Bazi Daily - 01/12/2010

Deciding therapeutic principles

Below is an interesting topic.   Close examination of the subject helps us in the selection of correct favorable element. 

Visceral diseases, according to the inter-promotion and inter-restraint relationships among the five elements, may affect each other. Clinically the theory of the five elements can be used to readjust the relationships among the five zang-organs to realize the aim of treatment. Usually the therapeutic principles are decided in the light of inter-promotion and inter-restraint relationships.

The therapeutic principle decided according to inter-promotion relationship is termed "tonifying the mother-organ and purging the child-organ".


Tonifying the mother-organ is a therapeutic principle used to treat deficiency syndrome. It is also known as "tonifying the mother-organ in the treatment of deficiency syndrome". This principle is mainly used to treat deficiency syndrome due to failure of the mother-organ to promote the child-organ. The aim of this principle is to strengthen the weakened child-organ by tonifying the mother-organ. Take insufficiency of liver-yin for example. Since it results from malnutrition of liver-wood due to insufficiency of kidney-yin, it can be treated by nourishing kidney-yin. Since the kidney is the mother-organ of the liver, tonifying kidney-water can promote liver-wood. That is why this therapy is called "enriching water to nourish wood."


Purging the child-organ is a therapeutic principle used to treat excess syndrome, also known as "purging the child-organ in treating excess syndrome". This principle is mainly used to treat excess syndrome resulting from disorder of the mother-organ by reducing exuberant pathogenic, factors through purging the child-organ. For example, superabundance of heart-fire due to hyperactivity of liver-fire can be treated by purging the heart because the heart is the child-organ of the liver. That is why liver-fire can be reduced by purging heart-fire.

The principle decided according to inter-restraint relationship is called "inhibiting the strong organ and supporting the weak organ".


The abnormal states of inter-restraint among the five elements are over restraint and reverse restraint. In visceral disease, the manifestations of such abnormal relationships are signified by a series of pathological changes resulting from visceral imbalance. The principle of inhibiting the strong organ and supporting the weak organ means to correct visceral imbalance and restore visceral harmony in function.

Inhibiting the strong organ and supporting the weak organ, two different sides of a therapeutic principle, are closely related to each other. The purpose of inhibiting the strong organ is to prevent it from bullying the weak organ while the aim of supporting the weak organ is to correct its deficiency so as to free it from the domination of the strong organ.

Inhibiting the strong organ and supporting the weak organ can be used singly. However, they are frequently used in combination in order to quickly correct visceral imbalance. For inhibiting the strong organ, purging therapy is usually used; for supporting the weak organ, nourishing therapy is frequently resorted to.

The application of this principle is often marked by simultaneous application of attack and tonification. For example, adverse flow of liver-qi tends to invade the spleen, but deficiency of spleen-qi also makes it easy for liver-qi to attack the spleen. Thus disease resulting from liver-qi attacking the spleen can be treated by inhibiting wood and supporting earth (also known as inhibiting the liver and strengthening the spleen), simultaneously reducing liver-qi and strengthening spleen-qi. With the regulation of both the spleen and the liver, there will be no difficulty in curing spleen disease.

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- Albert Schweitzer

Bazi Daily - 30/11/2010

Guiding the treatment of disease

In the treatment of disease, the theory of the five elements is mainly used to control the transmission of disease and decide therapeutic principles.

Controlling the transmission of disease

The pathological changes of the five zang-organs, according to the phenomena of over restraint, reverse restraint and mutual involvement of the mother-element and the child-element among the five elements, can affect and transmit to each other. Thus in clinical treatment of the affected viscus, other viscera to be possibly involved must be taken into consideration by taking preventive measures in advance to control the transmission of disease.

However, the following two points have to be borne in mind.

One is to select the viscera that are subject to transmission for treatment. For example, liver disease, according to the theory of five elements, tends to transmit to the heart, the lung, the spleen and the kidney. However, clinically the organ that is more frequently to be affected by liver disease is the spleen (NOTE : According to the Theory of Controlling Relationship, Wood controls Earth). So preventive measures should be taken in advance to protect the spleen in the treatment of liver disease.

The other is that the treatment should be done according to the functional state of the viscera. Though liver disease tends to transmit to the spleen, the transmission usually results from the abnormal changes of spleen function. If the spleen is sufficient in qi, healthy in function and powerful in resistance, liver disease is difficult to transmit to the spleen and no measures need to be taken to deal with the spleen. If the spleen is too weak to resist attack of liver disease, it will be invaded by liver disease. In this case measures must be taken to prevent further transmission in treating the spleen.

