Five elements theory of Chinese medicine philosophy

The theory of five elements is an ancient philosophical theory that studies the laws of the movement of five elements, and is used to understand the world and explain the changes of the universe. It belongs to the ancient system theory and methodology.

First, the concept and classification of the five elements

(A) the basic concept of the five elements

The five elements are five attributes of wood, fire, soil and water and their movement changes.

It is generally believed that the five elements originated from the abstraction of the climate and phenological characteristics of the four seasons. Based on the characteristics of wood growth, this paper summarizes the warm climate characteristics in spring and the phenological characteristics of all things. In this paper, starting from the hot and upward characteristics of fire, the hot climate characteristics in summer and the phenological characteristics of the flourishing growth of everything are summarized. Based on the growth of soil, the wet climate characteristics and phenological characteristics of everything in long summer season are summarized. Based on the characteristics of gold settlement and removal, the cool and dry climate characteristics in autumn and the phenological characteristics of everything's collapse are summarized. Based on the characteristics that water is good at infiltration and moistening, the climatic characteristics of cold winter and the phenological characteristics of everything being closed are summarized. Spring and summer are long, summer, autumn and winter. Wind, heat, humidity, dryness and cold. Wood, fire, earth, gold and water.

(B) the characteristics and classification of the five elements

1. Five elements characteristics

(1) Muyue goes straight. The temperature in spring.

The fire is burning. Fever in summer.

(3) Good soil. Long summer is humid.

(4) gold said from leather. It is cool in autumn.

(5) Moisture is moist. It is very cold in winter.

2. Classification of five elements attributes

(1) classification method.

The first is the orientation comparison method, that is, to find out the unique signs that can reflect the essence from the image or essence of things, compare them with the characteristics of the five elements, and then boil them down to a line in the five elements. For example, liver belongs to wood, spleen belongs to soil, oriental belongs to wood, western belongs to gold, and central belongs to soil.

The second is deductive method, which is a method to deduce and summarize other related things according to the five-element attribute of known things, so as to determine their five-element attribution. For example, the liver belongs to wood in the five elements, while the liver and gallbladder are exterior and interior, which is closely related to tendons in form, enlightenment is in the eye, and glory is in fingernails. From this deduction, the liver, gallbladder, tendons, eyes and claws belong to wood in the five elements.

(2) The five-element classification of things' attributes.

Under the guidance of the overall concept and thought, TCM classifies all kinds of things and phenomena in nature, as well as the organizational structure and physiological and pathological phenomena of the human body into five elements with the five behavioral centers, spatial orientation, time and season, and five internal organs as the basic framework, thus forming a five-element structural system connecting the internal and external environment.

Classification table of five elements attributes of things

Second, the basic content of the Five Elements Theory

(A) the relationship between the five elements

1. restraint of five elements

(1) Five elements of wood fire, fire-born soil, primary gold, gold-born water, aquatic wood. Among them, my mother gave birth to me and my son gave birth to me, so the relationship is also called mother-child relationship.

(2) Five elements of wood, earth, water, water and fire, Jin Kemu.

(3) Five elements of wood make a fire, fire produces soil, wood produces soil, that is, life has a system. Earth and water, water and fire, fire and earth are the fate of the gram.

2. Bullying and the five elements of mother-child relationship

(1) Multiplication of five elements means that one of the five elements is too limited to the winning line, also known as "gram". Its order is the same as that of pilgrims. Wood holds soil, soil carries water, water carries fire, fire carries gold, and gold carries wood.

(2) The contradiction of the five elements refers to the reverse restraint on one line of the five elements and the invincible line, also known as "anti-gram". The order is opposite to the order of mutual resistance. Wood insults gold, gold insults fire, fire insults water, water insults soil, and soil insults wood.

(3) Mother-child relationship includes mother's disease and mother-child disease. Mother's illness affects children, like water is the mother of wood. If there is insufficient water, the wood will not grow, then the wood will be deficient, the water will be exhausted, and the mother and the child will be weak. If the child is sick to the mother, if the heart is the son of the liver, the lack of hard work will lead to liver blood deficiency, leading to blood deficiency of the heart and liver. There are generally two situations in which both mother and child are ill: first, both mother and child are real, such as hearts and hearts. Second, both mother and child are deficient, such as liver and kidney yin deficiency.

(B) China-Turkey Five Elements Model

The five elements in Middle-earth are the five elements with earth at the center, wood, fire and water in the four directions, which is the function of highlighting all things born in the earth and controlling the four elements in the earth. The pattern of five elements in Middle-earth originated from the "river map" of ancient people's understanding of the position and season. Wood is located in the east and should be in spring. Gold in the west should be in autumn. The water is located in the north. It should be winter. Fire is born in the south and should be in summer. In the middle, it should be four o'clock.

1. Middle-earth adjustment wood fire gold water four lines.

The central part of the soil can produce all things, which is the basis for the growth and accumulation of all things in nature. The soil in central China also plays an important role in regulating the gasification of the four seasons.

2. Wood is closely related to water.

The theory system of four seasons, five zang-organs and yin-yang with the spleen as the middle and the liver, heart, lung and kidney as the four sides.

