subject: Acupuncture's Five Pillars [print this page] A study of traditional Chinese medicine must begin with its five basic elements. The elements are important and controlling parts of the universe. The list includes water, fire, earth, wood and metal. These elements influence how the body functions. These are fundamental things an acupuncturist must have in mind to do treatment. These are also basic ideas in the study of Chinese culture in general.
This is sometimes a hard idea for Westerners studying China to grasp. These ideas might seem mythical or mystical to some Westerners. But whether one uses Chinese or Western ideas as starting points, they sometimes lead to the same conclusions. This is true despite their different ways of seeing the connections between medicine and life.
The body and the five elements are connected by 'qi' (sometimes spelled 'chi'), the Chinese idea of energy. Illness is seen as an occasion when the five elements are unbalanced and need to be rebalanced by acupuncture. There must be proper flow of qi in the body.
The Chinese terms "yin" and "yang" are familiar to most Westerners. These terms are a Chinese way of expressing positive and negative. The Chinese assign yin and yang values to almost everything. Yin and yang are opposite, like winter and summer. The positive is yin and the negative is yang The yin encompasses the light in the world, Spring, rebirth and the warm parts of life. The beauty of the world and of nature is yin. Yang includes everything dark in the world. Yang encompasses the ends of things like the hibernation of plants and animals, winter, end of summer and other things going down. Each of the five major elements has its yin and its yang nature. Yin and yang are also important aspects of the body.
Listing parts of the body: dampness is an important yang aspect of the stomach and spleen. The bladder and kidneys are associated with cold. The heart and small intestines are related to fire. Pair the element of metal and the quality of dryness with the large intestines and the lungs. Associate wood with the liver and the gallbladder with wind.
One has to know how these elements are used within the ancient Chinese medical treatment catalog. The art of the acupuncturist is within these ideas when practiced correctly. More discussion of these issues can be found at Healing Reader.
Acupuncture's Five Pillars
By: Noo Yawka
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