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Bazi Daily - 29/11/2010

Guiding clinical diagnosis (Part 02)

Deciding the transmission of disease according to complexion, taste and pulse

If the complexion, taste and pulse of the patient do not agree with the nature of visceral disorder, it shows that the disorder is already changed among the five zang-organs. Then the theory of the five elements must be used to analyze the transmission.


Take spleen deficiency for example.

Instead of displaying the manifestations of yellowish complexion, sweet taste in the mouth and slow pulse, there are signs of bluish complexion, sour taste in the mouth and, taut pulse which are normally the manifestations of liver disorder. It shows that liver disease has been transmitted to the spleen, i.e. wood over restraining earth.


Take lung disease for another example.

Instead of displaying the manifestations of whitish complexion, acrid taste in the mouth and floating pulse, there are signs of reddish complexion, bitter taste in the mouth and full pulse which are normally the manifestations of heart disease. It shows that heart disease has been transmitted to the lung, i.e. fire over restraining metal.


Of course, using the theory of the five elements to diagnose disease is only one of the methods used in clinical diagnosis. In order to reveal the nature of disease and make correct diagnosis, this method should be used together with other methods for differentiation of syndrome, such as yin and yang, zangxiang (visceral and their manifestations), qi, blood and body fluid.

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not to get what we can from life.

- William Osler

Bazi Daily - 28/11/2010

Guiding clinical diagnosis

Since the five zang-organs pair with the five elements, the five colors (五色), the five flavors (五味) and the five pulses (五脉) respectively, and because the disorders of the internal organs can manifest on the surface of the body, clinically the theory of the five elements can be used to analyze the changes of complexion, taste and pulse in order to decide which viscus and meridian are involved.


Diagnosis according to complexion, taste and pulse

The five colors, the five flavors and the five pulses correspond to the liver, the heart, the spleen, the lung and the kidney respectively. So they can be directly used to diagnose disease. For example :-

=  bluish complexion, preference for sour flavor or sour taste in the mouth and taut pulse indicate liver disease;

=  reddish complexion, bitter taste in the mouth and full pulse indicate heart disease;

=  yellowish complexion, sweet taste in the mouth and slow pulse indicate spleen disease;

=  whitish complexion, acrid taste in the mouth and floating pulse indicate lung disease; and

=  blackish complexion, salty taste in the mouth and deep pulse indicate kidney disease.


 

 

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until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt.

- Frederick Buechner



Bazi Daily - 27/11/2010

Explaining interactions among the five zang-organs

The human body is an organic whole (Chinese holds the similar perspective on the subject of Chinese Metaphysics).

The five zang-organs (五脏) coordinate with each other physiologically and affect each other pathologically. Under pathological condition, disorder of one organ may be transmitted to another.

According to the theory of the five elements, there are two aspects of pathological transmission among the five zang-organs, one includes over restraint and reverse restraint, the other includes disorder of the mother-organ involving the child-organ and disorder of the child-organ involving the mother-organ.

Over restraint and reverse restraint are pathological transmissions due to abnormal change of inter-restraint relationship.

Over restraint refers to transmission of disease due to excessive restraint, the order of which is the same as that of inter-restraint. For example, if liv er-qi attacks the spleen, spleen-qi will be weakened, leading to dysfunction of the spleen.

Reverse restraint refers to transmission of disease due to opposite restraint, the order of which is just contrary to inter-restraint. For example, the lung normally restrains the liver. But if liver-fire becomes hyperactive and invades the lung, it may lead to failure of the lung to depurate.

Mutual involvement or affection of the mother-organ and the child-organ reflects pathological transmission due to abnormal change of inter-promotion relationship. Disorder of the mother-organ involving or affecting the child-organ means that the disease is transmitted from the mother-organ into the child-organ, the order of which is the same as that of inter-promotion. For example, hyperactivity of liver-fire may affect the heart and bring on hyperactivity of heart-fire, leading to superabundance of both heart-fire and liver-fire. Such a transmission is called disorder of the mother-organ involving the child-organ.

Disorder of the child-organ involving or affecting the mother-organ indicates that the disease is transmitted from the child-organ into the mother-organ, the order of which is just opposite to that of inter-promotion. For example, prolonged deficiency of liver-yin affects the kidney and causes deficiency of kidney-yin. Such a transmission is called disorder of the child-organ involving the mother-organ, also known as "the child-organ consuming qi of the mother-organ".

 

 

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