Things that have the functions of cleaning, sowing and astringent belong to gold;

Things that are cold, moist and downward are all belong to water.

The theory of the Five Elements uses the relationship between the five elements to explain the relationship between things, believing that nothing is isolated or static, but maintains a coordinated and balanced movement in constant mutual generation and mutual restraint.

The application of this theory in traditional Chinese medicine mainly uses the characteristics of the five elements to analyze and study the five elements attributes and relationships of the body's internal organs, meridians, and physiological functions, and explain their mutual influence in pathological situations.

Therefore, the theory of the Five Elements is used in traditional Chinese medicine as a theoretical explanation and has practical significance in guiding clinical practice.

Since ancient times, Chinese sages have cleverly applied the theory of the Five Elements to the medical field, using the dialectical relationship between the Five Elements to understand, explain physiological phenomena, try their best to adapt to internal natural laws to maintain health, and strive to master the human body's operating mechanism to prevent and cure diseases, and have achieved extremely rich experience and results.

1) Classification of the five elements of things

1 Classification method: The five elements attributes of things are compared with the characteristics of things with the characteristics of the five elements. If the characteristics of things and wood are similar, they belong to wood; if the characteristics of fire are similar, they belong to fire, etc. For example: if the five internal organs are combined with the five elements, they belong to wood because the liver is responsible for ascending and warmth, they belong to fire, the spleen is responsible for transportation and transformation, they belong to earth, the lungs are responsible for descending and descending and belong to metal, and the kidneys are responsible for water. If the five elements are combined with the five elements, they belong to wood because the sun rises east and rises and rises, they belong to wood; the hot south is similar to the fire characteristics of fire, so they belong to fire; the sun sets west is similar to the descending characteristics of metal, so they belong to gold; the cold north is similar to the characteristics of water, so they belong to water.

2 Deduction method. For example: if the liver belongs to wood, the liver controls the tendons and liver opens the target "stems" and "eye" also belong to wood; if the heart belongs to fire, the "methods" and "tongue" also belong to fire; if the spleen belongs to earth, the "meat" and "mouth" also belong to earth; if the lungs belong to metal, the "skin and fur" and "nose" also belong to metal; if the kidney belongs to water, the "bone" and "ears", and the "two yin" also belong to water.

3 The theory of the Five Elements also believes that things that belong to the same Five Elements attributes have related connections. For example, the east of the direction and the wind, wood and sour substances in nature are all related to the liver.

For the human body, it attributes the various tissues and functions of the human body to five physiological systems centered on the five internal organs.

2) Explain the physiological functions and mutual relationships of the internal organs

1 Explain the physiological activities of the five internal organs. For example, the liver likes to be smooth and has the function of dispersing and venting, and has the characteristics of "wood" to produce and develop, so the liver belongs to "wood"; the heart yang has the function of warming and "fire" to yang and heat, so the heart belongs to "fire"; the spleen is the source of biochemical and transformation, and has the characteristics of "earth" to reproduce and transform all things, so the spleen belongs to "earth"; the lung qi is responsible for descending, and has the characteristics of "metal" to clear and converge, so the lung belongs to "metal"; the kidney has the function of controlling water and storing essence, and has the characteristics of "water" to moisten down, so the kidney belongs to "water".

2 Explain the internal connection between the physiological functions of the human body's internal organs. For example, the essence of kidney (water) nourishes the liver, the blood of liver (wood) stores blood to help the heart, the heat of heart (fire) warms the spleen, the essence of spleen (earth) transforms into water and grain to fill the lungs, and the lung (metal) clears downwards to help the kidney water. This is the relationship between mutual reproduction of the five internal organs. The clearing and lowering of lung (metal) can suppress the upward hypertension of liver yang; the smoothing of liver (wood) can relieve the congestion of spleen (earth); the transportation and transformation of spleen (earth) can stop the overflow of kidney water; the nourishing of kidney (water) can prevent the excessive heat of heart fire; the yang heat of heart (fire) can restrict the excessive clearing of lung metal, which is the relationship between the mutual restraint of the five internal organs.

3. Explain the relationship between the human body and the external environment, the four seasons and five qi, and the five flavors of food. In short, the application of the theory of the Five Elements to physiology is to explain the unity of the interconnectedness between the human body's internal organs and tissues, as well as between the human body and the external environment.

