According to the traditional medical theory of the Dai people, there is an inseparable relationship between man and nature. Wind, fire, water and soil are the four basic elements of natural substances, and the composition of human life cannot be separated from these four basic substances, namely the four towers. To be healthy and disease-free, we must keep the balance of four material elements: wind, fire, water and soil, that is, the mutual balance of four substances in human body and the relative balance and coordination between four substances in human body and four substances in nature. In this way, people can grow up healthily and live a long life; On the other hand, the human body will get sick, for example, because of getting wet in the rain, wading, getting cold, or eating disorders, which leads to the imbalance of wind, fire, water and soil in the human body and makes people suffer from various diseases.
The physiological and pathological changes of the four towers are described as follows:
Wind, equivalent to the "righteousness" of Han Chinese medicine, is the external expression of life activities. Physiologically, it refers to the functional activities of various organs. The wind is active, easy to swim, ubiquitous, and can be taken away or taken away. All motor functions in the human body are controlled by wind, such as digestion and absorption of food, defecation, breathing, sneezing, blinking, crying, laughing, making noise and jumping. Functions such as walking are controlled by the wind. Once the atmosphere is out of balance, various wind-related diseases will occur. For example, the lack of atmosphere in the human body will cause diseases such as weakness in defecation, difficulty in defecation, listlessness, dizziness and tinnitus, indigestion, and fullness in the chest and abdomen; However, if the atmosphere is high, dizziness, headache, unconsciousness, convulsions, tremor of extremities, difficulty in walking, high fever, delirium and various painful diseases will reappear.
Water, which represents the material storage in the body, consists of bile, oral sputum, saliva, water (body fluid), blood, sweat, urine, fat, pus and other 12 substances. Water is a tangible thing. It is a kind of fluid tissue, which is distributed all over the body and is an important material source for human body. When the body is short of water for a long time, it can be seen that the mouth is thirsty, secretion and excretion are reduced, and other substances will lose stability and appear various abnormal reactions. Dr. Dai believes that "water is moist and can dissolve everything". When the water vapor (body fluid) of the human body is normal, we can see that the lips and skin are ruddy, shiny, elastic, full of vitality and vitality. On the contrary, you will see dry skin, fever, listlessness, constipation and oliguria; It is more common in edema, diarrhea, body pain, heavy head and light body, palpitation and shortness of breath, cold limbs, indigestion, phlegm-dampness, cough and asthma, chest tightness, burning pain in flank and abdomen, epigastric pain, toothache, deafness and leukorrhagia.
Fire represents a kind of "Yang" in the body. Fire comes into being with the existence of human life and dies with the end of life. There are four kinds of fires in human body: 1. The fire of digestion. Under the action of water, wind and soil, it can warm and decompose all Shui Gu, turn blood into gas, generate heat, and make it absorb and nourish the body. If this internal heat is insufficient, symptoms such as anorexia, abdominal distension and pain, indigestion, fatigue, emaciation and weakness can be seen; The fire that promotes human growth and development. This kind of fire tube can control heat dissipation in the body, promote growth and development, enhance disease resistance, keep fit and be smart. On the contrary, it can be seen that there are developmental retardation, dementia, emaciation, walking late, talking late and so on. (Like the congenital deficiency of Chinese medicine in Han nationality). 3. Fire sustains human life activities. Dai doctors believe that this is a fire burning day and night in the body, which makes people warm about life and is the "power" of human life activities. If this fire is insufficient, it can be seen that it is premature, the roots are broken and tired, the skin is wrinkled and white, and the spirit is sluggish (equivalent to the "Ming Men Fire Decline" in Chinese medicine). 4. The fire of parents' innate endowment. It can maintain normal body temperature and normal physiological activities, so that various substances in the body can be effectively absorbed, secreted and excreted. If this fire is insufficient, it can be regarded as stunted development, cold and weak limbs and serious physical defects.
Soil has the functions of digesting food, metaplasia and nourishing the body. It represents hair, hair, nails, teeth, skin, muscles, tendons, bones, joints, heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, stomach, large intestine and other 20 kinds of internal organs and tissues. Dr. Dai believes that it is the foundation of the development and growth of human life. If the country breath is insufficient, symptoms such as poor appetite, palpitation, muscle wasting, muscle weakness, dysuria, hearing loss, and olfactory failure can be seen clinically; But if the body is too rustic, it will appear stiff, chills, or lose the sense of warmth, nausea and vomiting, irritability, abdominal pain and constipation.
As can be seen from the above, the deficiency of the four towers will lead to various diseases of the human body. Therefore, to ensure the healthy growth and development of the human body, the key is to keep the balance of the four towers in the body, adapt to nature as much as possible (keep a relatively balanced relationship with the wind, fire, water and soil in nature), and not violate the objective laws of natural development. Once the four towers are out of balance, it is necessary to apply the characteristics of drugs to restore the balance relationship, so as to achieve the purpose of treating diseases, that is, to use the "four towers" to adjust the function of the human body.