Chapter II Theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements 1

? Yin-Yang and Five Elements are theoretical tools for ancient philosophers in China to understand and explain the changes of the universe, and this theory contains simple materialist dialectics. In Neijing, the theory of yin-yang and five elements is widely used as a basic principle to explain life activities, natural evolution and laws related to man and nature.

? Yin and Yang are two aspects of the unity of opposites between things and phenomena. As the saying goes, one yin and one yang is the way. Zhang Jingyue's classic added: "Yin and Yang are divided into two. "Everything is in the unity of opposites of Yin and Yang, so Neijing extends Yin and Yang to all fields such as heaven and earth, meaning' storing Yang for the sky and storing Yin for the earth'; If you are moving, you will be "quiet and impetuous"; Form and gas, then "Yang Qi, Yin forming"; Qi and taste, then "qi is yang and taste is yin"; Cold and heat, then "yin dominates cold and yang dominates heat"; Fire and water, then "water is yin and fire is yang"; There are men and women, men are yang and women are yin; Dirty and fu organs, then "dirty is yin, fu organs are yang"; Day and night, the day is sunny and the night is cloudy; Spring and summer and autumn and winter, spring and summer is yang, autumn and winter is yin. Therefore, "Su Wen. "On the Differentiation of Yin and Yang" said: "The sum of Yin and Yang is counted as ten, and it is counted as a hundred, a thousand, and a million. Ten thousand is countless, but they need one. "Yin and Yang are the generalizations of two opposing sides of things, so they can represent the unity of two opposing properties inherent in things, and also represent two opposing aspects within the same thing. Deduction by the method of "one divides into two" can be from ten to hundred, from hundred to thousand, from thousand to ten thousand, and even endless. However, in a word, it is Yin and Yang, that is, the relationship between the unity of opposites of Yin and Yang. The five elements, represented by wood, fire, earth, gold and water, explain the attributes of everything and the internal relations between things, which belongs to the ancient simple system theory. If five seasons and five elements coexist, spring belongs to wood, summer to fire, long summer to earth, autumn to gold and winter to water. The five elements are in harmony, the east belongs to wood, the south to fire, the middle to earth, the west to gold and the north to water. When the five internal organs belong to five elements, the liver belongs to wood, the heart belongs to fire, the spleen belongs to earth, the lung belongs to gold, and the kidney belongs to water. The rest, such as wind, heat, wet, dry, cold, blue, red, yellow, white, black, sour, bitter, sweet, pungent and salty, can be classified by five elements and explained by five elements. Because the five elements are interdependent and mutually restrictive, the ancients used the laws of the five elements to understand and explain the internal and external relations of all things, and then clarified the dynamic balance of all things in their development process. Therefore, Zhang Jingyue said, "Natural machines cannot be born out of life, nor can they be made out of control. Without life, there is no reason for development, and without control, it will be harmful. Endless life, endless ways of heaven and earth. "Yin and Yang and the five elements are closely combined and used for each other. Yin and yang contain five elements, which embody Yin and Yang. Zhang Jingyue said, "The five elements are the essence of Yin and Yang, and Yin and Yang are the qi of the five elements. If the gas is uncertain, it will not work. " Neijing uses the theory of yin-yang and five elements to summarize and explain the basic contents of human physiological functions, pathological changes, diagnostic procedures, treatment rules, and the relationship between man and nature. The theory of yin-yang and five elements runs through every chapter of Neijing, and it has indeed become the core idea of Chinese medicine theory.

