Introduction: "Hollow grass and trees can cure wind. When the leaves and branches are opposite to each other, they will appear red. If there are thorns on the edges of the leaves, they will be swollen. There is pulp in the leaves that can remove poisons."... "Lilies bloom in the morning and close in the evening; Perilla , the leaves face upward in the evening." Borrowing its meaning to treat insomnia has outstanding curative effect"... This is the image thinking of traditional Chinese medicine. At the end of the article, the author points out that the thinking of medicinal phenomena is orthodox Materia Medica thinking, but it also has limitations. It needs to be combined with the theories of yin and yang, and five elements to fully understand traditional Chinese medicine.
1. Traditional Chinese Medicine Xiang Thinking
" Nei Jing " points out: "All things in the heaven and earth are not inferred by numbers, but are called by images." , which is often called "taking images to compare with analogies". The thinking method of "taking images to compare with analogies" is the crystallization of the wisdom of the ancients. Zhang Zhicong calls it the "medication method image", and the "image" here is the basis for why a certain medicine has a certain function.
Folks have this conclusion: "Hollow plants and trees can cure wind, the leaves and branches will be red when facing each other, the thorns on the edges of the leaves will reduce swelling, and the pulp in the leaves will remove the poison." In other words, any plant with a hollow center can cure For rheumatism and bone pain , if you want to treat wind-cold waist and leg pain, you can add some wine to promote qi and blood circulation . Try to use medicines that are generally unknown only for external use and not internally; all plants and trees with opposite leaves and branches can be used externally to stop bleeding; all leaves Those with hairy and prickly edges can treat muscle redness, swelling and pain; those whose leaves are sticky and slippery when rubbed can treat unknown swelling or poisonous bites or bites from snakes, scorpions, bees, centipedes, etc.
Understanding these rules will not only help to understand and master the functions of drugs more deeply and vividly, and have a more accurate grasp of clinical practice, but also help in some special situations, such as accidents in the wild and no preparations for anything. In the case of medication, it can be of great use. For example, if there is bleeding and you need to stop the bleeding, you can look for drugs with opposite branches and leaves nearby to deal with it based on the principle that "the opposite leaves and branches will treat the redness". If it is red, it will be better. At the same time, because "blood stops as soon as it turns black", black belongs to water, red belongs to fire, and water overcomes fire. If time permits, it will be better to use some of them to burn carbon black .
Another example, if you are bitten by a poisonous snake, how should you give first aid? If you are bitten by a venomous snake, do not panic. You should calmly squeeze or suck out the venom. Then, within a radius of ten meters of the original spot, you can find the antidote according to the phrase "There is pulp in the leaves to pull out the venom".
Wu Yiling in " Collateral Diseases " Insect medicine for dredging collaterals and rattan medicine for dredging collaterals, he believed that the use of images and analogies is a common principle in the clinical use of traditional Chinese medicine. Rattans twist and spread like a network, criss-crossing and reaching everywhere. They are shaped like collaterals. For those who have been ill for a long time and have evil spirits entering the collaterals, rattan medicines can be used to unblock the collaterals and dissipate knots, such as Tripterygium wilfordii , Trachelospermia vine, Lonicera japonica Vine, Qingfeng Vine , Millipedia , etc.
Just through the image of rattan, we can know that these drugs have the effect of unblocking meridians and dispersing stagnation. This is a general direction. But there are more subtle differences among each vine. For example, the juice of Chicken Spatholobus really looks like chicken blood. It is red and enters the blood. The taste is also relatively sweet and more tonic, so Chicken Spatholobus is still popular. The effect of nourishing and activating blood. Generally speaking, for those with meridians who have suffered a stroke, Millet Spatholobi is more suitable, so it can not only unblock the meridians, but also has the meaning of "blood circulation and wind self-extinguishing".
