Water is yin, fire is yang. Yang is qi, yin is taste. Taste returns to form, form returns to qi. Qi returns to essence, essence becomes naturalized. "- Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, Su Wen, Chapter 5 on Yin Yang Ying Xiang
Today we will continue to explain the fifth chapter of the "Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, Su Wen, Yin Yang Ying Xiang Da Lun". Let's first look at the original text: "Water is yin, fire is yang. Yang is qi, yin is taste. Taste returns to form, form returns to qi. Qi returns to essence, essence returns to nature
The meaning of this paragraph is that water and fire are divided into yin and yang, water belongs to yin, fire belongs to yang, the functions of the human body belong to yang, and food belongs to yin.
Drinking food can nourish our body, and the formation of body depends on the function of gasification. Function is generated by essence, which means that essence can transform into function. What we are talking about here is actually the yin-yang transformation of our body to produce essence and qi to nourish our physical form.
Let's analyze again, speaking in small paragraphs. Water is yin, fire is yang. It is about the yin-yang attributes of water and fire to illustrate the relationship between yin and yang, which is mutually rooted, mutually beneficial, and complementary. For example, who among our five organs belongs to fire? Heart belongs to fire, who belongs to water? The kidneys belong to water.
The heart and kidneys are one fire organ and the other water organ. The heart and kidneys need to intersect, which means that water and fire need to be mutually beneficial. Heart fire can be supplied to kidney water, while kidney water can be supplied to heart fire. The two are mutually beneficial, rooted in each other, and complementary to each other. In this way, the coordination function between the heart and kidneys of the body is maintained. For example, in Zhang Jiebin's "The Classic of Changes: Yin Yang Categories," it is said: "Water moistens the bottom and becomes cold, so it is yin; fire becomes hot when it rises, so it is yang. Water and fire are signs of yin and yang; yin and yang are the temperament of water and fire. The qi of all things in heaven and earth is boundless and not the use of water and fire. Therefore, the sky uses the sun and moon as water and fire, the Book of Changes uses Kan Li as water and fire, the doctor uses the heart and kidneys as water and fire, and the pill uses essence and qi as water and fire. The husband's kidneys are water, and the water generates qi, which is true fire; the heart's fire is fire, and liquid is produced in fire, which is true water. Water and fire are stored together, and even the
Zhang Jiebin is a Tongjia, what does Tongjia mean? He not only has a strong research background in traditional Chinese medicine, but also in the study of the Book of Changes, also known as the Yi Jing. At the same time, he is also very knowledgeable about the inner alchemy of Taoism. So we can see that his comparison in this passage is very meaningful, that is, 'In the Book of Changes, Kan Li is regarded as water and fire.' In the Eight Trigrams of the Book of Changes, Kan Gua and Li Gua are regarded as water and fire, with Kan being full and Li being empty. The Kan hexagram is a water hexagram, with a yang line in the middle and a yin line above and below. That is to say, the outside is water, and the water contains a yang energy. The yang line is a horizontal line representing yang energy, with two yin lines above and below it. This means that the meaning of the Kan hexagram is that the outside is water and the inside is fire, symbolizing the kidneys in the body. The kidney is a yin organ, in fact, it is stored. There is a little bit of yang energy in the kidneys, so the kidneys are an organ that combines yin and yang, which represents the Kan.
What does' Li Zhong Xu 'represent? Li represents fire, which means heart. So the parallel sentence is called: In the Book of Changes, Kan Li is regarded as water and fire, and in medicine, the heart and kidneys are regarded as water and fire. There are two yang lines on the periphery and one yin line in the middle. This symbolism represents that the outside is fire, but there can be liquid and true water in the fire. True water benefits the kidneys, so the heart and kidneys can intersect. So this parallel sentence is: "In the Book of Changes, Kan Li is regarded as water and fire, and in medicine, the heart and kidneys are regarded as water and fire
In the future, there is another term that may not be familiar to many, called 'Dan uses essence and qi as water and fire'. What does Dan mean? It refers to the Taoist practice of internal alchemy. The focus of this alchemist is on cultivating the essence and qi. Essence refers to water, while Qi refers to fire. In fact, this passage represents that whether it is the Book of Changes in traditional Chinese culture, traditional Chinese medicine, or the academic study of internal alchemy in Taoism, they all use the principles of Kan Li, Xin Shen, and Jing Qi as water and fire, and actually talk about the principles of yin and yang.
