by Matt Walton R.TCMP, R.Ac
Last updated 08/27/17
PLEASE NOTE THIS VERSION IS OUT OF DATE, FIND THE UPDATED VERSION HERE!
PREFACE & INTRODUCTION
Ancient Daoists learned and theorized the philosophy of Chinese medicine through the careful observation of the nature of our inner & outer worlds. Nature is our ultimate teacher, and in the same way I have developed the introduction that follows as my method of explaining ancient concepts to modern audiences. That said, I obviously do not rank myself along Daoist masters, I only suggest that this wisdom is available to us all, by deeply listening to the nature of things – as they are. This introduction is often not how standardised TCM textbooks teach these ideas and is thus subject to copyright.
Note that this is a dynamic document, I will keep editing and adding as I see fit. At first I was going to keep the conversation rather simple, but to honour the medicine I have added more detailed language in this version. I will be instead making a more distilled video & slideshow version in the near future. I have made mention in various social media forums of my writing of a thorough introduction, interpretation & explanation of TCM. This is not it – at least not in its current format. And while this was more comprehensive than I planned, it is still only scratching the surface on how much deeper this discussion can go. While this will be certainly sufficient for most; for others I ask you to bear with me as there will certainly remain questions & confusions for more strictly Western-minded types. As well, extensive citation will follow in a future edition.
Estimated reading time: 20 minutes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY
- THEORY IN ACTION
- TREATMENT & CONCLUSION
One: History & Philosophy
Chinese Medicine is a multiple thousands of years old unbroken medical tradition. Ancient doctors would see dozens upon dozens of patients a day, diagnose and treat them using acupuncture & moxabustion, massage (Tuina), nutrition, and herbal medicine, along with numerous other modalities. Discovering what worked and what didn’t through trial and error, this information was then passed on from master to apprentice, for countless generations of refinement. It remains a thriving medical tradition today, now overlaying its theories onto new discoveries through modern diagnostic tools as scientific understanding advances. Chinese medicine represented essentially one of the first medical breaks from the previous dominant shamanistic worldview of diseases being caused purely by spirits or a lack of appeasing the gods. Instead, it presented a model of rational and predictable cause and effect, much like today’s scientific approach. When our modern world uses the term “TCM” it is in actuality referring to a very specific clinically-focussed form of the medicine which unites multiple regional traditions, standardized by Mao during the Cultural Revolution. Due to this standardization, much of the psycho-spiritual facets of the medicine have been suppressed in the mainstream practice. In an attempt to merge the numerous theoretical lenses, the modern practice of acupuncture has largely been reduced to a herbal model approach (this herb/point for that imbalance) and not the original dynamic “Channel Theory” in which the channels have independent physiological functions in themselves. That said, the various pre-Maoist forms of the medicine are indeed alive and well, and instead often fall under the term “Classical Chinese Medicine”.
Chinese medicine is a tradition that is rooted in the premise that we are not separate from nature; that the same forces which exist outside and around us, also manifest or mirror within our bodies, minds, and hearts, as well. Disease arises when we break the laws set forth by nature, and separate ourselves from its natural rhythms. For literally thousands of years it has carefully observed, analyzed and modified its theories on how we adapt and react to our ever-changing environments, both internal and external. This includes the ‘weathers’ of emotions, mind-states, traumas, the foods that course through our bodies, seasonal climates, time of day, and the literal day-to-day weather itself. This is a traditional representation of what we now call “Systems Thinking” or “Systems Theory”. Before looking at how this philosophy is applied to medicine, we must first examine the philosophy itself.
YIN, YANG, and QI
We begin with the observation of the basic duality of nature, crystalized in the well-known principles of Yin and Yang. These aspects are apparent everywhere we look: dark/light, night/day, water/fire, winter/summer, active/receptive, body/mind, death/birth, cold/hot, and onwards. In our modern medicine we see the parasympathetic/sympathetic nervous system, sleep/wake cycles, and pH balance as examples of this. There are obviously innumerable others. Our Earth can be regarded as Yin, the potential, and as soon as it meets the Sun, Yang, it blossoms into life. When the Sun goes away Yin again dominates and we sleep or hibernate. Yin is the seed, and remains so until awakened by Yang. Yang activates nothing without Yin. They are interdependent.
