The so-called qi refers to all invisible and constantly moving substances. Because the gas is extremely fine and scattered, it is invisible to the naked eye, so the ancients called it "invisible". Qi is very active and keeps moving.
The so-called essence can be divided into broad and narrow sense. Essence in a broad sense is the most basic substance of human body. The essence in a narrow sense refers to the essence of reproduction. Essence is the essence of qi and the source of life. For example, "Guan Zi Ye" says: "Those who are refined are also refined." "When people are born, they are born out of the sky and the shape is out of the ground, which makes people think of people."
The ancients believed that "essence" was the foundation of all things, and later people called it essence theory. The theory of essence and qi, also known as the theory of primordial qi or the theory of qi monism, is a philosophical theory that studies the connotation and movement law of essence (qi and primordial qi) and explains the origin, development and change of everything in the universe.
The essence theory of TCM is a theory to study the connotation, source, distribution, function and relationship of essence in human body and its relationship with viscera, meridians, tissues and organs. The understanding of the theory of essence and qi in ancient philosophy holds that essence and qi are the origin of the universe, which has a very important influence on the generation of TCM theory. For example, essence and qi are the origin of human life, and qi is the maintenance of human life. Organs and tissues of human body are all transformed from essence and qi regulates all functions of human body.
The essence of traditional Chinese medicine generally refers to tangible fine substances, which are the most basic substances that constitute the human body and maintain human life activities. Compared with qi, there are tangible and intangible, concrete and abstract points.
On the one hand, the concept of essence in traditional Chinese medicine originated from the ancient people's observation and experience of human reproductive process, and developed from the understanding of reproductive essence. For example, in Lingshu itself, "essence comes from birth" and "essence comes from the bottom", while in Lingshu Jueqi, it is said that "Er Shen fought and merged, and Mr. Chang called it essence", and so on.
On the other hand, the idea that essence in the theory of essence in ancient philosophy is the source of all things in the universe permeates into Chinese medicine, resulting in the understanding that essence is the source of human body and spiritual metaplasia, which is the most basic substance that constitutes human body and maintains human life activities, and plays a methodological reference role in analogical reasoning.
The theory that water is the source of all things in ancient philosophy has also had a certain influence on the formation of the concept of essence in traditional Chinese medicine. The article "Pipe and Water Land" says: "What is water? Everything has the same origin, and so does the clan of all living beings. " There is another cloud: "People, water is also. Men and women are in harmony, and water is flowing. " Water is the essence, and the understanding of all aquatic things has certain enlightenment to the formation of the understanding that the combination of the two sexes produces new life.
Qi in traditional Chinese medicine refers to the extremely subtle substances in the human body, which have strong vitality and are constantly moving and invisible. It is not only an important part of human body, but also a power source and a carrier of information transmission to stimulate and regulate human life activities. The formation of qi theory in TCM originates from the observation, understanding and abstraction of various obvious and living life phenomena of human body, such as breathing qi, visible hot air emitted by human body, gas flowing up and down in the body, etc., but more importantly, it is influenced by philosophical essence theory.
First of all, Chinese medicine uses the essence of qi to explain the materiality and fluidity of life. Liu's "Pathogenesis and Qi Should Protect Life: The Original Way" says: "When people are affected by the qi of heaven and earth, their lives will also change. It is based on the birth of shape, the birth of spirit and the birth of God. The body is full of qi, and the gas consumption forms a disease. God stands beside Qi, and Qi accepts God's existence. " Life begins with the accumulation of qi and ends with the dispersion of qi. Once the qi is exhausted, life will stop. However, due to the constant movement of qi, life is manifested as the movement process of matter, that is, the movement and change process of qi.
Secondly, influenced by the monism of primordial qi, Chinese medicine uses the philosophical meaning of qi to summarize various basic substances that constitute the human body. For example, in Ling Shu Jue Qi, it says, "I smell human essence, qi, body fluid, body fluid, blood and pulse, and I think it is one ear." This "qi" refers to various substances that constitute the human body, which is synonymous with the concept of matter. If it is divided into two parts, it can be subdivided into essence, qi, body fluid, liquid, blood and pulse, as Zhang Jiebin said in Jing Lei: "It covers essence, qi, body fluid, liquid, blood and pulse, which is nothing more than the metaplasia of qi." As for the qi in "essence, qi, body fluid, body fluid, blood and pulse", Chinese medicine also believes that the qi in a body can be divided into primordial qi, ancestral qi, nourishing qi, defending qi and qi in various zang-fu organs and meridians, forming the "qi-based qi theory" of Chinese medicine.
