This season I am going to go over a passage from the book that is the foundation of Chinese medicine as it is today. The “Huang Di Nei Jing: Su Wen”. The name translates to “The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic – Basic Questions”. The colour yellow is in reference to the Earth element, which corresponds to the season of Late summer.
This book was put together in the Early Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220CE). This book holds all the foundational material that I learned in school, and continue to reference throughout my career.
This passage comes from Paul Unshulds’s translation of the Huang Di Nei Jing: Su Wen.
Chapter 22: Discourse on How the Qi in the Depots Follow the Pattern of the Seasons.
The Spleen rules in Late summer,
The foot major Yin and the [foot] yang brilliance [conduits] rule [its] treatment.
Its days are wu and ji.
When the spleen suffers from dampness,
Quickly consume bitter [flavour] to dry it.
Explanation:
The Spleen rules Late Summer, as the Heart rules summer, the Lungs rule autumn, the Kidneys rule the Winter and the Liver rules the Spring.
The foot major Yin channel is Called Taiyin, the Taiyin channel on the leg is the Spleen meridian. Foot Yang brilliance, also known as Foot YangMing is the Stomach channel. The Spleen and Stomach channels and organs together create the Earth element, and they are treated as one.
In the commentary Wang Bing says “Wu and ji are soil; they are the [heavenly] stems of the center.” The Heavenly stems and Earthly branches are a concept I am not well versed in.
The last line on using bitter flavour to dry dampness within the Spleen is a fundamental concept in Chinese herbal medicine. This is an idea that I consider daily in the clinic. Our climate is very damp, and therefore we develop some damp related diseases. Therefore I am using bitter herbs often. Especially in conjunction with warming and pungent herbs – which also help to combat our cold, windy and damp climate!
These short lines hold so much weight in this medicine. They are the foundation of this philosophy. Without a solid foundation, this medicine would not have lasted so long.
I hope you found this interesting !
Dr. Bob Malecki Dr.TCM