Yin and Yang are examples of the non-absolute relational nature of reality. For example, the roots of a tree are more Yin in nature when compared to the trunk (underground, lower, cooler vs more upright, higher, warmer etc). Yet when we compare the trunk to the branches and leaves of a tree, the trunk then becomes more Yin in relation to the branches (below vs. above, condensed vs. expanded appearance and so on). These states do not exist in isolation of each other. Instead, the Chinese observed that they are instead polar aspects of a unified whole: this whole is Qi, the third principle. Qi is akin to the proper physics term of energy – it condenses into matter (Yin), or becomes rarefied into waveforms or light (Yang) – yet all are just gradients of the same thing – energy. Another way of looking at is to see that day does not simply snap into night, and then again vice-versa – instead it is in a constant state of transition. This fundamental movement of reality, this dance as these forces transform into each other and back again in varying degrees is Qi. In this regard I call Qi “Vital Inertia“. It is the fundamental motive force, the transformation principle of matter through time. The dance of the year, the day, the life, is the dance of Qi as it condenses and expands toward Yin and Yang and back again. If we were to zoom into the very edges of Yin and Yang in the Yin/Yang (Taiji) symbol, we would see all the colours of the rainbow. This is Qi.
THE FIVE PHASES
Looking deeper, we can see that there are relatively distinct stages, movements, or phases to this transformation of Yin into Yang. Using winter and summer as representative aspects of Yin and Yang, we can see the additions of spring and autumn. These all form the primary aspects of the Chinese “Five Elements” or more accurately “Five Phases” (Wu Xing) theory. Each was assigned a symbol from nature to capture the essence of the phase.
- Spring – Wood – Qi expands outwards
- Summer – Fire – Qi ascends upwards
- Autumn – Metal – Qi contracts inwards
- Winter – Water – Qi descends downwards
So what is the fifth? We have spoken of the movements or transitions of Qi – the fifth is represented by ‘Earth’, the stable constant. It is Earth that remains stable through the transitions of these seasons around it. The support of Earth gives rise to the others. Earth is regarded as very special phase, it has a secondary position representing the stage of maturity or the peak of life. This is manifest not only in the peak of each season, but also in the peak of the year, regarded as the special season of Harvest. This is the time when life almost reaches a blissful standstill, bears its fruit, before beginning its descent back into winter.
The Phases represent a nature-based model of the pure movements/transitions of Qi itself, not necessarily to be taken literally. These then manifest in all the various forms throughout reality. So “Wood” as an example, corresponds to spring, as it does to dawn, to birth, to the sprout, and onwards. I invite you to explore this for yourself :)
Two: Theory in Action
TCM PHYSIOLOGY
So what does this all have to do with health and medicine? The medical usage of the term Qi can essentially boil down to the optimal physiological function of an organism. Its total vitality, and that of all its sub-systems. We detect its flow and state of health similar to observing the patterns (symptoms) made by the wind as is ripples through the trees (our bodies) – the wind invisible, but its effects clear. The nature of Qi is said to flow unimpeded as a river does. When Qi flows, our health and experience of life flows with ease as well, we move towards our goals with more grace and natural joy. And like a river, Qi is known to stagnate, become sluggish, stuck or blocked, implying that on some level the basic function of an organ or system has become impaired – yet may not show up on a lab test.
In this sense, I call Qi “Functional Vitality“. How well does the system perform its transformations of Yin to Yang and back again? How well does it adapt to its ever-changing circumstances? Because TCM springs from a systems-thinking or wholistic minded culture, this term Qi is broader than the physics term of ‘energy’ – not only does it loosely describe energy, but also its quality. It is the animating or enlivening aspect, representing the vitality of life. This is illustrated quite literally in the actual Chinese character of the word Qi: it depicts a bowl of rice below (Yin) with steam flowing from it above (Yang), which together evokes the fresh, nourishing and vitalizing image of Qi. On the other hand, Qi is nothing more than what you see as what it is. If there is a blockage or suppression in function, by definition there is a blockage in Qi. They are the same. We need not paste another layer over this already sacred process by calling Qi an external magical healing energy. It is what it is, and what it is, is already sacred, already magical.
THE ORGAN SYSTEMS
Returning again to the philosophy that we are not separate from nature, the Chinese rooted the Five Phases of the Cycles of Qi into our physical organs. Due to the fact that the ancient Chinese did not yet have modern microscopes or modern surgery, it regarded these “Organs” as the physical embodiments of these universal forces (the TCM concept of organs is always capitalized to separate them from the literal biological organs). However, the functions attributed to these Organs form a significantly broader, wholistic picture than the modern anatomical view: the Organs are regarded as collections of mind-body-spirit-emotional functions, rather than the viscera of our modern understanding. Let’s take a closer (but very simplified) overview of the Organs.
