chinese medical theory

Mar

2016

Alchemy of Chinese Herbs

Photography Wendy Brown

Herbs and roots are life-nourishing.

They are sustenance as well as medicine,

and convey nature’s forces.

Through their connection to the natural world, herbs and roots of Chinese medicine imbue their resonance with these forces within us.

Regulated by the rhythms of Yin and Yang, influenced by the 5 elements (sun, soil, minerals, water, and other trees and plants), and through their ability to adapt to the climatic factors of heat and cold, wind, dryness and dampness, herbs renew our resilience.

Immortal Mágū collecting medicinal roots, fruits and plants

Chinese medicine has a long history of practices that propagate life; practices to nourish and prolong life through our mental-physical-spiritual oneness with nature. Such concepts and knowledge of creating rarified, spiritual states of being and longevity have passed through Taoist lineages, preserving the Three Treasures Jīng, Qì and Shen.

BURDOCK ROOT

The energetic nature of herbs and other organic substantive matter, in their particular parts, collected and prepared specifically to confer the essence of their elemental forces, guide and help to make whole.

Jun

2014

Living Qi is the Ruling Qi

External environmental excesses generate pathogenesis, and whether they originate from cold, dampness, wind, fire, summer heat, or dryness, transform into heat within the body. Liu Wan Su’s herbal protocol advocates the use of cool and cold medicinals.

Bob Flaws is a master of the innumerable distinctions of Chinese medicine and sinology. This short presentation on a significant facet of evolution in Chinese herbal medicine is worth the few minutes to appreciate.

Living Qi is the Ruling Qi

May

2014

Ancient Medical Texts Unearthed

Exceptional doctor of Chinese medicine, Bian Que 扁鵲, lived at the beginning of the 5th century b.c. [at about the same period as Confucius]. He established medical protocols that are still in use in Chinese medicine today. thought to have come from the Bian Que school, and now linked to Bian Que (a.k.a. Qin Yueren) himself, these archived pieces of bamboo cover medical subjects of internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, dermatology, ophthalmology, and traumatology, with a focus on pulse diagnosis. Many bamboo carved strips are devoted to the treatment of horses, including a model with acupoints, also suggesting acupuncture points are older than we currently think.

In 2013 archaeologists unearthed 920 bamboo strips at a construction site in the south-western city of Chengdu in China, containing recipes for treating ailments that date back 2,000 years. The bamboo strips, which were once widely used as a writing material, were reportedly found along with other relics of the Western Han Dynasty, which came to power in 260 BC. Archaeologists speculated that the traditional Chinese remedies may have been written by the successors of Bian Que, reported to be China’s earliest known physician. Now further testing has confirmed that the texts were written by Bian Que himself, according to a news report in ecns.cn. Translation work has also revealed the remarkable contents of these ancient medical manuscripts.

Experts say the works are based mainly on studies of determining disease by taking the patient’s pulse. Other practices mentioned include internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, dermatology, ophthalmology as well as traumatology. In addition, 184 tiles are related to the medical treatment of horses, considered by the experts as one of the most important veterinarian works in ancient China.

The bamboo strips were found, along with many other precious relics, within four Western Han Dynasty (206 BC – 24 AD) tombs located in the town of Tianhui. Among the finds were four models of looms, nine medical books, 50 inscribed wooden tablets, 240 lacquer wares, jewellery, and tomb figures. Out of the nine medical books, some have been verified to be the long lost medical treatises written by the physician Bian Que. In addition, archaeologists also uncovered a 14-centimeter long figurine with major acupoints marked out. It is believed to be a key to deciphering the origin of acupuncture treatment.

According to Chinese legend recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian, Bian Que was gifted with remarkable abilities from a deity. The story states that he was given a packet of medicine which gave him the ability to see through the human body. He thereby became an excellent diagnostician with his x-ray like ability. It is said that he pioneered pulse-taking, used anesthesia and even performed an organ transplant.