There is a relationship between water and fire that breeds each other and then reverses and complements each other. That is to say, fire cannot be separated from water, and water cannot be separated from fire. Although they may seem opposing, they are inseparable from each other. For example, "The kidneys are the ones that control water." The kidneys are the ones that control water, and the yang energy produced in water is called true fire.
We often say that if the yang energy in the kidneys is insufficient, then the person is weak and their hands and feet are cold and afraid of the cold. This actually means that the true fire in the kidneys is insufficient. People with kidney yang deficiency have a sore waist, fear of cold, frequent urination, and nocturia, which are manifestations of kidney yang deficiency. This represents that the kidneys themselves have water and fire, as well as yin and yang.
The heart is fire, and within fire comes liquid, which is true water. The heart originally belongs to fire and is a fire stain. In the midst of fire, liquid can also be generated, and the liquid of the heart is sweat, which is called sweat. If the heart fire sinks, it will be healed by the kidney and water, and they can be healed by both water and fire. So if the inner fire continues to decrease, once it does, the person's mood becomes peaceful and they won't get overheated. So when we often talk about fire, we never say 'lower fire', only 'upper fire', referring to pathological conditions. When the fire energy is on the head, it is manifested. "The seed of the heart is in the tongue", and the tip of the tongue is waiting for the heart. Therefore, a red tongue represents a more vigorous heart fire, and people with a red tongue generally have poor sleep. Insomnia, difficulty falling asleep, and having multiple dreams at the same time, what does this represent? This means that the heart fire cannot decrease, cannot harmonize with the kidney water, and the heart fire cannot rise. Originally, the inner fire was decreasing, but when it went up, it turned into this external fire, which became an evil fire. If the inner fire subsides, what is it? The true fire, which is called 'liquid in fire', is when the heart fire is relieved. When the fire in the heart drops, the water in the kidneys flows upwards, and when the heart and kidneys intersect, the person sleeps particularly well.
Where is the intersection? That's what we often talk about earlier, which is located in the middle burner of the spleen and stomach. So why do I like to directly talk about some clinical manifestations when I talk about the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon. It is because of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon that its focus is still on the human body, and after understanding this principle of the human body. The mechanism of the Five Elements, Water Fire, Yin Yang, and Creation, becomes clear.
Because the human body is a small universe, what does it rely on for our inner fire to go down and for our kidney water to go up? It's just the spleen and stomach. It's called 'Chi'er Cainu, Huangpo as a mediator', where Huangpo refers to Zhongjiao, Chi'er refers to Heartfire, Cainu refers to Kidney Water, Chi'er represents Boy, and represents Yang; The color of the flower represents girls and represents yin. In fact, ancient people used this metaphorical expression to illustrate the principles of yin and yang, water and fire. In order for heart fire and kidney water to intersect, there must be a yellow witch as an intermediary. Who is Huang Po? It's the spleen and stomach, which need to be connected and mediated in the middle. So I particularly emphasize the importance of the spleen and stomach in clinical practice.
The spleen and stomach referred to in traditional Chinese medicine not only refer to the digestive system, but also to the theory of the mechanism of mediating the relationship between the two. So why did Li Dongyuan have a particularly deep understanding of traditional Chinese medicine that we talked about before? Because he emphasized the spleen and stomach in the middle burner. What he talked about is not the simple spleen and stomach that we have in later generations. What he talked about is actually an opportunity for mediation in the middle burner, a theory that connects the past and the future, harmonizes the middle burner, and harmonizes the four sides. It's like the steel frames and rims around the wheels of a bicycle, which belong to the external four elements of wood, fire, metal, and water. The axis in the middle is actually soil. So when it comes to treating diseases, some doctors like to treat the surroundings, while others like to start from the middle.
Li Dongyuan likes to treat middle energizer. He found that after adjusting the central axis of the spleen and stomach of middle energizer, the four sides can rotate well. After recovery, the disease will be cured, which is called "when the atmosphere rotates, its qi will disperse." This means that once the central axis of the human body's qi rotates, the evil qi will disperse. This is the principle behind it.
So when we study the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, we must understand the wisdom of ancient medical practitioners and flexibly apply it to clinical practice.
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