Liver (Wood)
Expands Qi outwards towards the extremities, dilating the Acupuncture channels to ensure the smooth flow of Qi in all its forms (digestive, menstrual, emotional regularity).
Heart-Mind (Fire)
Provides the “light of consciousness”, warms the body via Blood, its channel (along with its paired Kidney channel) is the source of metabolic fire for the body.
Note: In TCM theory, the Heart is the seat of Consciousness, while the brain was more of the basic “computer”. Look into the research of HeartMath for some very interesting overlapping ideas.
Pancreas/Spleen (Earth)
Responsible for the digestion of foods, extracts Qi and nutrition (“Blood”) which is then delivered to all Organ networks.
Note: When referring to the Spleen, the Chinese were more accurately referring to the digestive organ the pancreas. The name ‘Spleen’ is a pervasive mistranslation. See my FAQ for more details.
Lungs (Metal)
Consolidates Qi, air, and fluids, like the canopy of a tree collecting and condensing sunlight and water towards the root system.
Kidney-Adrenals (Water)
Water is the deep, mysterious source of life. The Kidneys are the source and reserve tank of primal Yin, Yang and Qi for the entire system – like a well that draws water up to the surface.
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Just as we have the ‘respiratory system’ and ‘circulatory system’, the Chinese have the Liver system, and the Spleen system, and onwards. All of the total physiological functions of our entire organism are described and included in these systems, just simply grouped together under different “headings”, attributed to different networks. A different language to describe the same phenomena. Nothing is lost, just mapped in a different way than our modern medical system, much like the indigenous of North America had different territorial boundaries than the ones colonialists laid down – yet all covered the same inherent landscape. In fact, because these systems also encompass psycho-emotional & spiritual aspects of our whole being, they have a far broader treatment reach than the biomedical systems we are used to. This is due to the fact that from the ground up this system treats the body and mind simultaneously.
Just as it is hard to translate from one language to another without losing subtle connotations, the same is true for the Organs. We work with the ‘Kidneys’ which are defined in our TCM terms, and then use herbs which treat the ‘Kidneys’ which, from a Western point of view may be herbs that act on hormone regulation, cerebral tonics, or tonics which strengthen the bones. The key here is that the tradition defines and dictates the functions of these systems, and should at no point be taken out of this context, unless to draw overlapping similarities between the two medical systems. For more details on this, please refer to my FAQ.
What makes Chinese Medicine a wholistic medicine is that not only are physical functions of the organism attributed to these Organ Networks, but psychological functions as well. To illustrate this, I use my ‘Garden of Five Flowers‘ metaphor. Imagine a garden with five plants. The root structures of the individual plants are intertwined and interdependent, forming networks of shared nutrients and information. The roots here represent the Organs themselves. From each of the roots grows a stalk. This stalk represents the “tissue” the Organ feeds. Let’s use the Liver as the example from here onwards. Due to the nature of Wood/Liver to expand, the Liver “governs” our ability to move in the world – thus it feeds the joints and tendons which allow us to move and stretch outwards. Each plant then has different leaves, or manifestations – these include a corresponding bodily accessory (the nails, in the Liver’s case), as well as an associated bodily fluid and numerous others, rooted in the careful observation of the interconnectivity of the being as a whole. The flower represents the sense organ (eyes). The fruit is the corresponding mental-emotional state: a balanced Liver network gives us the capacity to plan and the assertiveness/decisiveness to act on the plan. When imbalanced, we experience disproportionate anger, frustration, resentment or depression when our expectations are not met – all symptoms of our free-flowing creative/generative nature of ‘Wood’ being impeded. Finally, the fragrance is the Spiritual aspect. For the Liver, this is known as the “Hun” which is our creative visionary potential, it is our imagination and brings us our dreams each night.
Deeper still, each of the Phases/Organs governs a cycle of time or physiology:
- Wood/Liver – Menstrual cycle, the cycle and duration of emotions
- Fire/Heart – Moment to moment perception of time, the heartbeat, as well as sleep/wake cycles
- Earth/Spleen – The cycle of digestion from mouth to excretion
- Metal/Lungs – The cycle of breath, the cycle of Qi through the Channels
- Water/Kidneys – The reproduction of life (pregnancy), and the duration of one’s life itself.
