a very important principle in TCM theory and the basis of TCM health preservation. On this basis, the methods of "treating winter diseases in summer" and "biological clock" are the concrete applications of the principles of "nourishing yang in spring and summer, nourishing yin in autumn and winter" and "four seasons environment". Facts have proved that Xia Zhishi's method of warming spleen and kidney in spring can often get good results in treating chronic asthma which is easy to occur in autumn and winter. It is better to treat constipation and insomnia with biological clock therapy than to take any medicine.

The rhythm of the human body is mainly influenced by the natural rhythms of the universe such as the sun, the earth and the moon. There is a corresponding relationship between man and nature, and the favorable factors in nature can be used for health preservation, while the unfavorable factors in nature, such as "virtual evil and thief wind", should be actively defended, and "avoiding" the heat and cold are unfavorable factors and should be avoided as far as possible.

"Huangdi Neijing Su Wen Si Qi Tiao Shen" said: "Therefore, for those who keep in good health at four seasons, everything starts from the end, and life and death are fundamental. If they violate it, they will be born in a disaster and they can't get sick from it. This is the Tao. The Taoist, the sage does it, and the fool wears it. " This is a high summary and evaluation of the four seasons health preservation, and it is an important theory and essence of China's ancient health preservation, which is worth studying and following.