The Yin-Yang Theory of the Traditional Chinese Medicine and Its Relation to the Human Body - Case Study Example

Article, History 9 March The Relationship between the Human Body and Yin-Yang Theory of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Introduction This paper focuses on the yin-yang theory of the traditional Chinese medicine and how this theory relates to the human body. Since the ancient times to the present day, medicine is practiced by trained professionals. During the Medieval era, surgeons inherited from the ancient masters. During the era of renaissance, the understanding of medicine improved and microscopes were invented. With the introduction of the germ theory of disease in the 19th century, the cure for infectious diseases was introduced. Public health was developed as the rapid growth of cities required sanitary measures. By the beginning of the 20th century, new biological treatments such as the antibiotics were introduced. With the development of medicine and the advancement of chemistry, genetics and lab technology, modern medicine came to being. Medicine was professionalized during the20th century and new careers for women nurses were started (Marshall Cavendish Corporation 630). During the 21st century, medicine is highly advanced and well established. The Yin-Yang Theory Yin-Yang theory is very popular among the Chinese people (Gan 132). It dates back to the Zhou dynasty. Diamond points out that it “is a symbolic representation of the universe that embodies the concept of change, relationships, patterns, process, or flow from one concept into the other, at all levels of existence” (51). Despite its fame, very few Chinese can understand this complicated theory. The theory of Yin-Yang was the most important concept and it showed the philosophy of the people of ancient China. Joseph Needham in one of his works on science and civilization in China stated that the theory of Yin-Yang was the greatest theory that was developed by the Chinese people during ancient china. In medicine, the Yin-Yang theory was adopted well as compared to the wu xing theory. The theory of Yin-Yang explains the causes of diseases and the activities of the human body. Theoretically, the Yin-Yang theory made it easy to develop traditional Chinese medicine from ancient to modern times. For this reason, it has become impossible to replace it with the western medicine. Scholars in ancient China have a myth that the universe was made up of Yin and Yang; this was the constant movement that was important for the existence of the world. The Yin and Yang explained that either side was the opposing side to or facing sunshine. The area that was opposed to the sunshine was the Yin also known as the shadow and the area that was facing the sunshine was the Yang also referred to as the sun. This theory would later be used at a later date. Liao stated that, “those that were static, internal, descending, cold and gray were regarded as being yin; while those that were dynamic, external, rising, warm and bright were thought of as being yang” (35). The concept of Yin and Yang had little or less to do with the nature of being good or bad. Instead, this concept was taken into a universal law and harmony between Yin and Yang was an ideal state. In the ancient China, the theory of Yin-Yang was used to explain the universe and also the social phenomena. Originally, the Yin-Yang was used to analyze climate change of the four seasons. The application of the Yin-Yang theory in traditional Chinese medicine can be defined in a number line. If zero is used to represent health, the several numbers listed on both sides’ show a representation of various diseases and their occurrences. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an ancient Chinese medicinal science. Although there is no complete understanding of its mechanisms of action, “for thousands of years, traditional Chinese medicine has made use of a myriad of herbs with great success” (Huang 15). Its primary focus is that everything is interconnected and that in order to live a healthy life, one must live in harmony with the environment. TCM can be traced back to the Stone Age, where stone knives and sharp tools were used to relieve pain and heal diseases. They were used for lancing boils and primitive surgery. TCM was heavily rooted to the traditional Eastern philosophy. The idea of theories of TCM was developed from the Yin-Yang concept. It is based on a collection and experiences acquired from the battle of the Chinese people against diseases over hundreds and hundreds of years, and it has become an important idea in the Chinese culture. TCM “is a science of the physiology and pathology of the human body as well as the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases under the guidance of its unique theory” (Yuan 97). TCM is comprised of theories and the therapeutic methods. According to Yuan, “among these are Chinese materia medica (including Chinese herbal medicine, animal medicine and