These are only a few examples of theories and functions I have chosen out of interest. There are textbooks of others. So to bring this all together, Chinese Medicine groups these functions under the umbrella term of each Organ. By treating the root Organ, we see the rest of the system return to health – like watering the roots of the plant to bring lush vitality (Qi) to the leaves. The fact that these systems are not (yet) anatomically or biologically connected in scientific terms is irrelevant, as again, the tradition defines the terms and then treats them accordingly regardless of how they are named.
THE FOUR PRECIOUS PRINCIPLES & THEIR STATUS
Chinese Medicine works in concepts. I have come to name these substances not as literal substances, but as “Principles”. Yin, Yang, Qi and Blood (and other lesser substances not relevant to this intro article) flow through and nourish each of the Organ systems, and each take on their own distinct functions and characteristics while within that domain. If we were to imagine Yin as one end of a gradient or spectrum, and Yang at the other end, moving closer to the middle we would have Blood, and Qi respectively. I have organized these principles as follows:
- Yin is the “Cooling, Calming, and Moistening Principle”
- Yang is the “Principle of Warming & Activation”
- Blood is the “Nutritive Principle”
- Qi is the “Principle of Vital Function”
In other words, Qi is “that which provides optimal vitality”, Yin is “that which cools” and can be seen as an anti-inflammatory principle, and onwards. Any physiological functions may fall under these umbrellas and therefore by simply treating these concepts at this broad level we can treat all functions that fall under them – again, nourishing the roots to sustain the leaves.
The TCM Concept of Blood
“Blood” is a very common substance that has not been discussed yet. It takes Qi to extract the nutrients and essences out of our foods. The basic building blocks of amino acids, fatty acids, sugars, vitamins and minerals are all the
result of the breakdown process of digestion. Collectively, these pure substances as well as the literal blood itself, are all considered aspects of the TCM concept of Blood. So when a TCM practitioner refers to “Blood”, think not only of the blood that flows through our veins, but also of the vital nutrients delivered by it to each cell of our body. So when TCM states that an individual is “Blood deficient”, this could mean anemic, or fatty acid deficient; deficient in a specific vitamin, or any number of nutrients. Again, the sum-total of these, the Nutritive Principle is what we work with – not isolated bio-chemicals. These become more or less irrelevant when working with the broader encompassing term that unites them. This is a case of “a rising tide lifts all boats” as nourishing Blood by definition replenishes any aspects of micronutrition.
The fundamental principles, Qi, Blood, Yin & Yang must be abundant and flowing. If their flow or distribution in either the affected organ or the being as a whole is impaired, then by definition there must be a pathogen, an accumulation (a block in the river), or a state of deficiency/leakage which has caused the less optimal state. A common example is the very commonly diagnosed pattern of “Qi Stagnation”. This is the all-too-common patient who returns with labs tests revealing “negative” (and who are often then told their condition is “all in their head”). Of course they can’t find any specific positive biological markers, despite the patient knowing something is wrong: the condition is not rooted in the physical anatomy & biochemistry – it is a Stagnation of Qi – function. So when all is said and done, TCM essentially boils down all disease patterns into 3 fundamental imbalances (again an example of Yin, Yang and Qi in themselves): Excess, Deficiency and Misregulation/Stagnation.
Let’s take Yin into consideration: its deficiency is a lack of any or all of the defined qualities of Yin: grounding, moistening, cooling etc. These states can all be excessive as well, think of someone who is too grounded, perhaps even overweight, cold, and/or pathologically slow in their behaviour (chronically late). The body also will reflect corresponding symptoms of these imbalances, detected by the trained practitioner. A common example I use to illustrate this is that if you stay awake for too long (Yang), you are going to need a lot of sleep (Yin) – you have no choice in the matter, it is up to the nature of your body and the irrefutable nature of things. If you are ‘burning the candle at both ends’ (a very Yang term), as many of us are, then you are going to need a lot of Yin rejuvenation – which in today’s modern world may be quite hard to come by without the Yin herbal tonics & appropriate foods which replenish this principle. Without a period of rejuvenation, eventually our minds and bodies will exhibit the classic symptoms of a deficiency of Yin – all meticulously explained by TCM theory.