One legend stated that once, while visiting the state of Guo, Bian Que saw people mourning on the streets. Upon inquiring what their grievances were, he got the reply that the heir apparent of the lord had died, and the lord was in mourning. Sensing something afoot, he is said to have gone to the palace to inquire about the circumstances of the death. After hearing of how the prince “died”, he concluded that the prince had not really died, but was rather in a coma-like state. Using his acupuncture, he was said to have brought the prince back to consciousness. Prescribing the prince with medicine, the prince healed within days.

Whether there is factual basis to the legends or not, Bian Que is known to have been a remarkable physician who was centuries ahead of his time. The discovery of his ancient remedies is an incredibly rare and important find.

Ancient Medical Texts Unearthed. Republished with permission from Ancient Origins. Read original.

Jan

2014

THE FIVE ELEMENTS IN LIVING FORM ☯

Nurturing core elemental tendencies while simultaneously balancing states of excess through a combination of diet, Chinese herbs and acupuncture and other mind-body techniques, we maintain innate elemental tendencies; transforming what may be hindrances into assets.

FIRE TYPES ☯ Are jovial pleasure-seekers. They like to relax, socialize and have fun. They often seek thrills and excitement, and love to entertain others. They are fascinated by sensory stimuli and often get carried away by the carnival of light, sound and image that the world presents. They often dislike school because it is not fun and the dislike grows as they get older and the workload intensifies. They try to make things more amusing by becoming the class entertainer.

EARTH TYPES ☯ Are all about the social world. They view their worth in terms of interpersonal relationships and they seek social contact. They want to fit in, and often play the role of peacemaker. These are the constant-talkers who get in trouble because they can not contain the need to connect with others. Quiet study periods are torture to them. Social matters are foremost in their minds, and they fret incessantly about who’s talking to whom and who will sit with them at lunch, all seeming far more important than their lessons.

METAL TYPES ☯ Are highly sensitive and detail-oriented. They see things few others do, and have an innate sense of order, beauty and perfection. They seek control and like to see their visions met. They value precision; where a Wood or Fire type might gloss over details, a metal type digs in. The Rigidity, inflexibility and getting stuck in their own sense of right and wrong, leaving no room for others, are a downside. They have difficulty letting go of small details, become anxious when something is not done ‘right,’ and they become negative when they feel out of control.

WATER TYPES ☯ Think and feel very deeply. They live in the realm of ideas and imagination and have only a modicum of interest in the physical, practical world. They are natural wisdom-seekers, and have a rather advanced interior world for their age. They often seem to be ‘off somewhere’, not particularly concerned with punctuality, and respond to time-pressures and other external demands by disconnecting, staring out the window, or retreating to their inner world. [Unlike Wood types who become confrontational, or Fire types who seek thrills, Water element types become withdrawn in chronic stress situations.]

WOOD TYPES ☯ Are very physical, competitive and want to be first. Natural leaders; they always want to win, to be in front. Pioneers who see a path and want to take it. They usually win the enthusiasm of peers. Since they live primarily in the physical world, they often act out physically when stressed, becoming aggressive, argumentative, ‘In your face.’ Under duress, they become the restless and assertive ‘Wild Child.’

* Dr. Stephen Cowan, who studied with Efrem Korngold, co-author of the modern TCM classic, Between Heaven and Earth, has spent 20 years affirming the distinctions of the Five Elements. He has amassed a vast library of work with thousands [of children] across the developmental spectrum, and believes the elemental tendencies begin to show themselves within the first year or two of life.

Feb

2012

Cholesterol: Chinese Medical Perspective

Much more than avoiding eggs to prevent or reduce cholesterol, are the dietary factors of coffee, sugar and alcohol that are far more debilitating. In Chinese medical theory, stress and yang dietary factors liberate an abundance of Yang QI in our bodies. In order to balance such Yang in excess, the body pathologically secretes Yin in an attempt to compensate, which includes the inherently Yin substance of cholesterol.

Plum and Bamboo under the Moon 月下梅竹
Shí Tāo 石濤 [1642-1707], Early Qing Dynasty.
www.ElementalChanges.com