Clinical data collected by TCM through observation, smelling, questioning, and palpation can be classified and interpreted according to the Five Elements Theory. For example, when observing the complexion, the color of the five internal organs (liver is green, heart is red, spleen is yellow, lung is white, and kidney is black) can be used to infer the related internal organs of the disease. Abnormal changes in taste can also reflect the pathological state of the five internal organs. For example, bitter taste in the mouth is mostly due to excessive heart fire, and sweet taste in the mouth is mostly due to spleen dampness blocking the middle.
The Five Elements Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine: The Superhero League of Nature
The Five Elements Theory is like a superhero league, consisting of five members: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. They each have different strengths and personalities, but one thing they have in common is that they always help and restrain each other. This relationship is like a never-ending dance that determines the growth, development, and change of all things in nature.
The Cosmology and Methodology of the Five Elements Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine
The Five Elements Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine is not only a way for the ancients to understand the world, but also a very useful tool. It tells us that there is a relationship of mutual support and mutual restraint between all things. Just like superheroes sometimes cooperate and sometimes fight, this dynamic balance determines the occurrence, development and change of things.
Application of the Five Elements Theory in Traditional Chinese Medicine
When the Five Elements Theory entered the field of Chinese medicine, it was like a superhero team, integrated into various theories and practices of Chinese medicine, and had a significant impact on the formation and development of the theoretical system of Chinese medicine. However, like any superhero team, the Five Elements Theory also has some imperfect parts that we need to pay attention to when learning and applying it.
Color and pulse diagnosis
Color and pulse diagnosis refers to judging the severity of a disease based on the relationship between color and pulse. For example, if the color is green, it belongs to the liver, so the pulse should be stringy (liver pulse). If a floating pulse (lung pulse) is seen, it indicates that the lung metal is riding on the liver wood, which is contrary to the condition.
Apply the Five Elements Theory to Control Disease Transmission
In treatment, in addition to treating the root cause of the disease, the relationship between the various organs should also be adjusted according to the five elements' law of generation, restraint, promotion and detriment. For example, a liver disease with excessive wood may be promoted by earth, so it is necessary to nourish the spleen and earth to make the spleen and stomach healthy and not be affected by the excessive liver wood.
The principles and methods of treatment established according to the law of mutual generation of the five elements
The treatment principle established according to the law of mutual generation is mainly "for those with deficiency, replenish their mother, and for those with excess, drain their child."
For example, insufficient kidney yin cannot nourish liver yin, leading to hyperactivity of liver yang. In treatment, we should not only treat the liver directly, but also focus on replenishing the deficiency of the kidney. Commonly used treatment methods include nourishing water and containing wood, replenishing fire and replenishing earth, cultivating earth to produce metal, and metal and water generating each other.
The principles and methods of treatment established according to the law of mutual restraint of the five elements
The treatment principle established according to the law of mutual restraint of the five elements is mainly to suppress the strong and support the weak. Commonly used treatment methods include suppressing wood and supporting earth, cultivating earth and controlling water, assisting metal and pacifying wood, and draining the south and supplementing the north.
These theories and methods have important guiding significance in TCM diagnosis and treatment, and can help TCM practitioners better understand and deal with the pathological changes among the five internal organs.
How to use the theory of the five elements' mutual generation, restraint and consequence to guide the treatment of mood disorders?
Human emotions are part of the functions of the five internal organs, and abnormal emotions can damage the corresponding internal organs. Because the five internal organs are mutually reinforcing and mutually restraining, human emotions also have a mutually restraining effect.
In clinical practice, the mutual inhibition relationship between different emotional changes can be used to achieve the purpose of treatment. For example, anger hurts the liver, and sadness can overcome anger; joy hurts the heart, and fear can overcome joy; thinking hurts the spleen, and anger can overcome thinking, etc. This method is called "emotion-moment mutual victory method" in ancient medical books.
Limitations of the Five Elements
First of all, we need to know that the five elements are only the characteristics of one aspect of things, not all of them. Just like superheroes have their own specialties, but we cannot use one specialty to explain all of their abilities. For example, the liver belongs to wood in the five elements because it is responsible for dredging, which is similar to the characteristics of wood in terms of ascending and stretching. But if we use the characteristics of wood to explain the liver's function of storing blood, it would be a bit far-fetched.
The rationality and strengths of the Five Elements Theory
The theory of the five elements is sometimes reasonable, but sometimes a bit far-fetched. For example, the spleen and stomach are the acquired foundation, and the kidneys are the innate foundation. These theories have gone beyond the simple mutual generation and mutual restraint of the five elements. For another example, the liver wood restrains the spleen earth. In fact, the liver's function of dispersing and discharging has more of a promoting effect on the spleen and stomach's function of transporting water and grain essence, rather than restraining it.
Treatment principles and methods based on the principle of mutual generation and mutual restraint of the five elements
Finally, we should note that the treatment principles and methods formulated based on the principles of the mutual generation and mutual restraint of the Five Elements have their own scope of application and cannot be applied mechanically.
For example, when kidney yin is insufficient, according to the principle of "metal can produce water", lung yin can be supplemented to nourish kidney yin, but supplementing lung yin alone is often ineffective, and lung and kidney need to be treated together. Another example is the "Yihuo Shengtu" method, which originally refers to heart fire, but in clinical practice, it is often used to warm kidney yang to strengthen the spleen. This is the modern application of the "Yihuo Shengtu" method.
Conclusion
The Five Elements Theory has an important guiding significance in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, but we need to pay attention to its limitations and scope of application when learning and applying it. By combining clinical practice and flexibly applying the Five Elements Theory, we can better understand and deal with the pathological changes between the five internal organs, thereby achieving more effective treatment goals.