What is the theory of Zangxiang Meridian?

In recent decades, experts and scholars from all over the world have studied information theory and cybernetics more and more deeply. It has been found that China's ancient medical theory, especially the theory of Zangxiang meridian, has striking similarities with the "black box theory" of cybernetics. The so-called "black box theory", for example, is a theory that tries to know what is hidden in the "black box" when it cannot be opened. The human body is like a "black box" that cannot be opened. How can we know its internal situation? Under the guidance of the thought of "what is inside must be done outside", the ancient physicians in China put forward the research method of "knowing the inside from the outside", holding that the five zang-organs are closely related to the five senses and nine orifices of body surface tissues such as head, face, limbs and tongue coating, and all kinds of physiological functions and pathological changes of internal organs can be completely explained from the appearance and pulse condition of body surface tissues, head, face, limbs and tongue coating.

In ancient China, "hiding" was like. Image refers to various external phenomena. As Zhang Jingyue, a physician in the Ming Dynasty, said, "Because the zang-fu organs are deeply hidden in the body, we can see their activities from external phenomena, so it is called' Tibetan Elephant'." Therefore, the theory of Tibetan image is now generally called "the theory of Tibetan image". In addition, according to the traditional theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine, the theory of Zangxiang and the theory of meridians were originally two relatively independent theories, but this book introduces them together for the convenience of narration.

The theory of Zangxiang Meridian in TCM studies the physiology and pathology of viscera and the relationship between organs through the external signs of human body. Therefore, the concept of viscera in TCM is not a simple anatomical concept, but a functional system concept. As Chinese medicine says, "heart" includes not only the anatomical heart, but also the functions of blood circulation system and some nervous systems. The spleen mentioned in TCM not only refers to the anatomical spleen, but also includes the functions of digestion, hematopoiesis, circulation, endocrine, mental consciousness, muscle movement, absorption and excretion. It is very important to understand this point, otherwise, mechanically applying the anatomical concept of western medicine will never be able to understand the theory of Zangxiang meridians in Chinese medicine.

To understand the theory of Zangxiang Meridian in TCM, we must first understand how TCM understands the physiological structure of human body.

For clarity, please read the following table:

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Physiological activities of body surface tissues of human organs

Material Meridian The five internal organs (heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney and pericardium), six internal organs (gallbladder, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, triple energizer and bladder), odd and constant mansion (brain, marrow, bone, pulse and uterus), and limbs are full of tendons, bones, skin, flesh, hair and nine orifices (eye three)

In the above table, the five internal organs refer to the parenchymal organs in the chest and abdomen, which have the functions of storing, secreting and producing sperm. The six fu organs are the hollow organs in the chest and abdomen. It has the function of spreading Shui Gu. The so-called Qihengfu refers to those organs that look dirty but not dirty, but look like organs. "Qi Heng" has an unusual meaning. These organs are generally located in the deep part of the human body, and their functions are also different. In addition, the substances mentioned in the table, such as nutrition, health, qi and blood, essence and body fluid, are on the one hand the material basis of the function of human viscera, on the other hand, they are also the products of the function of viscera. As for meridians, they are channels that run the whole body's qi and blood, connect the viscera and limbs, communicate inside and outside, and regulate all parts of the human body. Meridian, including twelve normal meridians and eight strange meridians, is like a thoroughfare extending in all directions, and together * * * constitutes the meridian system. Collateral is a large and small branch network divided by meridians, just like a network with intertwined paths, all over the body. Secondly, it is necessary to understand what the above organs and tissues are like in the human body, and how they coordinate, restrict and jointly complete life movements.

The physiological functions of the five internal organs are full-time: the heart governs blood, and the operation of blood depends on the promotion of heart qi; He is also the Lord of the gods, directing all people's conscious activities. Liver stores blood and regulates the distribution of blood in the whole body; Returning the main body to drain, the patency of blood and the transport and transformation of Shui Gu are all related to the drainage function of the liver; Also, people's conscious activities are also related to the function of the liver. Lung governs qi and regulates breathing; It also has the functions of regulating body fluid and regulating waterways. Spleen governs transport, can digest food and transport the essence of diet to the whole body; It can also control blood and make blood run normally in meridians. Kidney stores essence, and all the essence of human body (including diet essence and essence with reproductive function) is sealed by kidney; It can nourish bones and bone marrow, and it can also absorb gas, which is related to breathing.

