医理真传

Yi Li Zhen Chuan

原著     清  ·  郑钦安

Author; Zhen Qin-An (Qing dynasty, China)

客疑篇

Question and answers:

客有疑而问曰：先生论阳虚数十条，皆曰此本先天一阳所发为病也。夫人以心为主，心，火也、阳也。既曰阳虚，何不着重在上之君火，而专在以下之真火乎？余曰：大哉斯问也，子不知人身立命，其有本末乎？本者何？就是这水中天，一句了了，奈世罕有窥其蕴者，不得不为之剖晰。尝谓水火相依而行（水即血也，阴也；火即气也，阳也），虽是两物，却是一团，有分之不可分，合之不胜合者也。即以一杯沸水为喻（沸，热气也，即水中无形之真火），气何常离乎水，水何常离乎气？

Some quest had question: you mentioned tens of paragraph for the Yang deficiency and you said all are due to the disorder of the same Yang Qi in the body that meets problem. It is known that, the life is dominated by the Heart. The Heart is Fire. It is Yang. If you mention the Yang deficiency, why you do not focus on the upper King Fire, but on the lower True Fire (the True Yang)? My answer is: This is very good and very important question. Don’t you know that there are primary and secondary factors that our life depends on? What is the primary factor? It is the Sky (Fire) in the Water. It is simple to talk, but it is very rare that people really understand it. Therefore, I have to explain it here again. It is said that the Fire and the Water go together or parallel. (The Water is the Blood, e.g. the Yin; the Fire is the Qi, e.g. the Yang). Though they are two things, but they are the same mass. They cannot be separated, neither combined. Let us take a example of a cup of hot water (the boiling, the Hot steam, e.g. the no-form True Fire in the Water). When the Qi (the steam) can leave the water and when the water can leave the Qi?

水离乎气，便是纯阴；人离乎气，即是死鬼。二物合而为一，无一脏不行，无一腑不到，附和相依，周流不已。气无形而寓于血之中，气法乎上，故从阳；血有形而藏于气之内，血法乎下，故从阴。此阴、阳、上、下之分所由来也。其实何可分也？二气原是均平。二气均平，自然百病不生，人不能使之和平，故有盛衰之别，水盛则火衰，火旺则水弱，此阴症、阳症所由来也。二气大象若分，其实未分，不过彼重此轻，此重彼轻耳。

When the water is without the Qi, the water is dead water; whenever human is without the Qi, the body is a dead body (corpse). The water and the Qi are combined into one. No any organs they do not reach. They attach, combine, and move together in the whole body, everywhere. The Qi has no shape so it melts in the blood. The Qi tends to float up, to rise, so it is associated with the Yang; the blood has shape, it holds the Qi inside, and it tends to flow down, so it is associated with the Yin. This is how the Yin and Yang, the upper and the lower concept come. In fact, how can they be separated? The two Qi is originally the same amount and they are even in intensity. When they are in even and in balance, of course there is no disease. Human cannot keep them in even or in balance, so they are different in overwhelming or in short. When the Water is in overwhelming, the Fire would be in short. If the Fire is in overwhelming, the Water would be weak. This is the reason for the Yin condition or a Yang condition. The two Qi seem be separated, but in fact not separated each other. They are simply one is relatively more and another is relatively less.

千古以来，惟仲景一人，识透一元至理，二气盈虚消息，故病见三阴经者，即投以辛热，是知其阳不足，而阴有馀也，故着重在回阳；病见三阳经者，即投以清凉，是知其阴不足，而阳有徐也，故着重在存阴。要知先有真火而后有君火，真火为体（体，本也，如灶心中之火种子也）,君火为用（用，末也，即护锅底之火，以腐熟水谷者也），真火存则君火亦存，真火灭则君火亦灭。

For a long time in history, it is only the Master Zhang Zhongjing, who understand the truth of the one Yang and one Yin, and the transformation between the Yin and the Yang. This is the reason for which he used spicy and warm herbs to the treatment of the three Yin conditions, since he knows that in such conditions, the Yin is overwhelming but the Yang is not enough, so it should be focused on the restoration of the Yang Qi in the body. Also, when seeing the three Yang conditions, he uses the cooling herbs, since he knows that in such conditions, it is the Yin that is not enough, but the Yang Qi is relatively overwhelming. For this reason, in such Yang conditions, the focus of the treatment is to save the Yin liquid. It should be known that it is the True Fire that comes into the body first, and the King Fire, later. The True Fire is the body, the basic structure (it is the fire seed); and the King Fire is functioning part of the True Fire. (the King Fire works as fire flame, to warm the food and to digest the food). If the True Fire is still in the body, the King Fire will then exist too. If the True Fire is died, the King Fire must also die. In another words, if there is no the True Fire, there will be no the King Fire.  

