Chapter 5 Yinyang Yingxiang Da lun pian:
Major Discussion on the Theory of Yin and Yang and the Corresponding Relationships Among All the Things in Nature 5. 1 Huangdi said, “Yin and Yang serve as the Dao (law) of the heavens and the earth, the fundamental principle of all things, the parents of change, the beginning of birth and death and the storehouse of Shen ming. The treatment of disease must follow this law. " "The [lucid] Yang [rises and] accumulates to form the heavens and the [turbid] Yin [descends and] accumulates to constitute the earth. Yin is static while Yang is dynamic . Yang is responsible for expanding and yin is responsible for contracting. Yang is the energy, the vital force, the potential, while yin is the substance, the foundation, the mother that gives rise to all this potential. Yang transforms Qi while Yin constitutes form. Extreme cold generates heat and extreme heat produces cold. Han qi ( Cold-Qi) generates turbid [Yin] and Re qi (Heat-Qi) produces lucid [Yang]. [If] Qing qi (Lucid-Qi) descends, it will cause Sun xie (diarrhea with undigested food in it). [If] Zhuo qi (Turbid-Qi) ascends, it will cause abdominal flatulence [or distension] . These are the disorders of Yin and Yang [in motion]. Violation of the rules of Yin and Yang leads to diseases. " "Qingyang (Lucid-Yang) [rises] to form the heavens while Zhuoyin (Turbid-Yin) [descends] to constitute the earth. Diqi ( Earth-Qi) rises to become clouds and Tianqi ( Heaven-Qi) descends to produce rain. Rain results from Diqi while clouds originate from Tianqi. Thus the Lucid-Yang moves upwards into upper orifices of the body while the Turbid-Yin moves downwards into the lower orifices of the body. The Lucid-Yang permeates through Couli (muscular interstices) while the Turbid- Yin enters the Five Zang-Organs. The Lucid-Yang fortifies the four limbs while the Turbid-Yin enters the Six Fu-Organs. " "Water pertains to Yin and fire to Yang. Yang pertains to Qi while Yin to flavor. The flavor nourishes the body, the Qi nourishes Jing (Essence) and Jing (Essence) transforms [into Yuanqi (Primordial-Qi) ]. The Jing (Essence) absorbs Qi [in the foods] and the body takes the flavor [of the foods]. Transformation [of the Primordial-Qi] promotes the production of the Essence and the Qi nourishes the body. [Excessive] flavor impairs the body and [excessive] Qi damages the Essence. The Essence can transform into the Qi and the Qi can be damaged by [excessive ] flavor. " "Yinwei (Yin-flavor) is discharged from the lower orifices and Yangqi disperses from the upper orifices. The thick flavor pertains to Yin and the thin flavor is Yang within Yin. The thick Qi pertains to Yang and the thin Qi is Yin within Yang. When taste or food is heavy and turbid, it may cause diarrhea, but the lighter, refined taste is able to circulate throughout the meridians. The thin Qi functions to disperse while the thick Qi generates heat. Strong Fire reduces Qi while mild Fire strengthens Qi. [Because] strong Fire consumes Qi while mild Fire warms Qi. Strong Fire disperses Qi while mild Fire supplements Qi. In terms of flavors, pungent and sweet flavors pertain to Yang [ because they] disperse, [while] sour and bitter flavors belong to Yin [because they] induce vomiting and purgation. " "Predominance of Yin results in the disease of Yang while predominance of Yang leads to the disease of Yin. Predominance of Yang generates heat while predominance of Yin produces cold. Extreme cold brings about heat while extreme heat results in cold. Cold damages the body, heat impairs Qi. The impairment of Qi causes pain and the damage of the body causes swelling. Swelling following pain [indicates that] Qi has damaged the body. Pain following swelling [shows that] the body has impaired Qi "Predominance of wind causes tremor [of the limbs], predominance of heat produces swelling, predominance of dryness leads to desiccation, predominance of cold results in dropsy and predominance of dampness brings about watery diarrhea. " "In nature, [variations of] the four seasons and [the motion of] the Wuxing (Five- Elements) are responsible for the [the activities of] Sheng (germination), Zhang (growth) , Shou (ripening or reaping) and Cang (storage) as well as [the climatic changes of] cold, summer-heat, dryness, dampness and wind. In the human body there are the Five Zang- Organs that produce five kinds of Qi respectively which are responsible for [the five emotional activities of] Xi (joy or happiness), Nu (anger or rage), Bei (grief or sadness), You (anxiety) and Kong (fear or fright) . [Excessive] joy and anger impair Qi, [excessive]cold and summer-heat damage the body. Sudden rage damages Yin and sudden joy impairs Yang. Adverse flow of Qi inflates Channels, physically deforming the body. Intemperance of joy and anger and excess of cold and summer-heat weaken health. Thus extreme Yin turns into Yang and extreme Yang changes into Yin. That is why it is said that attack by cold in winter leads to Wenbing (warm disease or seasonal febrile disease) in spring, attack by wind in spring results in Sunxie (diarrhea with undigested food in it) in summer, attack by summer-heat in summer brings about Jienue (malaria) in autumn and attack by dampness in autumn causes cough in winter. " 5. 