First, the general outline of Yin and Yang

? Su Wen's Theory of Yin and Yang should be like a big picture says: "Yin and Yang, the way of heaven and earth, the discipline of all things, the changing parents, the beginning of life and death, and the house of the gods must be based on this." Its so-called Tao is law; Outline, that is, procedure; Parents are the source; Beginning, that is, fundamental and primitive; The house of the gods is a place where things move and change. The original text points out that Yin and Yang are the fundamental laws of the movement and change of nature, the program of analyzing and summarizing all things, the foundation of the development and change of things, the foundation of the emergence and demise of things, and the place where things move and change. To treat diseases, we must infer the fundamental law of yin and yang changes. Neijing holds that Yin and Yang are the universal laws of nature and the origin of the occurrence, development and change of all things. Like nature, human beings are "tangible and inseparable from Yin and Yang" (Su Wen. Bao Quanming's theory of behavior "; "Life is based on Yin and Yang", Su Wen. On anger. " All the organizational structure of human body and all human life activities must be based on the law of the unity of opposites of Yin and Yang. Therefore, Neijing regards distinguishing Yin and Yang as the basic program for diagnosing diseases, and regulating Yin and Yang as the basic rule for treating diseases, and clearly points out that "treatment must be based on this". As Zhang Zhicong explained: "This person is based on Yin and Yang. The qi and blood of human viscera, from the outside to the inside, are caused by yin and yang. The wind of adultery is wet and cold in summer, and the four seasons and five elements always belong to yin and yang. As for the smell of treatment, the use of needles, the diagnosis of pulse color and the introduction of high and low are not beyond the principle of yin and yang, so daily treatment must be based on this. '

Second, the basic content of Yin-Yang theory

Yin and Yang, as the objective laws of the movement and change of nature, are used to summarize and explain the two aspects of the unity of opposites and the relationship of interdependence, mutual restriction, mutual growth and decline and mutual transformation in nature. To sum up, its basic content can be classified into three aspects.

1. Opposition and mutual roots

? "Su Wen. Yin and Yang should be like a cloud of great theory; " Therefore, Yang is the sky and Yin is the earth. Yin is static and Yang is impetuous, Yang generates Yin, and Yang kills Yin and hides. Yang qi, yin forming. "For the day aggregates Yang, for the ground aggregates Yin, heaven and earth relative, love each other. Yin is static, Yang is impetuous, that is, there is movement between Yin and Yang, and movement is two manifestations of things changing. The growth of yin and yang refers to the growth of yin and yang; Yang kills Yin, which means Yin and Yang kill Yin. In a year, spring is the main life, summer is the main growth, autumn is the main harvest (killing), and winter is the main storage. When you grow up, you kill Tibet, and when you kill Tibet, you grow up. Growth and killing Tibet are opposite and mutually rooted. Turning yang into qi and yin into shape is based on the fact that shape and qi are divided into yin and yang, shape dominates matter, qi dominates function, matter produces function, and function forms body. Form and qi are both opposite and mutually rooted. " Su Wen Yin and yang should be like a big theory, and the cloud says, "Everything in heaven and earth is up and down; Yin and Yang, the blood of men and women; Left and right, the way of yin and yang is also; Fire and water are signs of yin and yang; Yin and Yang, everything can (embryo) also. Therefore, the day: the defense of yin and yang; Yang is outside, and Yin is also making it. " It is pointed out that heaven and earth cover everything, and yin and yang become men and women. Left ascending and right descending is the way of Yin and Yang, and water and fire are obvious signs of Yin and Yang. And these are all opposites and mutually rooted. It can be seen that the change of yin and yang is the origin of everything. Specific to the human body, that is, "Yin and Yang also guard; Yang is outside, so is Yin. In the human body, yin is outside, subtle substances are hidden inside, and functional activities are displayed outside. As the material basis of Yang, Yin essence is hidden in it and must rely on the protection of Yang. Yang Qi, as the functional expression of Yin essence, is bound to depend on the persistence of Yin essence. It can be seen that yin and yang are both opposite and mutually rooted. Shi Shoutang's "Original Medicine" is well said; Yang Can can't stand on his own feet, but must stand behind Yin, so Yang is based on Yin and Yin is the mother of Yang. Yin can't see itself, and it can't be seen until Yang appears, so Yin is dominated by Yang, and Yang is the father of Yin. Root yin, root yang, heaven and man also make sense. "

