As a practitioner of the application of Taoist thought in the medical field, Taoist doctors fully absorbed the essence of Yin-Yang theory and regarded it as the fundamental principle of syndrome differentiation and treatment, as Su Wen's Yin-Yang theory pointed out: "Yin-Yang, the way of heaven and earth, the discipline of all things, the changing parents, the foundation of life and death, the house of gods, and the treatment must be based on this." Taoist doctors of all ages believed that mastering the theory of Yin and Yang is the fundamental way to realize syndrome differentiation and treatment. As the saying goes, "Ming Yin and Yang is like a confused solution, like waking up from a dream" (Biography of Diseases).
Su Wentongqi's Theory of Heaven holds that "Yin and Yang are the secrets and God is the rule" is the most harmonious state of life activities, and we should "observe Yin and Yang and adjust them for a long time" when treating diseases (Su Wenzhi's Theory of Truth). Zhang Jingyue also said: "Although there are many ways of medicine, it can be said in one word: Yin and Yang" (Record of Nakagawa in Jingyue Quanshu). So, what does the connotation of Taoist doctor's yin-yang thinking contain?
Yin and yang hide from each other. Yang hides Yin, and Yin contains Yang. Everything in the universe is born from the aggregation of yin and yang, and all things and phenomena have two attributes of yin and yang. "Jing Yun" says: "The sky is full of yang, and there is yin in the yang; The earth is yin, and there is yang in the yin. This way of hiding yin and yang. " Su Wen Tian Yuan Ji Da Lun says: "There is yin and yang in the sky and yin and yang in the ground, so there is yin in the yang and yang in the yin". There is another cloud: "in the sky, it is qi, on the ground, forming." Qi and physical sense, everything is transformed. "
Although the weather is in the sky, it contains yin, that is, there is yin in the yang, so there is a tendency to kiss the next, so the weather drops under the influence of yin. Although the earth-qi is in the lower position, it contains the qi of yin and yang of heaven and earth, so it tends to be in the upper position, so it rises under the encouragement of the sun of heaven, which leads to "dynamic and static call each other, adjacent to each other from top to bottom, mixed with yin and yang, but it changes" (Su Wentian's Ji Da Lun).
It can be seen that the way of storing Yin and Yang is that Yin rises and Yang falls, which leads to the sympathetic movement of Yin and Yang in heaven and earth, and because there is Yang in Yin and Yin in Yang, the qi of Yang in the sky drops, and the qi of Yin on the ground rises, which makes the clouds rain and forms various weather phenomena. Therefore, the mutual hiding of Yin and Yang is not only a prerequisite for the change of the relationship between Yin and Yang within things or between two things, but also a necessary condition for the movement and existence of all things. As the saying goes, "Yin can't be born without Yang, and it can't be transformed without Yin", "Solitary Yin can't be born, and solitary Yang can't last long".
Yin and yang are born together. The mutual induction of Yin and Yang is the cause of the creation and change of everything in the universe. Su Wen's Theory of Yin and Yang should be like a big picture says: "Yin and Yang, everything can only be." He also said that "Yang is the sky and Yin is the earth". Yang turns into qi and yin, and Yang disperses in the sky, while Yin condenses in the ground. Through the decline of the weather, the rise of the earth's atmosphere and the sympathetic friction of yin and yang, everything in the universe is transformed, and the development and change of everything are promoted and dominated.
Man is the spirit of all things in nature, and it is also the result of the combination of yin and yang of heaven and earth. "Su Wenbao's Theory of Quan Ming Xing" said: "Everything is covered by heaven and earth, so it is not expensive for people. People are born with the spirit of heaven and earth, which is formed by the method of four seasons. ..... born in the earth, life hangs in the sky, and heaven and earth blend together, and life is called human. " The yin and yang of heaven and earth are constantly moving up and down, rubbing against each other, and the yin and yang of the human body are also constantly moving up and down, and they are mutually reinforcing; The sympathetic coordination of the ups and downs of Yin and Yang in heaven and earth maintains the orderly generation and development of all things in the universe. The sympathetic coordination of the ups and downs of yin and yang in human body also maintains the natural changes of human life process. Therefore, The Analects of Confucius Yi Jing Yi Yi says: "The way of heaven and earth makes everything with yin and yang; The truth of life is that yin and yang nourish a hundred skeletons. "
If yin and yang are out of balance, the human body will enter a pathological state; If the mutual sympathetic movement of Yin and Yang stops, the life process is over. "On Su Wen and Liu Weizhi" said: "If you enter, you will be abolished, if you leave, you will be destroyed, if you rise, you will die, and if you are alone, you will be in danger." "Medical Source" said: "The way of heaven and earth is only yin and yang; Chu of Yin and Yang, just up and down. ..... In a body, the damage caused by non-Yang will lead to the loss of Yin. Yang can't be injured, but Yin can't fall. If you don't fall or rise, you will have a chance to live. " That's what it means.
Yin and Yang are opposites. The opposition between Yin and Yang means that Yin and Yang respectively represent phenomena or things with opposite nature, or represent the opposite nature within the same phenomenon or thing. "Su Wen's Theory of Yin and Yang should be like a big picture" says: "Yin is quiet and Yang is impetuous, Yang gives birth to Yin, and Yang kills Yin. ..... Everything in the world, up and down; Yin and Yang, the blood of men and women; Left and right, the way of yin and yang is also; Fire and water are signs of yin and yang. " This kind of opposition phenomenon exists generally in the objective world, and the opposing sides repel each other, suppress each other, struggle with each other and pull each other. Neijing said that "restraint" prevailed, such as Su Wentong's "Tian Lun", which said: "If yin fails to go up to yang, the pulse will be fine and sick, which is madness; If you don't hit the yin, then the five Tibetans will fight and the nine will be poor. " "Jing Lei Yijing Yijing" says: "Those who move the pole are calm, and those who are particularly yin are better than yang". The relationship between yin and yang further illustrates.
