BY WAN MINYING (14th Century)
TRANSLATED BY HEINER FRUEHAUF
Metal is generated by Earth; if there is too much earth, Metal will be buried. Earth is generated by Fire; if there is too much Fire, Earth will be charred. Fire is generated by Wood; if there is too much Wood, Fire will flare. Wood is generated by Water; if there is too much Water, Wood will be washed away. Water is generated by Metal; if there is too much Metal, Water will be grimy.
BY VARIOUS AUTHORS
TRANSLATED BY HEINER FRUEHAUF
The qi of earth ascends, the qi of heaven descends. In this fashion, yin and yang grind against each other, and heaven and earth merge in undulating embrace. If this setting is vibrated by thunder, excited by wind and rain, moved by the flow of the four seasons, and fondled by the germinating light of sun and moon, the world’s myriad processes of transformation become aroused.
FROM BOOK OF RITES (LI JI), FL. 2ND CENTURY B.C.E.
GERMAN TRANSLATION BY MARKUS GOEKE
BY VARIOUS AUTHORS
TRANSLATED BY HEINER FRUEHAUF
The heart is the ruler of the five organ networks. It commands the movements of the four extremities, it circulates the qi and the blood, it roams the realms of the material and the immaterial, and it is in tune with the gateways of every action. Therefore, coveting to govern the flow of energy on earth without possessing a heart would be like aspiring to tune gongs and drums without ears, or like trying to read a piece of fancy literature without eyes.
FROM THE DAOIST CLASSIC, CONTEMPLATIONS BY THE HUAINAN MASTERS (HUAINAN ZI) FL.110 B.C.
BY HEINER FRUEHAUF
The word 肺, in a more specific reference to the specific function of this organ system, is classified by the component 巿 po (in its seal script form, composed of the pictographic components grass 屮and eight 八), meaning “abundant foliage in the wind” (this is a clear reference to the anatomical appearance of the lung lobes, as well as to traditional descriptions of this organ: Chinese texts describe them as “leaves”; see Shijing: 東門之楊, 其葉肺肺 “The poplars at the Eastern Gate, their leaves flutter lung-like in the wind;” Neijing: 肺熱葉焦 “When the lung is hot, its leaves become charred”); note that the rain forest with its prolific canopy of leaves is considered to be the lung of the earth.
COLLATED AND TRANSLATED
BY HEINER FRUEHAUF
According to the five phase element system, the large intestine is classified as a metal organ. Modern Chinese medicine discourse, therefore, has exclusively focused on this organ’s association with the metal season of fall. In original Neijing cosmology, however, the five phase system is paralleled by a more complex and inclusive system of twelve functional entities that correlate the twelve months of the year with the order of the twelve channel systems that we now refer to as the “organ clock.”
BY VARIOUS AUTHORS
TRANSLATED BY HEINER FRUEHAUF
Prior to the process of treating disease, the sage (superior doctor) must be able to distinguish the Yin and Yang of Heaven and Earth. S/he must know the rhythmic flow of the four seasons and the intricate relationships between the five organ networks and the six bowel systems. S/he must be able to distinguish the Yin/Yang and exterior/interior quality of the meridians, and know what kind of diseases to treat with acupuncture, what kind with moxibustion, and what kind with herbs.
INDIVIDUAL MONOPGRAPHS
BY LI ZHICHONG
TRANSLATED BY NATHAN GARRETTSON
The latter half of the 19th century up and through the 20th century has been a time of great political, economic, cultural, and scientific transformation in China. Chinese Medicine, as a shining gem of traditional science and culture has undergone many assaults, which has led to the field sinking into a sort of quagmire, and it has had to fight bitterly for its own survival. This course of events has come to be called the “Hundred Years of Perplexity.” In the last twenty years, through serious contemplation and reflection on its causes we have become more and more clear how the course of history has chained the study of Chinese Medicine to these complex shackles.
COMPILED BY HEINER FRUEHAUF
Chinese medicine is a microcosmic branch of ancient Chinese philosophy and cosmology. The better one understands the philosophical foundations of Chinese medicine, the deeper one’s knowledge of its core concepts and terminology can be. Theories such as yin and yang, the five phase elements, the hierarchical relationship between matter, energy, and consciousness, the supremacy of spirit, and the twelve organ networks were first mentioned in the Daoist and Confucian classics of the Han and Pre-Han periods of Chinese antiquity (fl. 700 BC - 200 AD) before they appeared in the keystone works of Chinese medicine. The following represents a comprehensive list of relevant philosophical, scientific, and literary works from the formative period of Chinese medicine in English translation.
BY VARIOUS AUTHORS
INTRODUCED AND TRANSLATED
BY HEINER FRUEHAUF
Traditional Chinese medicine incorporates several diagnostic systems of differentiation, such as the five organ approach, the six confirmation approach, and the triple warmer approach. These different diagnostic systems are frequently combined in clinical practice, but since they were conceived and favored by different schools of medical practitioners, they are often used completely independent from each other. The eight diagnostic parameters, also called the eight principal patterns in diagnosis or the eight rubrics, constitute the most fundamental set of diagnostic standards which all practitioners of Chinese medicine—independent of their preference for one system of diagnosis or another—use and must know.
BY CHENG GUOPENG
Scholar, Qing Dynasty
TRANSLATED BY HEINER FRUEHAUF
Cheng Guopeng is one of the seminal scholar-physicians of the early Qing dynasty. At the height of his career, he synthesized his personal insights derived from a life-long study of the classics, especially Zhang Zhongjing’s Shanghan lun, and his clinical experience by writing the book Enlightened Insights into the Science of Medicine (Yixue xinwu, 1732). This thin yet influential work first spelled out the system of the so-called Eight Parameters (bagang) and the Eight Treatment Methods (bafa), which since have become the standard diagnostic parameters of Chinese medicine. His introduction to the “Sweating Method” (Hanfa) is an excellent example for the original depth and attention to detail which ancient master physicians brought to their craft.