At the same time, the activities of internal organs are not unrelated and fragmented, but interact and restrict each other according to the laws of Yin-Yang and Five Elements. For example, the heart governs blood and the lung governs qi, and the two organs cooperate with each other to ensure the circulation of qi and blood and maintain the metabolism of human tissues.

Viscera and fu organs belong to exterior-interior relationship respectively, so they form five systems: lung-large intestine, heart-small intestine, liver and gallbladder, spleen and stomach and kidney-bladder. The viscera of each system coordinate with each other. For example, the stomach controls food intake and has the function of decomposing Shui Gu; Spleen governs transportation and has the function of transportation and nutrition. Both of them are exterior and interior, yin and yang, and cooperate with each other to complete the digestion process of food.

The five internal organs, bones and muscles, skin and flesh, five senses and nine orifices are also subordinate to each other. Such as the main muscle of the liver, the main claw, enlighten the eyes. With sufficient liver and blood, the tendons and veins will be nourished, the nails will be tough, and the eyes will see clearly. Other subordinate relationships are as follows: heart-pulse, face, tongue, spleen-flesh, limb, lip, mouth, lung-skin, hair, nose, kidney-bone, hair, waist, ear and yin. Due to the constant movement of zang-fu organs, nutrition, health, qi and blood, essence and body fluid in the human body are constantly being consumed and obtained. For example, blood, driven by qi, flows to the whole body to nourish various tissues. After part of its essence is consumed, it can get clear qi (oxygen) from the lungs in time and get a light diet from the spleen. Another example is body fluid, which comes from a subtle diet and is constantly enriched and consumed. Body fluid has the functions of nourishing and moistening various tissues and organs, and body fluid has the functions of replenishing essence and marrow, smoothing joints, moistening dryness, and moistening skin.

The physiological activities of the above-mentioned viscera, organs and tissues can be carried out in an orderly way because of the connection of meridians. Meridians, like highways and telecommunication lines in modern big cities, play the role of communication and conduction. Without the channels and collaterals, all the zang-fu organs have become isolated islands.

God is the key and symbol of human life. God refers to the human mind. The mind is not a concrete substance, but it is like candles and light, like knives and blades. It is closely related to the rise and fall of human essence, qi, blood, body fluid and viscera functions. Traditional Chinese medicine often says that "those who gain the spirit prosper and those who lose the spirit die", which means that under the control of God, the activities of various organs of the human body are normal, the activities of various organs are normal and vigorous, and people are full of energy; Otherwise, without God's control, people will die.

Chinese medicine believes that the human body is a whole centered on the five internal organs. Because all kinds of organs and tissues of the five internal organs, six internal organs and body surface belong to exterior-interior and subordinate relationships, five systems in the body are formed. Moreover, due to the relationship between the five internal organs, the five systems can cooperate and restrict each other in function, forming a unified whole.

The most prominent feature of the meridian theory of zang-xiang in TCM is that it divides such a complex system of human body into five subsystems from the relationship of physiological functions, centering on the five zang-organs, and then makes in-depth research: First, the phenomena reflected by the physiological functions and pathological changes of zang-fu organs in body surface tissues. Second, the normal coordination and restriction between zang-fu organs and the joint reaction caused by a certain zang-fu organ disease. Thirdly, at the same time, as an independent system, people are placed in the big system of heaven and earth, and the effects and joint reactions of natural changes on human internal organs are deeply studied. This laid a theoretical foundation for clinical treatment based on syndrome differentiation.

Although the human body is like a "black box" that can't be opened, once it gets sick, in ancient times, when modern detection instruments and laboratory means are lacking, Chinese medicine can still use the theory of zang-xiang meridians to understand the rise and fall of internal organs by observing the changes of color and pulse of patients' eyes, ears, mouth, nose, tongue, body, face and skin. At the same time, we can also infer the degree of viscera involvement according to the transmission law of viscera, and carry out treatment or prevention.