Thirdly, the application of five elements theory in traditional Chinese medicine.

(1) Explain the physiological functions of the five internal organs and their relationships.

1. Explain the organizational structure of the human body.

2. Explain the physiological functions of the five internal organs: liver belongs to wood, heart belongs to fire, spleen belongs to soil, lung belongs to gold, and kidney belongs to water.

3. Explain the relationship between the five internal organs.

(1) The mutual promotion of the five internal organs is illustrated by the mutual generation of the five elements. For example, the liver gives birth to the heart, that is, wood makes a fire, and the liver stores blood and nourishes the heart, promoting the function of the heart governing the blood vessels.

(2) Explain the relationship between the five internal organs with the five elements interacting with each other. For example, the liver governs the spleen, that is, Muketu. The liver governs the discharge, which can regulate the spleen governing the transport and transformation and prevent spleen depression.

(2) Explain the mutual influence of five zang-organs diseases.

1. Explain the relationship between the five internal organs and the onset season.

Long in spring and summer, wet in summer, dry and cold in autumn and winter, corresponding to liver, heart, spleen, lung and kidney. Common liver diseases in spring, common heart diseases in summer, common wet diseases in summer, common lung diseases in autumn and common kidney diseases in winter.

2. Explain the mutual transmission of five zang-organs diseases.

The transmission and change of (1) symbiotic relationship includes maternal disease, maternal disease and maternal disease. Maternal diseases and diseases refer to the diseases transmitted from the mother's viscera to the child's viscera. For example, the kidney is the mother of the liver, and deficiency of kidney yin leads to deficiency of liver yin and hyperactivity of liver yang, which is called water without wood. Maternal diseases of children refer to diseases transmitted from child organs to mother organs, such as hyperactivity of heart leading to hyperactivity of liver fire.

(2) The transmission and change of reciprocal relationship includes multiplication and mutual humiliation. For example, liver-qi takes advantage of spleen, spleen deficiency leads to liver excess, liver-fire invades the lung, and lung deficiency hurts the liver.

(3) to guide the diagnosis of diseases

Because the human body itself and the human and natural world are connected into a unified organic whole through the five elements, we can judge the viscera to which the disease belongs according to the five elements in clinic. In the aspect of four diagnoses, we often infer the viscera to which the disease belongs according to the five colors of the face, the five flavors of the mouth and the different pulse conditions of patients. For example, blushing and bitter taste, rapid pulse, mostly heart fire. If the complexion is sallow, the mouth is sweet and greasy, and the pulse is slow, it is a disease of spleen deficiency.

(four) to guide the prevention and treatment of diseases.

1. Explain the essence of traditional Chinese medicine

The five colors of medicine are blue, red, yellow, white and black, and the five flavors are sour, bitter, sweet and salty, which belong to the five five internal organs of liver, heart, spleen, lung and kidney through the connection of five elements. For example, white gypsum mulberry bark enters the lung meridian, so it is advisable to clear lung heat. Cinnabar and salvia miltiorrhiza enter the heart meridian to soothe the nerves or promote blood circulation and nourish blood.

2. Control the spread of diseases

Any disease has its own development and transmission law, and clinical measures should be taken as soon as possible to prevent the development and transmission of diseases according to its transmission law. "The so-called people who have never been ill know that the liver has to spread the spleen when they see the disease of the liver, so they must first consolidate their temper."

3. Determine the rules of governance

(1) therapeutic principles and methods determined according to symbiotic relationship.

The principle of treatment is: deficiency of the mother, but deficiency of the son. Deficiency supplements its mother, which is suitable for both mother and child deficiency. In fact, it is suitable for both mother and son to pump their stomachs. There are several treatment methods: nourishing water and containing wood, supplementing wood to make a fire, benefiting fire and supplementing soil, enriching soil and producing gold, and combining gold with water.

(2) According to the relationship of mutual respect and mutual restriction, the principle of treatment is to restrain the strong and help the weak. There are several treatment methods, such as restraining wood to help soil, cultivating soil to make water, assisting gold and leveling wood, and purging the south to make up the north.

4. Guide acupuncture and psychotherapy.

(1) to guide acupuncture therapy. In acupuncture treatment, the ancients matched the five acupoints below the knee joint of the hand and foot meridians 12 with the five elements according to their different characteristics, and then selected different acupoints for treatment according to different conditions and the laws of the five elements.

For example, in the treatment of liver-blood deficiency, according to the principle that deficiency can tonify its mother, it is necessary to tonify the curved spring of liver-essence point (water point) or the yin valley of kidney-essence point (water point) in order to achieve the purpose of purging excess and tonifying deficiency and restoring the normal function of viscera.

(2) to guide psychotherapy, because the five internal organs are closely related to people's spirit and emotions, and the liver, heart, spleen, lung and kidney belong to the five senses of anger, joy, sadness and fear respectively. Clinically, the corresponding diseases can be treated through the relationship between five volunteers. For example, anger hurts the liver, and grief is better than anger, which is Jin Kemu. Happiness is sad, fear is better than happiness, that is, water can overcome fire.