观仲景于三阴阴极之症，专以四逆汤之附子，挽先天欲绝之真火，又以干姜之辛热助之，即能回生起死，何不曰补木以生火，用药以补心乎？于三阳阳极之症，专以大承气汤之大黄，以救先天欲亡之真阴，又以芒硝之寒咸助之，即能起死回生，何不曰补金以生水，用药以滋阴乎？仲景立法，只在这先天之元阴、元阳上探取盛衰，不专在后天之五行生克上追求，附子、大黄，诚阴阳二症之大柱脚也。世风日下，稍解一二方，得一二法者，即好医生也。究竟仲景心法，一毫不识，开口即在这五行生克上论盛衰，是知其末而未知其本也。

It is noticed that in the treatment of the three Yin conditions, the Master basically used the herb Fuzi in the Sini Tang to save the depleting True Fire. He also used the Ganjing in the formula to save the life. Why we do not consider to supply the Wood to nourish the Fire, to use herbs to help the Heart? In the treatment of the three Yang conditions, he mostly used the herb Daihuang in the Dachenqi Tang, to save the innate Yin that is to die, also used the herb Mangxiao to help it to save the life. Why we do not say to supply the Metal for the aim to nourish the Water, or to use the herb to nourish the Yin? It should know that, in setting up the herbal formula, Master Zhang Zhongjing focused on the evaluation and treatment of the innate Yuan Yang and Yuan Yin, not on the acquired promoting-suppressing relationship among the five-elements. The herb Fuzi and the Dahuang are really the two major generals among the herbs for the Yuan Yin and the Yuan Yang. Nowadays, the quality of doctors reduced dramatically. For these doctors who know only one or two formula would be regarded as a good doctor. When discussion about the meaning and reasons the Master used the formula, they know nothing. They simply talk about the five elements – the end of the branches, not the root of the tree.

余为活人计，不得不直切言之。余再不言，仲景之道，不几几欲灭乎？余更有解焉。人身原凭二气充塞上下四旁：真阳或不足于上，真阴之气即盛于上而成病，用药即当扶上之阳以协于和平；真阳或不足于中，真阴之气即盛于中而成病，用药即当扶中之阳以协于和平；真阳或不足于下，真阴之气即盛于下而成病，用药即当扶下之阳以协于和平。此三阳不足，为病之主脑也。

To save the life of human, I have to speak out openly and straight forwards. If I do not explain it out, the principle of the Master Zhang Zhongjing would die. I can even explain it furthermore. The human body depends on the two Qi to fill up everywhere. If the True Yang is insufficient in the upper part of the body, the True Yin will be overwhelming there to cause a disease. For the treatment, the herbs should be used to support the Yang Qi in the upper part of the body to balance the Yin and the Yang. If the True Yang is insufficient in the lower part of the body, the True Yin will be overwhelming there to cause a disease. The herbs should be used to support the Yang Qi in the lower part of the body to re-balance the Yin and the Yang there. If the Yang Qi is insufficient in the middle part of the body, the Yin Qi would be overwhelming there to cause a disease. The herbs should be used to support the Yang Qi in the middle part of the body to re-balance the Yin and Yang there. This is the reason for a disease that is due to the insufficiency of Yang Qi in the body.

阴气或不足于上，阳气即盛于上而成病，用药即当扶上之阴，而使之和平；阴气或不足于中，阳气即盛于中而成病，用药即当扶中之阴，而使之和平；阴气或不足于下，阳气即盛于下而成病，用药即当扶下之阴，而使之和平，此三阴不足，为病之主脑也。二气之不足，无论在于何部，外之风、寒、暑、湿、燥、火六气，皆得乘其虚而入之以为病。

Similarly, if the Yin Qi is insufficient in the upper part of the body, the Yang Qi will be relatively overwhelming there to cause a disease. The herbs should be used to support the Yin Qi there to balance the Yin and Yang Qi there. If the Yin Qi is insufficient in the middle part or the lower part of the body, the Yang Qi will be relatively overwhelming there, respectively. The herbs should be use to support the Yin Qi in the middle or the lower part of the body, respectively, to re-balance the Yin and the Yang Qi there. This is the reason for a disease that is caused due to the insufficiency of Yin Qi in the body. Once the Yin Qi o the Yang Qi is insufficient in the body, no matter where of the body, the outside environment factors, such as the Wind, the Cold, the Hot, the Wetness, the Dryness, or the Fire, would invade into the body to cause a disease.

凡外感之邪，必先犯皮肤。皮肤为外第一层，属太阳（太阳为一身之纲领，主皮肤、统营卫故也）。次肌肉（肌肉属胃），次血脉（血脉属心），次筋（筋属肝），次骨（骨属肾）。乃人身之五脏，又分出五气。五行皆本二气所生，二气贯通上中下，故三焦又为一经，而成六步也。外邪由浅而始深，内伤则不然。七情之扰，重在何处，即伤在何处，随其所伤而调之便了，此论外感、内伤之把握也。学者苟能体会得此篇在手，庶可工于活人，而亦可与言医也。

The disease-causing Xie Qi, when invades, would first invade in the skin layer. The skin is the out layer of the body, which belongs to the Taiyang meridian. Then it penetrates into the muscle (belongs to the Stomach), then the blood system (belongs to the Heart), then the tendons (belongs to the Liver), and later the bones (the bone belongs to the Kidney). The body has five organs (the Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung, and the Kidney). The five organs each have its own Qi, so there are five Qi. The five Qi are actually separated by the two Qi (the Yin Qi and the Yang Qi). The two Qi fill up the whole body, so the three Jiao spaces are involved into one meridian, though separated into six stages/meridians/steps. The out coming Xie Qi penetrates from shallow layer further deeper, but a disease that is caused by a inside damage is not developed in such a way. The seven emotional damage, where they focus in the body, where would be damaged. For the treatment, just adjust the damaged part of the body. These are the difference for the principle between the invading disease or a inside-damage disease. Only a doctor understand these principles, would he/she start the clinic work to save life. In addition, he/she would be a proper person, with whom, we can discuss medicine.