Tang Rongchuan said: "The lotus root is hollow, which is the image of separation. It gives birth to lotus leaves, whose shape is upward, that is, the separation of the innate becomes the shock of the day after. The flower color is red and empty inside, which is the separation of the image. The lotus root is also like an acquired shock. As for the lotus seeds, the white flesh on the outside and the green heart on the inside are also like the void in the center, and the innate lotus leaves will be born in the future. When it becomes Yin, it becomes the Zhen Gua. Water means Yin, and the lotus seeds enter the water, and Yin Yao is added to the body, and it gradually becomes the Zhen Gua. "
Li Shizhen recorded such an example in "Compendium of Materia Medica": One person. Suffering from thunderstorm syndrome, there are swelling and pain on the head and face, aversion to cold and fever, and the symptoms are very similar to typhoid fever. Doctors have tried many drugs but have no effect.Li Shizhen treated it with Qingzhen Decoction and recovered. Use 1 lotus leaf, 215g of Cimicifuga, 215g of Atractylodes, decoct in water and take warmly. Li Shizhen said that this disease is caused by and three yang , and it should not be treated too much by using heavy doses of cold medicine. Light medicine should be used to treat the symptoms. But why are lotus leaves used? This is because the earthquake is thunder, and the image of the lotus leaf belongs to the earthquake body. Its color is green, which is related to the meaning of pictogram, so it is used.
Others such as Achyranthes bidentata Its joints are like knees, so it can cure knee and shin diseases, Dipsacus Dipsacus has many tendons and can continue severe injuries, Eucommia ulmoides has many tendons and is tough and can strengthen bones and muscles, Stretchwort is like tendons and can relax tendons and unblock meridians. Pangolin has the effect of unblocking meridians, etc. There are too many to list. What needs to be noted is that although the skin is used to treat the skin, pork loin is used to nourish the kidneys, etc., although it looks like it, what we pay more attention to is its spiritual likeness (meaning). The skin of all things has the common features of protecting its body, circulating water channels and guarding qi , etc. This commonality is the so-called spiritual similarity.
The reason why patients suffer from edema is related to visceral lesions, but it is also related to the functional impairment of the skin in some aspects. The skin of all things has common functional properties, so the skin of medicine can help the human skin to fight against external evils or balance the human body. The functions of the body surface are used to resolve the damage. In the same way, the reason why pork loin nourishes the kidneys is not because of its resemblance, but because the function of pork loin (i.e. pig kidney ) is similar to that of human kidneys, which is just to replenish the spirit.
"Fan Wenfu's Album" discusses the treatment of Huang's insomnia: "He suffers from insomnia and cannot be cured by hundreds of medicines, so I will give you a prescription: lily one liang (30g), perilla leaf three qian (9g) , take two decoctions, apply three times and it will be safe. I asked: This is effective in treating insomnia. What is the book? I said: I tasted planting lilies and saw that they bloom in the morning and close in the evening. I also planted perilla and saw that the leaves turned upward in the evening. "Chui, use it according to its intention, but don't expect the speed of its effect."
Some people praised this wonderful idea, and some people reflected on it and raised this question: "The medicine that opens in the morning and closes in the evening and falls in the morning and evening is not just a medicine." Lily and perilla, is this method of medication universal? "In fact, this patient is "suffering from insomnia, and a hundred medicines cannot cure it." As intractable insomnia , regardless of the original cause, a long-term insomnia People who have problems with the opening and closing of yin and yang at least already have problems, and lilies and perilla, which open in the morning and close in the evening, and drop in the morning and evening, do have the function of regulating the opening and closing mechanism at the level of Xiang thinking. If this is the case, use It's medicine, so it works. So do other drugs with similar medicinal effects also have such effects? The answer is yes.
However, some people will know it but not know why. After seeing this conclusion, they will also use lily and perilla among other insomnia patients. This is really dogmatism . For example, if a child is crying at night and cannot sleep at night, using it may not be effective. At this time, using to shed will be more effective. As far as medicine is concerned, cicadas ( and ) scream deafeningly during the day but are silent at night, so it is good to treat children with night cries. Of course, the medicinal properties of cicada slough are mild and have a general effect on general insomnia.