Thirdly, the knowledge that Qi is the intermediary of the mutual feeling between heaven and earth has influenced the theory of traditional Chinese medicine and promoted the emergence of the theory that human Qi is the carrier of life information in order to explain the relationship between human viscera, viscera and body surface tissues and organs, as well as the relationship between human body and the external environment.
Philosophical essentialism holds that essence is the origin of all things in the universe and the motive force of their movement and change, while God is the description of the mysterious changes of all things in nature produced by essence. For example, Xun's "On Tian Zi" pointed out: "The stars are spinning, the light and shade shine, the emperors of the four seasons, the yin and yang are enlarged, and the wind and rain are generous. Everything has its own harmony and life, and its own cultivation and success. If you don't see its merits, it is called God. " This understanding of the movement and change of all things in the universe has penetrated into Chinese medicine, which has had a certain impact on the formation of the concept of gods and related theories in Chinese medicine.
On the one hand, the spirit of traditional Chinese medicine refers to the activity performance that reflects the existing state of the whole life, including the phenomenon that represents the growth of human body and the changes in the operation of viscera and qi and blood. For example, "Soul Pivot is the God" says: "Therefore, the essence is born, and the second essence is called the God." The blood of father, sperm and mother fuses to form an embryo, which endows the original vitality and thus forms a new life. This combination of innate essence and qi produces a new life, which is God. In the theory of Su culture's essence of qi, "those who gain the spirit prosper and those who lose the spirit die" refers to the external manifestation of the rise and fall of life vitality, which is what "looking at the spirit" in clinical diagnosis refers to.
On the other hand, TCM endows God with the connotation of medical knowledge, which refers to the wise god who dominates people's life activities and the spiritual activities such as spiritual consciousness, thinking and emotion. For example, "On the Secret Classics of Su Wenling Lan" said: "The heart is the monarch, and God is outside." Zhang Jiebin's "Jing Lei Tibetan Elephants" notes: "The heart is the master of the whole body, endowed with emptiness and containing sex. It has a principle to cope with all kinds of opportunities, and the viscera are abolished. It's just hearing, wisdom and wisdom, so it's said that immortals don't get in the way. " Another example is "Su Wen Bao Quan Ming Xing Lun", which says: "If the thorn is true, God must be treated first. ..... God has no camp in all things. " "God has no camp in many things. He looks at the patient calmly, and he has no left and right eyes" (Su Wen Jie Zhen); "concentrate on your heart, but know the present" (five colors of spiritual pivot) and so on. , refers to people's mental consciousness thinking activities.
Essence, qi and spirit have different meanings, but they are closely related, which are collectively called the "three treasures" of the human body. The relationship between essence and spirit can be divided into two levels: the dialectical relationship between tangible and intangible substances (essence) and life activities, and the dialectical relationship between essence and psychological activities. However, discussions about the relationship between these two levels are often intertwined. The relationship between essence and qi is similar to basic metabolic activities, with opposite directions, such as synthesis and decomposition.
Invisible can be polymerized into tangible, and qi can produce essence. "Essence is the son of Qi, and ... gathers qi into essence" (spleen and stomach theory); After refining, it can turn into qi, and "storing essence can anger" (Jing Lei). Qi takes essence as the body, uses essence, and the relationship between essence and qi reflects the mutual transformation of intangible and tangible. In this mutual transformation of essence and qi, various life activities have appeared, resulting in human psychological activities. Therefore, God is derived from essence and qi, which is the material basis of God's activities.
However, "Although God is born in essence, it is the God in my heart who controls and uses essence" (Jing Lei, Volume I). Although people's physiological activities and psychological activities are produced on the basis of material movement, they also act on the essence in a feedback way, affecting the whole life process of people.
In this regard, "Three Essentials of Health" dialectically points out: "Concentration lies in nourishing qi, and nourishing qi lies in nourishing the spirit. God is to qi, and mother is to son. Therefore, when the spirit is condensed, the qi will gather, and when the spirit is scattered, the qi will disappear. " Wang Qishi's "Xu Li Yuan Jian" also pointed out: "With the theory of congenital constitution, it is fine and qi, and it is also qi; The dominant theory of the application of heaven in the future is that the spirit of God is strong and the spirit is fine. " Psychologists and health care experts call it the three treasures, which are closely related to the origin of treatment. "In other words, sound psychology and coordinated physiological activities not only depend on the body, but also affect the body. Only by organically integrating and coordinating the three can human life activities be in an orderly and stable state.
Ancient health experts usually divided cultivation into several stages: refining qi, refining qi, refining qi into emptiness, refining emptiness into harmony. Construction started on "refining". Most men intend to live in the abdomen with the navel as the center, because there is vital qi between the navel and the kidney. This shows how important it is for the human body to practice essence.