It is precisely because of the mutual restraint of Yin and Yang that the dynamic unity of the two sides of things and the dynamic balance of power are achieved, which is the so-called "secret state of Yin and Yang". The harmonious and balanced movement of Yin and Yang is the premise of the coordinated development of things. The dynamic balance of yin and yang is manifested in the normal replacement of cold and heat in the four seasons of nature and the normal change of climate. For example, "Su Wen, the pulse is subtle" says: "On the forty-fifth day of the winter solstice, the yang is slightly higher and the yin is slightly lower; On the forty-fifth day of the summer solstice, the yin is slightly higher and the yang is slightly lower. " It is manifested in the coordination, health, stability and order of human life activities. For example, "Su Wen Tiao Jing Lun" said: "Both yin and yang fill their shapes, and if they wait for one, they are called flat people."
If one of the opposing yin and yang is too strong, it will exercise excessive restraint on the other. Su Wen's theory of Yin and Yang said: "Yin wins Yang disease, and Yang wins Yin disease. Yang Sheng is hot, and Yin Sheng is cold. " If one side's influence is too weak and the other side doesn't have enough restraint, Su Wen's Theory of Regulating Classics says: "Yang deficiency is external cold, while Yin deficiency is internal heat". Taoist doctors believe that the imbalance of Yin and Yang is an important cause of the imbalance of Yin and Yang in human body, and basic treatment methods should be adopted to treat diseases, such as "carefully observing the position of Yin and Yang and adjusting it in peacetime" (Su Wen Zhi Zhen Da Lun, Use Yin and Yang, Use Yin and Yang).
Yin and Yang depend on each other. "Su Wen Ci Zhu" said: "Yang Qi is rooted in Yin, and Yin Qi is rooted in Yang; Without yin, you live without yang, and without yang, you change without yin. " The interdependence of yin and yang includes two layers of relations: the mutual root of yin and yang and the mutual use of yin and yang. Mutual root of yin and yang refers to the premise of mutual existence of yin and yang, such as cold and heat, cold belongs to yin and heat belongs to yang. Without the reference of cold belonging to yin, there is no heat belonging to yang, and vice versa. Yin-Yang interaction refers to the mutual support and promotion of Yin and Yang. For example, "Su Wen's Theory of Yin and Yang should be like a big picture" said: "It's cloudy and rainy; Rain comes from the ground and clouds come from the weather. " Clouds are sunny and cloudy, and the water vapor on the ground evaporates and rises to form clouds, and the clouds in the sky fall to become rain.
As far as the human body is concerned, the relationship between yin and harmony can be summarized as "Yin hides the essence and builds the base, while Yang keeps the external solid" (Su Wen Nuda Tianjie). "yang is outside, yin is also; The debate between yin and yang is also "("Su Wen, Yin and Yang should be like a big theory "). In the process of human metabolism, subtle substances and energy belonging to yin are transformed and hidden in the five internal organs, and all kinds of energy belonging to yang are generated and manifested under the gasification of the five internal organs; Under the action of Yang-related energy activities, the clean air inhaled by human beings in nature and the subtleties of Shui Gu in Shui Gu are transformed into negative subtle substances on which human life depends.
If people are affected by some pathogenic factors, the functional activities of the positive zang-fu organs of the body will be damaged, which will inevitably affect the metaplasia of subtle substances, which is the pathological process of "Yang damaging and Yin damaging"; Or under the influence of some pathogenic factors, the negative subtle substances hidden in the five zang-organs are destroyed. Under the gasification of the five zang-organs, the energy belonging to Yang Can is not produced, and the related positive functional activities are also destroyed. This is the pathological process of "Yin damaging Yang damaging".
Yin-yang transformation. Under certain conditions, both yin and harmony can be transformed into opposites, but can be transformed into yin, and yin can also be transformed into yang. There are similarities and differences in the transformation of Yin and Yang, and the process is gradual, while the transformation of Yin and Yang is a rapid qualitative change process based on the growth and decline of Yin and Yang.
Su Wen's theory of yin and yang should be like the big picture, which points out that "heavy yin must be yang, double ninth day must be yin", "extreme cold produces heat, extreme heat produces cold" and "heavy cold produces heat, heavy heat produces cold". Su Wen's On Liu Weizhi pointed out that the reason for the transformation of Yin and Yang is "extremes meet". The transformation of yin and yang is a universal law of the movement and development of biological and natural things and phenomena. Its essential mechanism lies in: Yin and Yang are relative attributes in related things, and the existence of infinite separability is the key to the transformation of Yin and Yang; The eternal movement of Yin and Yang is the premise of the transformation of Yin and Yang. The opposition and dependence of Yin and Yang are the basis of the transformation of Yin and Yang, and it is meaningless to talk about the transformation of Yin and Yang without these.
For Taoist doctors, introducing the Taoist theory of Yin and Yang into the medical field and mastering the way of Yin and Yang will help to fundamentally understand the objective laws of nature and human body, so as to conform to nature when establishing the principle of health preservation and treatment, build a strategic position, and treat people according to their specific methods and prescribe the right medicine. As "Eight Treasures of Yue Quan Shuxinfang" said: "Those who are good at nourishing yang must seek yang in the yin, and then the yang will be helped by yin, and the biochemistry will be endless; Those who are good at nourishing yin must seek yin in the yang, then the yin rises in the yang and the spring is inexhaustible. "