Medicinal images are a method commonly used by ancient people to understand things, and have made significant contributions to the formation of the theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine . Some people interpret "image" as an image or image in a narrow sense. The real image of a drug at least includes everything that the drug shows, including the shape, texture, color, smell, habits, growth environment and other natural characteristics of the drug.
Medicinal images have been an important thought in traditional Chinese medicine since ancient times. Especially after the Song Dynasty, a large number of Confucian scholars joined the ranks of doctors. Medicine was recognized by Confucianism as a cultural system based on the study of things and principles, making its theory more complete. Medicinal Xiang thinking is the orthodox Materia Medica thinking, which also includes the Xiang thinking of the Bagua in " Zhouyi ". At the same time, we must also be clear that medicinal images, as a thinking tool for understanding and applying traditional Chinese medicine, must have certain limitations and need to be applied in conjunction with , yin and yang, five elements, and other theories. In this way, whether it is the refining and summarization of the image of "the doctor, the mind", or the understanding of the nature and taste of traditional Chinese medicine, Xiang thinking runs through it and plays a leading role.
2. The Law of Elephants
In the eyes of the ancients who took "xiang" as their main way of thinking, everything in the world is not an image. The essence of medicinal images and human images or disease images is through the sense of gas phase and the corresponding type, and the correlation effect occurs.
The ancients explored some "image rules" in the process of understanding medicines, such as using different parts, textures, shapes and living habits of medicines to discuss the improvement and efficacy of medicines.
Parts like
"Compendium of Materia Medica" says: "Medicine has roots, seedlings, heads, tails, joints, buds, thorns, skins, hearts, juices, sinews, flesh, etc. The application is different, please explain in detail. The answer is: There is no other intention, it is just to focus on the place where the medicinal power is concentrated, so as to harmonize with the disease. "So "Only to focus on the medicinal power to harmonize with the disease" is the way to select the parts of medicinal materials in traditional Chinese medicine. in accordance with. Wu Jutong said in "Tiao Bian of Febrile Diseases: Each of Plants and Trees Gets a Taiji Lun": "In ancient times, those who wrote Materia Medica all discussed its smell and temperament one by one, but did not discuss the outline of the body and the use of growth and collection. This is a special supplement. The reed is responsible for growing, the stems and leaves are responsible for growing, the flowers are responsible for harvesting, the roots are responsible for storage, and the grass is for storage, all of which are in the seeds... Each of these plants and trees has a Tai Chi principle. Clinically, is it unreasonable? For example, perilla medicine, perilla leaf and perilla root all have the effect of dispersing pungent warmth and regulating qi and broadening the chest. However, Su Ye is a leaf, and "all leaves are scattered", so it tends to relieve the surface and dispel cold, and has the purpose of promoting and dispersing; Su Jie is a stem, which is not mainly for dispersion, but mainly for smoothing Qi, so it is good at regulating Qi and broadening the chest, It relieves pain and promotes miscarriage; as perilla is the seed, it mainly regulates contraction and descending, so the effect is partial to lowering qi, eliminating phlegm, relieving cough and asthma, and moisturizing the intestines.
The image of drug quality
The image of drug quality emphasizes the specific texture of the drug, but the quality of the drug is often related to the medicinal parts, such as roots, stems, flowers, and fruits. The textures of each are generally different. The textures of animals, plants, and minerals are definitely different, so the images of quality and the images of parts are often viewed with reference to each other.
"Yi Xia Xia Yan" says: "For the beneficial taste, bones and flesh are the most important; for the beneficial Qi, vegetation is the first." "Compendium of Materia Medica" says: "The nature of animals and plants is not calm, but the nature of metal and stone is the most important. Calming, so everything that calms the soul, calms the spirit, and calms down, also uses gold and stone as the key." These are the major categories of quality. "Lv Shan Tang Lei Bian" states that " the five qi are divided into five internal organs, and the five flavors are inverse to control the five elements. The skin is used to treat the skin, the joints are used to treat the bones, and the core is used to treat pills (those with many strong joints such as pine joints, fir joints and grass roots, All can treat bones. Litchi seeds, tangerine seeds, , etc., treat testicles), seeds can improve eyesight, vines can treat muscles and veins, and flesh can nourish blood and flesh. Each one is of its own type, such as water grass and stone grass. Ascending; the fruit of the root is solid, its nature is mainly descending; the sweet and fragrant products can spread to all sides; the cold and hot qi, the nature floats and sinks in the upper and lower directions. At the root of the earth, those who are originally from above will touch up, and those who are originally from below will touch down. "The branches on the outside treat the root cause, and the branches on the branches are natural." The effect is based on the quality or location of plants.