mineral medicine), acupuncture, moxibustion, and naprapathy” (97). TCM is a system of health care with its own theories of analysis, health and treatment. It advises on diets and prevention and the use of acupuncture, herbal medicine, exercise and focuses on stimulating the body with natural curative powers. The traditional Chinese medicine is very different from the western kind of medicine in terms of the human body and how illness occurs and its treatment. It has been a part of an ongoing system for thousands of years. TCM advises on living in unity with nature and seeking for a balance in all things. Prevention is the key to the Chinese medicine, and a lot of emphasis is made on educating patients on living responsibly. TCM explains the physiology and pathology and treatment of diseases. TCM can be divided into eight theories: the Yin and Yang, Zang-xiang, pathogenesis, Qi, Xie and jimye, channels and collaterals, causes and occurrence of diseases, the theory of movement/change among five elements and finally the principles of prevention and treatment of diseases. TCM considers people’s health conditions as a balance between the Yin and Yang inside the body. TCM looks at a person’s body as a whole, and attempts to use the external phenomena to figure out what’s going on inside the human body. The basic principle of TCM treatment is that it seeks first to establish a holistic balance of in the human body and promote health. According to Shi, Ho and Shahidi, “some specific traditional Chinese medicine treatments are based on specific diagnostic observations and systematic principles that are originally from Yin–Yang theory” (106). TCM doctors believe that all diseases are caused by an imbalance of the Yin and Yang in a person’s body. For example, if a person gets fever, there is extra Yang in the human body, so a cooling Yin herbal medicine is needed to balance the Yin-Yang. The diagnosis of the TCM is based on four different methods, from the tongue, feeling the pulse, anamnesis and auscultation and olfactation. According to recent studies on the theory of TCM, all meridians and inner organs are directly or indirectly connected to the tongue (García, Sierra, Balam and Pereira 35). This means that the essences feed to the tongue and pathological changes can be manifested on the tongue. Human Body Relation to the Yin-Yang Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine The Yin-Yang theory holds that the human body is an organic whole and all tissues and structures in the body have an organic connection. Nevertheless, each of the structures and tissues can be divided into opposite looks of the Yin and Yang (Wang and Zhu 25). Looking at the body, the part above the waist is viewed as the Yang and the part below the waist as the Yin. The exterior part of the body is associated with the Yang and the interior with the Yin. The back is associated with the Yang and the front Yin. According to the Chinese medicine, it divides the physiology into two types; the defensive functions that protect the body from pathogenic factors and the functional activities of the internal organs. They are both the Yin and the Yang defensive functions, which provide an external protection for the internal organs. The Yin defensive functions are responsible for the internal organs; these give the material needed for the Yang to function in the storage and supply of the body energy. For example, a well-functioning Yang will produce a strong resistance on the body and this helps prevent diseases. The five Zang organs are associated to Yin and its interior because they store vital organs and don’t excrete, and the Fu organs are associated with the Yang and its exteriors because they transport and don’t store vital organs. The internal organs in the TCM are the zang fu organs. The five zang organs are Yin; they control the storage of the vital substances and the qi. The six fu organs are Yang; they control the transportation and digestion of food in the body. Each zang and fu organ can further be subdivided into the Yin and Yang. The function of the organ is its Yang, while the substance is the Yin. For example, the heart controls the circulation of the blood and the mental function; these activities make the heart the Yang. The blood and the organs that make the heart are the hearts Yin aspect (Liu 40).The Yin can be transformed into the Yang and vice versa. According to traditional Chinese medicine, substances of the body can be transformed one into another. The theory of the Yin and Yang helps us understand the functional state of the organs. Excitation is Yang, and inhibits are Yin. The hyper functioning is the Yang while the hypo functioning is the Yin. Yin and Yang also explain the movement of the body fluid and qi through the human body. Light and clear is known to be Yang, while anything that is thick and heavy is the Yin. The human Yang is the light, fresh air, and the food energy in the human body that nourishes and that strengthens the limbs. It is