2. Growth, decline and transformation

"Su Wen. On the subtle pulse condition, this paper discusses the ups and downs of yin and yang throughout the year: "On the forty-fifth day of the winter solstice, the yang is slightly higher and the yin is slightly lower; On the 45th day of the summer solstice, the yin is slightly higher and the yang is slightly lower. "The 45th day of the winter solstice is the Spring Festival. At this time, the sun is slightly higher and the yin is slightly lower, and the climate gradually turns from cold to warm. The 45th day of the summer solstice is the beginning of the autumn festival. At this time, the earth's yin is slightly higher and the yang is slightly lower, and the climate gradually turns from hot to cold. The ups and downs of Yin and Yang in the four seasons can directly affect the outcome of human body and its diseases, especially the vernal equinox (vernal equinox, autumnal equinox) and solstice (summer solstice, winter solstice), which are remarkable moments in nature and human body and have great influence on the mechanism of disease transformation. Jiang's "Medical Raft" said: "If it is divided into two parts, the slightly ill person is expected to recover; If you are seriously ill, you must take precautions. This exchange of yin and yang, popularity will follow. "Soul fulcrum. In the law of disease diagnosis, the law of mutual transformation between yin and yang at four seasons and cold and heat is further clarified. "The change of four seasons, the victory of cold and heat, the heavy yin will be yang, and the double ninth festival will be yin. "So, Yin dominates cold and Yang dominates heat. So, cold is hot, and hot is cold. Therefore, the day: cold produces heat, heat produces cold, and this change of yin and yang is also. " In other words, the climate change in spring, summer, autumn and winter, alternating hot and cold, is the result of the change of yin and yang movement. When yin qi develops to the extreme, it will inevitably transform to the sunny side; When Yang develops to the extreme, it will inevitably turn into Yin. Yin and yang correspond to cold and heat. Therefore, yin dominates cold and yang dominates heat. Cold to the extreme can be transformed into heat, and heat to the extreme can be transformed into cold. The alternation of four seasons is the result of the mutual transformation of yin and yang.

3. Elevators and walkways

Rise and fall is the main manifestation of yin and yang movement. Man's ascending and descending movement is a process of yin and yang movement. Ascending and descending means ascending Qing Yang and descending turbid Yin; When a man goes out, he is the yang master and the yin master is the wife. In nature, ascending and descending people show the movement of yin and yang. Yin and yang should be like a big theory: "Therefore, the clear yang is the sky, the turbid yin is the earth, the earth gas is the cloud, the weather is the rain, the rain is the earth gas, and the cloud is the weather." The change of heaven and earth is the result of yin and ups and downs. "Su Wen. Six micro-topics also say: the rise and fall of qi makes heaven and earth more useful. I have risen and fallen, and the person who falls is called heaven; When it drops, it rises, and when it rises, it is called "walking the ground". The weather drops and the air flows to the ground; The air on the earth rises, and the air in the sky rises. Therefore, the ups and downs are also called ups and downs. "That is to say, the rise and fall of qi is the interaction of Yin and Yang of heaven and earth. From rising to falling, this is the role of the weather; From falling to rising, this is the role of the earth. When the weather drops, gas flows to the ground; When the earth's air rises, it evaporates in the sky. Because heaven and earth echo each other, ups and downs are causal and can change. This shows that the ups and downs are due to the mutual roots of yin and yang. The ups and downs are like this, and so are people. Only when there is a rise can there be a drop, and only when there is a drop can there be a rise; Only when there are things can there be people, and only when there are things can there be people. " Su Wen's "The Theory of Yin and Yang should be Like a Big Picture" said: "Clear yang comes out of the upper orifices, while turbid yin comes out of the lower orifices; Clear yang leads to stagnation, turbid yin leads to five zang; Clearing yang and consolidating limbs, turbid yin and six fu organs. "It points out that the functions of breathing, vocalization, hearing, smell, vision and taste of the human body are all emitted from the upper mouth, and defecation is discharged from the lower mouth; Wei-Yang Qi comes from meridians, and subtle substances such as essence, blood and body fluid enter the five internal organs; Yang-clearing qi reaches all limbs, and people in Shui Gu eat six fu-organs. This shows that the body's yang-clearing qi rises upward and outward, while the turbid yin qi sinks downward and inward. It can be seen that the rise and fall of yin and yang is not only a form of movement in nature, but also a guarantee to maintain the dynamic balance of the internal and external environment of the human body. Therefore, "Su Wen. "Six Micro Themes" said: "If you enter, you will die, and if you leave, you will die; If you raise or lower your breath, you will be in danger. Therefore, if you are not a person, you cannot be old; Without promotion, there is no growing collection.