Medicine image
" Materia Medica " says, "The medicine is a branch, reaching the limbs; a skin medicine, reaching the skin; a heart medicine, a stem, traveling inside the internal organs; a light medicine, traveling up to the heart and lungs; a heavy medicine, it reaches the heart and lungs; If it is hollow, it will enter the liver and kidneys; if it is hollow, it will be released; if it is strong inside, it will attack the inside; if it is dry, it will enter the Qi component; if it is moist, it will enter the blood component. The upper, lower, and inner parts are all in accordance with each other." It is actually a medicine. Shape, and pharmacological summary of both quality and location. It is also said: "Medicines are substances, each with its own shape and temperament. When it enters various meridians, some are similar due to their shape (for example, Forsythia enters the heart like the heart. Lychee kernel enters the kidney like the testicles.) "Why is Forsythia suspensa called the "sacred medicine for sores"? Because "all pain, itching and sores belong to the heart", Forsythia suspensa is like the heart and is cold in nature, so it clears the heart. If the heart fire is cleared, the sores will subside.
Habit image
Habit refers to the living habits of animals, the growth characteristics of plants, and is the most natural nature of medicines. "Xu Ming Yi Lei Case" says: "Insects and ants all attack. Those without blood will vent their Qi, those with blood will vent their Qi, those that fly will rise, and those that walk on the ground will descend." "Ben Jing Shu Zheng" says that Ephedra: "Therefore, this thing is planted There is no snow in the winter, because it can spread Yang Qi in the Yin and prevent it from being condensed by excessive cold. " Yanghe Decoction treats yang deficiency and cold and phlegm retention, which is to use Ephedra to "stretch Yang Qi". "In the deep yin" to dispel the cold and go out.Everyone has habits, and habits affect everyone's life direction. This makes the world rich and wonderful. The differences between natural objects are greater than that between people. As a medicine, the habits of things affect the properties of the medicine. Just like a cicada sheds its shading film, take the meaning of "shedding". The nature of the cicada sheds and retreats the shade, the nature of the snake moves and dispels the wind, and it is used because of its nature. The cicada is transformed by the residual air of the earth and wood. It drinks the wind and absorbs the dew, and its Qi is clear and deficient. Therefore, its main treatment is for all syndromes of wind-heat.
The ancients used body, and later generations used shedding. In general, the cicada body should be used to treat the internal organs and meridians. To treat skin sores and wind-heat, cicada slough should be used, each according to its category. Cicadas are insects that live underground. When they become adults, they break out of the ground. When they break through the ground, the cicadas carry their shells, so the cicadas shed out of the earth. After the cicadas emerge from the ground, they shed their shells and sing, so the cicadas shed their shells and sing. The implication is that it can be used to treat muteness.
3. Recover the lost way of thinking of the Chinese people
I said in the article "Why Cinnabar Can Calm and Calm the Mind": "Cinnabar calms the mind and calms the mind because cinnabar is red and the color is red. If cinnabar is heavy, it can go down. Heavy pressure. To calm the mind and calm the mind. "A netizen who is in the traditional Chinese medicine industry said: "This statement is too idealistic and I can't accept it. Although I am in the traditional Chinese medicine industry, I always think that. Only by accepting criticism can the traditional Chinese medicine industry move forward."
After reading this comment, I felt sad.
What is "idealism"? From middle school to university, in order to cope with various examinations, we have memorized it by heart: idealism is the belief that all things originate from the human spirit, which is opposite to materialism . When I discuss the important town of cinnabar to soothe the nerves, I am entirely discussing the nature of specific things and have no idealistic factors. You can say that I am "subjective", but you cannot say that I am "idealist".