also evaporated through skin, tissues, mouth and nose and helps in the normal functioning. While the human Yin of thick substances in the body are transformed into food essences and stored in the five zang organs, waste products are eliminated through the six fu organs, through the lower opening of the anus and urethra and maintain the normal functioning metabolism of the foods and fluids. According to Aung and Chen, in a normal human body, the relationship between the Yin and Yang is always changing (5). They both support and consume each other. This kind of pattern is referred to as a mutual restraint of the Yin and Yang. This helps produce a dynamic balance in the body. If this pattern fails, there is bound to be a loss in the balance. According to TCM, it recognizes four kinds of imbalances; Yang impaired by the preponderance Yin, Yin consumed by the preponderance Yang, an over reliant Yang caused by a deficiency of Yin and finally, an excess of Yin resulting from a deficiency of the Yang. The kind of imbalance depends on the source of the imbalance. The two sources include the pathogenic factors that the body gets from nature that are referred to as the exogenous pathogenic and the body’s own resistances. These kinds of resistances are known as endogenous. The essential activities of the human body are based on the allocation of Yin and Yang in a unity of opposites. There is harmony when it comes to functional activities that pertain to the Yang and the nutrient substances that are pertained in the Yang. The physiological activities of the body rely on the help and support of the nutrient substances. Without these essential substances, the body is unable to function. When the Yin and Yang no longer correlate, life reaches its end. The relationship that exists between the functional activities and the substances shows the connection and support between the Yin and Yang in the human body. When the Yin is preserved and the Yang is well-conserved, the spirit is in harmony and their separation will result in exhaustion. There should exist a well-coordinated relation between the Yin and the Yang in the human body structure. Yin and Yang are interdependent yet they are inter controlled, dominate or support each other. Any disorder arising from they Yin and Yang will cause a deficiency or excess of Yin and Yang will result into a disease. The occurrence and the development of any kind of disease is associated to the strength of the antipathogenic and pathogenic factors. An antipathogenic factor is associated with the structure of the whole body that helps resist diseases, while pathogenic factors include causative factors of disease. Antipathogenic consists of Yin and Yang, which include the fluid and the Yang antipathogic. Subsequently, pathogenic factors can be differentiated as Yin and Yang pathogenic factors. For example, among the many exogenous factors, cold, coughs and damp are Yin pathogenic factors, while winds, summer and heat are Yang pathogenic factors. The cause of any kind of disease is as a result of a conflict between the antipathogenic and the pathogenic factors, which results in an excess or deficiency of Yin and Yang in the body. The Yin-Yang clinical diagnosis and treatment is divided into eight principles; “Yin Yang Interior (yin) Exterior (yang) Cold (yin) Heat (yang) Vacuity (yin or yang) Repletion (yang or yin)” (Aung and Chen 6). This is also known as the differentiation of syndromes, which is equivalent to the differential diagnosis in the western biomedicine. Acupuncture is a method used to balance the Yin and Yang. Its method of treatment demands the understanding of the TCM theory and needling techniques. An excess of Yin or Yang results in a pathological condition in which the Yin or Yang is excessively beyond the normal balance. An excess in Yang leads to heat, resulting in a Yin disease. Excess Yang is usually caused by the Yin pathogenic factors where the Yang is in excess. When the Yang increases, Yin decreases; this means that if there is an excess in any of them, they inevitably weaken each other. Conclusion The Yin and Yang explain the causes of diseases and the activities of the human body. The Yin-Yang concept laid the basis for the theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The Yin-Yang theory holds that the human body is an organic whole and all tissues and structures in the body have an organic connection. The Yin-Yang theory, traditional Chinese medicine and the human body’s relation to the Yin-Yang theory of traditional Chinese medicine have been thoroughly discussed in this paper.   Works Cited Aung, Steven K. H. and William Pai-Dei Chen. Clinical Introduction to Medical Acupuncture. New York: Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 2011. Print. Diamond, W. John. The Clinical Practice of Complementary, Alternative, and Western Medicine. Florida: CRC Press LLC, 2001. Print. Gan, Shengfei. How to Do Business with China. 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