2 Huangdi asked, "I have heard that the sages in ancient times studied the structure of the human body, differentiated [the functions of] the Zangfu- Organs, examined [the interrelationships among] the Jingmai (Channels), clarified [the relationships among] the six combinations and defined the [running route] of each Channel. Acupoint had a certain location and a definite name. The Xigu (regions where muscles converge) were all connected with the bones with a starting point and an ending point. The assignation of [the Collaterals over] the skin divisions and the flowing directions [of Qi and blood] were all made clear. [The changes of] Yin and Yang in the four seasons all followed certain rules. The external [environment] and the internal [environment] were related to each other. It that true? " 5. 3 Qibo answered, "The east produces wind, the wind promotes [the growth] of trees, the trees produces sour [taste], the sour [taste] nourishes the liver, the liver nourishes the sinews, the sinews nourishes the heart and the liver controls the eyes. Such [mysterious variation] appears as Xuan (abstruseness) in the heavens, Dao (rules or principles) in human beings and Hua (transformation) in the earth. The transforming [process] produces the five flavors, the Dao enables [human beings] to become intelligent and the Xuan [in the heavens] brings about Shen (changes of things in natural world) .
The Shen (changes of things in the natural world) demonstrates as wind in the heavens, trees on the earth, the sinews in the human body, the liver in the Zang-Organs, blue in colors, Jiao in scales, calling in voices, grasping in actions, the eyes in the orifices, sourness in tastes and anger in emotions. [Excessive] anger impairs the liver, while sorrow dominates over anger, wind impairs sinews, while dryness dominates over wind; sourness impairs the sinews while pungency dominates over sourness Gong Shang Jiao Zhi Yu
SP LU LV HT KD "The south produces heat, the heat produces fire, the fire produces bitterness, the bitterness nourishes the heart, the heart produces blood, the blood nourishes the spleen and the heart governs the tongue. [The mysterious changes of Yin and Yang] demonstrate as heat in the heavens, fire on the earth, the Channels in the human body, the heart in the Zang-Organs, red in colors, Zhi in scales, laughter in voices, grief in changes, the tongue in orifices, bitterness in tastes and joy in emotions.[Excessive] joy impairs the heart while fear dominates over joy; heat impairs Qi while cold dominates over heat; bitterness impairs Qi while saltiness dominates over bitterness. " "The center produces dampness, the dampness produces soil, the earth produces sweet [flavor], the sweet nourishes the spleen, the spleen nourishes muscles, the muscles strengthen the lung and the spleen governs the mouth. demonstrate as dampness in the heavens, soil in the earth, muscles in the human body, the spleen in the Zang-Organs, yellow in colors, Gong in scales, singing in voices, hiccup in actions, the mouth in orifices, sweet in tastes and thinking in emotions.[Excessive ] contemplation impairs the spleen while anger dominates over contemplation; [excessive] dampness impairs muscles while wind dominates over dampness; [excessive] sweetness impairs muscles while sourness dominates over sweetness. " "The west produces dryness, the dryness produces metal, the metal produces pungency, the pungency nourishes the lung, the lung governs the skin and hair, the skin and hair nourish the kidney and the lung governs the nose. demonstrate as dryness in the heavens, metal on the earth, skin and hair on the body, the lung in the Zang-Organs, white in colors, Shang in scales, crying in voices, cough in actions, nose in orifices, pungency in tastes and grief in emotions. [Excessive] grief impairs the lung while joy dominates over grief; [excessive] heat impairs the skin and hair while cold dominates over heat; [excessive] pungency impairs the skin and hair while bitterness dominates over pungency. " "The north produces cold, the cold produces water, the water produces saltiness, the saltiness nourishes the kidney, the kidney produces bone marrow, the marrow nourishes the liver and the kidney governs the ears. demonstrate as cold in the heavens, water on the earth, bones in the human body, the kidney in the Zang-Organs, black in colors, Yu in scales, sigh in voices, shaking in actions, the ears in orifices, saltiness in tastes and fear in emotions. [Excessive] fear impairs the kidney while contemplation dominates over fear; [excessive] cold impairs blood(bone) while dryness (dampness) dominates over cold; [excessive] saltiness impairs blood while sweetness dominates over saltiness. "
"That is why it is said that the heavens and the earth exist in the upper and lower of all the things [in the natural world], Yin and Yang symbolize [the opposite properties] of blood and Qi, the left and the right stand for the routes of Yin and Yang [along which they are ascending and descending], water and fire are the symbols of Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang are the source of everything. That is why it is said that Yin maintains inside to preserve Yang while Yang stays outside to protect Yin. "