Three: Treatment & Conclusion
DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT APPROACH
So, as you can hopefully see, when we turn the “Liver Blood” system back online, we return the vitality to the other aspects further downstream. Practitioners triangulate an imbalance of the Liver through symptoms such as disturbing dreams, an irregular menstrual cycle, and cracking joints. With correct diagnosis, all of these strengthen in a short period of time. These are akin to the advanced gardener detecting what is going on in the roots of a plant by examining the state of the leaves (you can probably tell this is my favourite metaphor). Yet because of the Systems Thinking nature of Chinese Medicine, one symptom alone will not necessarily point to a Liver imbalance, it is only when they are taken together can they form a Pattern of Disharmony. This is what Chinese medicine diagnoses and treats – never diseases which curse us for life, simply syndromes of imbalances. The coolest part is that the cure for these “diseases” is implicit in their names: to correct a “Liver Blood Deficiency” pattern, we must simply replenish Liver Blood and the system returns to vitality.
Since the classic texts, Chinese Medicine was never concerned with the exact (ex. microbial) cause of diseases, as it never attempted to isolate the totality of the world. It saw this endeavor as fruitless, since all of our natural world exists interdependent lyrics and chose to work with it at this level. It observed the natures of the diseases by their characterization and personality of symptom progression. It then categorized and treated them accordingly, focussing on the successful treatment from the underlying root causes, and not through treating isolated symptoms. No symptoms exist in isolation. Thus, from the ground up this medical system results in a radically different model from our current one – which warrants respect and deeper understanding. This is especially true today, as modern environmental/ecology studies agree on the interdependent nature of Nature itself. Yet all too often, and for whatever reason, these theories (of interconnection) do not carry over to the practice modern conventional medicine, which instead tends to cling to a primitive, outdated mechanistic model. On the other hand there is much to be excited about: new, complex and increasingly wholistic fields are emerging such as “Psychoneuroimmunology” – the study of the psychological and nervous system’s complex relationship with the immune system (even my spell checker did not mark that as an unknown word!).
OUR BODY, OUR EARTH
The ancient Chinese viewed the body as a landscape, complete with rivers, caves, fields, mountains, streams and seas. The view of our body and being is a microcosm of the world that surrounds us… an endless fractal with archetypal principals forming the framework that guides each layer of manifestation. (That sentence might need a second read, lol). Even from the pages of the most pivotal TCM text, the Huang Di Nei Jing, essentially the oldest existing medical text on earth, the emphasis throughout – to attain our most optimal state of health is harmony with nature. Disease springs naturally from a deviation of these laws, laws which are ultimately beyond our human reasoning; inherent universal principles, the unspoken nature of things… as they are.
For many years in modern ecology it was believed that we could continuously pollute a stream and like a gradual degrading slope, the system would slowly collapse. Instead, the opposite has now been shown, systems can yes, be gradually damaged, but they will eventually reach a tipping point where the entire system collapses exponentially in a rapid collapse. This is what we can see in the world around us today with climate change being the dominant conversation of our generation, if not in the history of our species. And in the same vein, our spiritual-emotional-mental-physical beings can only sustain so much constant pollution before we collapse into a downward spiral of disease. We, like the Earth, are remarkably adaptive – but this ability to adapt has an end point: we can only push the system so far before the system reaches its limits.
So, the wholistic discussion of Chinese Medicine as it applies to our bodies and our mental-emotional states, being a tradition firmly grounded in the philosophy that we are not separate from nature, we also find the same principles apply to our natural world around us: Live in balance with the laws of Nature. Observe and respect the natural boundaries. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction: excessive Yang must be counter-balanced by Yin; excessive destruction, balanced by equal rehabilitation. Even for the most hard-lined skeptic, can we not agree on these basic principles of living on our planet Earth, and then assume that these principles transfer in some degree, to our own human physiological ecosystems? Can
we not respect traditions which are absolutely and completely grounded in this way of living, and have advanced these theories for generations, never deviating from these core truths? And then from this position of respect, can we not take the time learn to understand them in their own terms, rather than skewering them on the crucifix of science-based-language above all else?
Chinese Medicine is but one of countless traditional medical systems which cannot be isolated from the worldview they spring from. And yet universally these teaching all share the same truth – balance with nature both within our inner environment and in our natural world – leads to stress-free living, life free from non-congenital disease – and above all attains the goal of a peaceful acceptance and passing of all living things with minimal suffering.
In Health & Inspired Living,
~Matt Walton, R.TCMP, R.Ac
The Essence of Chinese Medicine by Matt Walton R.TCMP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Acupuncture | Chinese Medicine | Life Coaching | from Roots to Sky with Matt Walton R.TCMP 