Who can tell me what "Yin" and "Yang" were in ancient China?

The theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements is China's simple materialism and spontaneous dialectics in ancient times. It believes that the world is material, and the material world is nurtured, developed and changed under the impetus of yin and yang. People think that the five most basic substances, wood, fire, earth, gold and water, are indispensable elements in the world. These five substances depend on each other and are in constant movement and change. This theory had a far-reaching impact on the later ancient materialist philosophy, such as ancient astronomy, meteorology, chemistry, mathematics, music, medicine, etc., all developed with the help of the theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements.

Traditional Chinese medicine application

On the basis of long-term medical practice, ancient physicians in China widely applied the theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements in the medical field to explain the origin of human life, physiological phenomena and pathological changes, guide clinical diagnosis and prevention, and become an important part of the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, which has had a far-reaching impact on the formation and development of the theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine.

Theory of yin and Yang

Yin and Yang are a pair of categories in China's ancient philosophy. The original meaning of yin and yang is very simple, indicating that the sun faces the back, the sun faces the sun, and the back faces the sun. Later, it was extended to the warmth and coldness of the climate, the up and down or so, the internal and external directions, and the restlessness and tranquility of the movement state. The ancient philosophers in China further realized that all phenomena in nature are antagonistic and interactive, so they used the concept of Yin and Yang to explain two kinds of antagonistic and interactive material forces in nature, and thought that the opposition and fluctuation of Yin and Yang were inherent in things themselves, and further thought that the opposition and fluctuation of Yin and Yang were the basic laws of the universe.

Yin-yang theory holds that the world is a material whole, and everything in nature contains two opposing aspects of Yin and Yang, which are mutually unified. The movement of the unity of opposites between Yin and Yang is the fundamental reason for the occurrence, development, change and extinction of all things in nature. As Su Wen Yin and Yang should be alike, "Yin and Yang, the way of heaven and earth, the discipline of all things, the parents of change, the beginning of life and death". Therefore, the law of the unity of opposites between Yin and Yang is the inherent law of the movement and change of all things in nature, and the world itself is the result of the unity of opposites between Yin and Yang.

Yin He not only represents opposing things, but also can be used to analyze two aspects of internal opposition. Generally speaking, everything that is vigorous, extroverted, rising, warm and bright belongs to Yang; Relatively quiet, defensive, healthy, cold and dark belong to yin. In terms of heaven and earth, the weather is light and bright, and the atmosphere is heavy and turbid. In terms of fire and water, water is cold, nourishing subordinate yin, fire is hot, and inflammation belongs to yang.

Everything can be divided into yin and yang attributes, but it must be aimed at a pair of interrelated things or two aspects of a thing, so this division is of practical significance. If the two things analyzed are not related to each other, or are not two opposite aspects of the unity, Yin and Yang cannot be used to distinguish their relative attributes and their relationship.

The yin and yang attributes of things are not absolute, but relative. On the one hand, this relativity shows that under certain conditions, yin and yin can be transformed into each other, that is, yin can be transformed into yang and can also be transformed into yin. On the other hand, it is reflected in the infinite separability of things.

The basic content of Yin-Yang theory includes four aspects: opposition of Yin and Yang, mutual root of Yin and Yang, growth and decline of Yin and Yang, and transformation of Yin and Yang.

In the theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine, the thought of yin-yang theory is everywhere. Yin-yang theory is used to explain the tissue structure, physiological function and pathological changes of human body and guide the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

Basic content of yin-yang theory

The basic content of Yin-Yang theory includes four aspects: opposition of Yin and Yang, mutual root of Yin and Yang, growth and decline of Yin and Yang, and transformation of Yin and Yang.

Yang-to-horse refers to the fact that everything or phenomenon in the world has two aspects of yin and yang opposition, such as up and down, heaven and earth, movement, rise and fall, etc. , of which the upper part belongs to Yang and the lower part belongs to Yin; The sky is yang and the earth is yin; Movement is Yang, quietness is Yin, ascending belongs to Yang, descending belongs to Yin. Opposing yin and yang are interdependent, and neither side can exist alone without the other. The upper part is yang, the lower part is yin, and it doesn't matter if there is no upper part; Heat is yang, cold is yin, and cold is no heat. Therefore, it can be said that Yang depends on Yin and Yin depends on Yang, and each side regards the existence of the other as its own existence condition. This is the mutual root of yin and yang.

The opposition, restriction and mutual utilization between yin and yang are not static, but always in a process of growth and decline, in which yin and yang reach a dynamic balance. This fluctuation is absolute, while the dynamic balance is relative. For example, the sun is shining during the day, and the physiological function of the human body is mainly exciting; But at night, yin is abundant, and the physiological function of the body is mainly inhibition. From midnight to noon, the yang is gradually flourishing, and the physiological function of human body gradually changes from inhibition to excitement, that is, yin disappears and yang grows; From noon to midnight, the yang gradually declines, and the physiological function of the human body gradually changes from excitement to inhibition, that is, yang disappears and yin grows.

Under certain conditions, yin and yang can also be transformed into each other, that is, the so-called extremes meet. For example, some acute fever, due to extremely heavy heat toxicity, consumes a lot of vitality of the body. In the case of persistent high fever, symptoms such as sudden drop in body temperature, cold limbs, and slightly heartbroken pulse may occur, which is the manifestation of yang syndrome transforming into yin syndrome. It can be said that the growth and decline of Yin and Yang is a process of quantitative change, while the transformation of Yin and Yang is a process of qualitative change. The rise and fall of Yin and Yang is the premise of the transformation of Yin and Yang, and the transformation of Yin and Yang is the result of the development of Yin and Yang.

Application of yin-yang theory in traditional Chinese medicine

In the theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine, the thought of yin-yang theory is everywhere. Yin-yang theory is used to explain the tissue structure, physiological function and pathological changes of human body and guide the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.