3) Explain the pathological impact between the internal organs

For example, liver disease can transmit the spleen, which is wood that circulates earth; spleen disease can also affect the liver, which is earth that insults wood; liver and spleen are the same disease, which affects each other, that is, wood that is depressed or earth that is blocked or wood that is depressed; liver disease can also affect the heart, which is mother's disease and son; affects the lungs, which is wood that insults metal; affects the kidneys, which is child disease and mother. This is the case with liver disease, and the same is true for other organs. The relationship between the five elements of birth, restraint, and insults can be used to illustrate their pathological mutual influence.

IV) Used for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases

(1) Application in disease diagnosis

Diagnosis of the internal organs from the color, taste and pulse mastered by the internal organs. If you see blue when you see it, like eating sour taste, and the pulse is stringy, you can diagnose liver disease; if you see red when you see it, your taste is bitter, and your pulse is strong, you can diagnose it as excessive heart fire. Patients with spleen deficiency will see blue when you see it, wood will ride soil when you see it; heart patients will ride black when you see it, water will ride fire, etc.

The transmission and change of the five internal organs is diagnosed from the color, taste and pulse of the five internal organs. For example, if a patient with spleen deficiency sees a blue color and a stringy pulse, it is transmitted to the spleen (wood crosses the earth); if a person with lung disease sees a red color, the pulse is transmitted to the lung (fire crosses the metal). Any internal organ among the five internal organs can be transmitted to the other four internal organs. According to the theory of the Five Elements, there are four relationships of transmission and change of multiplication, mutual insult, mother disease, son disease, and mother disease.

The prognosis of the disease is judged from the relationship between color and pulse. If the face of liver disease is blue and stringy pulse, it means that the color and pulse are consistent. If the stringy pulse is not seen and the floating pulse is seen, then the pulse that overcomes the color (metal overcomes wood), which is reversed, which is responsible for poor prognosis; if the pulse that is deep, then the pulse that produces color is generated is that the pulse that produces color (water produces wood), which is smooth and the prognosis is good.

(2) Application in disease treatment

1. Control the transmission and changes of diseases of the five internal organs. If liver disease can transmit the spleen (wood circulates soil), it will be used to replenish the spleen in advance to prevent its transmission and changes. "When seeing liver disease, you know that the liver should be transmitted to the spleen, so you must first strengthen the spleen."

2 Determine the treatment principle. It is summarized as "to replenish mother and tolerate the child", that is, "to replenish the mother if it is weak, and tolerate the child if it is solid." To replenish the mother is treated for the deficiency syndrome with a mother-son relationship. For example, liver deficiency to replenish the kidney. Because the kidney is the mother of the liver, replenishing the kidney water can produce liver wood. Replenishing the child is treated for the actual syndrome with a mother-son relationship. For example, liver solid drains the heart, because the heart is the son of the liver, replenishing the heart fire helps to purify the liver wood.

Determining the treatment principle based on the relationship of mutual restraint can be summarized as the method of "suppressing strong skin and weak skin", that is, to purify the strength of the person who is restrained, and to replenish the weakness of the person who is restrained. If the liver wood is too much and the spleen earth is too much, it must be purified, and the spleen earth is weak, it must be replenished.

3 Develop treatment methods. In terms of drug treatment, such as the method of nourishing water and converging wood, it is a method of nourishing kidney yin to nourish liver yin, which is suitable for diseases where kidney yin is deficient and liver yin is insufficient. For example, the method of cultivating soil and producing metal is a method of strengthening the spleen and benefiting the lungs, which is suitable for diseases of the spleen being ineffective and lung qi being weak. For example, the method of supporting soil and suppressing wood is a method of using medicine to relieve liver and strengthen spleen to treat liver and spleen deficiency.

In addition, in terms of acupuncture and psychotherapy, the five elements can be used to select acupoints and regulate emotions. If sorrow can overcome anger, it is because sorrow is the lung aspiration belongs to metal, and anger is the liver aspiration belongs to wood.

In the actual application process, the theory of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements is often interrelated and inseparable. The combination of the theory of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements can not only explain the general relationship between the contradictions of things, but also explain the relatively specific and complex relationship between things and mutual constraints, thus helping to explain complex life phenomena and pathological processes.
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