There are many ways to study cinnabar. The West uses physical and chemical methods, while the Chinese use yin-yang, five elements, and analogies. Both approaches make sense. However, people who are too deeply influenced by physical and chemical methods are less able to accept the traditional Chinese way of thinking, and even forget how the ancient Chinese thought. Don't think that the ancient Chinese were barbaric and devoid of science. In fact, in ancient China, there was extremely advanced and developed science, which astonished even Westerners. Please read "History of Chinese Science and Technology " by the British historian of science and technology Joseph Needham . However, this book is from a Western perspective, and the essence of China's glorious science and technology has not yet been fully understood.
According to the theory of the Five Elements, red cinnabar is the color that enters the heart. In clinical practice, using trace amounts of cinnabar does have a calming and calming effect. Theory and practice are in perfect harmony.
The most important thing is to calm it down. This is a basic principle used by doctors of all ages when talking about traditional Chinese medicine. Not only cinnabar, but also magnet, raw iron drop , tortoise shell, turtle shell, keel, oyster and so on. Medicines with a heavy texture will go down, Achyranthes bidentata , Rehmannia glutinosa , etc., when they enter the lower burner, the texture will be very heavy; on the contrary, medicines with a light texture will go up, such as Mulberry leaves , Luo Han Guo, etc. Will enter the lungs. The theory of like-mindedness has also proven successful in practice.
Practice is the only criterion for testing truth! The theory of traditional Chinese medicine has been tested in practice for thousands of years and has been revised repeatedly. In this process, people have summarized many rules and discovered that there are exceptions to the rules. In short, people have summarized a wealth of theories and experiences. Now, we can continue to summarize, continue to discuss, and continue to advance. First of all, we must take the essence and learn well what our ancestors left behind. Only on this basis can we be qualified to say "get rid of the dross." Don’t hold other people’s standards first, so that we won’t have many things that are “unacceptable”.
is unacceptable, that’s because you don’t understand. Xu Lingtai can accept the view that cinnabar is red in color and can calm the mind. It can also be accepted by Ye Tianshi, and doctors of all ages can accept it. People today should also learn from the ancients.
"Critically accept", this is a false proposition.If you haven't accepted or understood it yet, why are you criticizing? When we face traditional culture, we all say that we must accept it critically. So, how do we "critically accept" Western physics and chemistry, Newton's three laws of mechanics, and Einstein's theory of relativity? "What about?"
As for "accepting criticism", in fact, Chinese medicine has been accepting criticism from beginning to end. In theory, Chinese medicine has to accept criticism from peers. Your prescriptions, your books, and even your remarks will be judged by other people, many of whom are critical. This kind of criticism is actually a kind of learning and Discuss.
In practice, Chinese medicine has to accept criticism from patients. Since ancient times, patients have been very strict with Chinese medicine. If there is no curative effect, patients will immediately question it, which is the most embarrassing thing for doctors. Traditional Chinese medicine accepts these criticisms humbly and continues to improve and improve while accepting criticism.
As for unwarranted criticism and even malicious attacks from outsiders, this is not enough to accept. If someone criticizes me for using cinnabar, I will never use cinnabar again; if you criticize me for the unscientific theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, I will never talk about Yin-Yang and Five Elements again. If this continues, the path of traditional Chinese medicine will only become narrower and narrower.
Under the impact and subtle influence of Western culture, Chinese people are losing their own way of thinking. The traditional Chinese way of thinking is poetic, warm, and smart. Therefore, Chinese people are generally kind, reserved, and not aggressive or predatory. Zheng He's voyages to the West , when he arrived in Southeast Asia and Africa, he did not do the ugly things of plundering and selling slaves like Westerners did. This is also a different way of thinking. The way of thinking, to a certain extent, creates the quality of a nation.
This is why I want to loudly call for "rebuilding the traditional Chinese way of thinking". Not just for Chinese medicine!
Source: BiFang.com
