Mordern Meaning of Traditional Terms-Liquid and Energy
By Jubong Kang, K.M.D.
Liquid and energy are very useful modern terms to explain yin and yang, five elements and other traditional medicine terms or theories. These two terms are derived from sign symptom of Sang Han Lun. The dynamics of sign symptom can be expressed by liquid and energy or water and fire, even though these exact terms are not used clearly in Sang Han Lun.
It is possible to say liquid and energy are terms used in modern time, yin and yang are terms used in ancient time and water and fire are terms used between modern and ancient times.
The term liquid and energy in modern times, makes us observe our body with a microscopic perspective. The term yin and yang in ancient time, makes us observe our body under macroscopic or universal perspective. But if the terms water and fire are used, then we can observe the body in modern and ancient perspectives, so these make it convenient to express Eastern Medicine theories in modern times.
Liquid
Liquid is a little more concreate term than the traditional terms such as water and yin. Energy is also a little more concrete and tangible term than fire or yang.
In current biological understanding, the liquid in our body is divided inti two types: one is the blood and the other is the lymph. While both types of liquid circulate in our body, sometimes they are mixed and sometimes separated. Also, these liquids can become dense or diluted in order to adapt to different conditions. More about this will be interpreted in detail in the following paragraphs.
In present days, the functions of the blood and the lymph are known very well. As we know, the blood moves oxygen and lymph has immunological functions. But in ancient times, this information was not known. So the functions of the blood and the lymph could not be express in terms of microscopic or from a modern perspective (modern biochemical knowledge and techniques are associated with microscopic perspective), except to proposed that as the blood belongs to the liver and makes the liver to be able to see, speak, move and think, etc.
Ancient people did not have the term lymph but they thought watery components in our body belong to the spleen and understood that if the function of the spleen is reduces=d then swelling, edema, diarrhea and other related syndromes would appear.
Moreover they also knew that if the volume of liquid increased and the blood in vessels becomes diluted then either headache, vertigo, asthma, palpitations, cold hands and cold feet or other symptoms could appear. In these cases the diuretic herbs were prescribed to increase the density of the blood by eliminating water.
In Sang Han Lun and Jin Gui Yao Lue(金匱要略; It is ‘the Essentials of Golden Cabinet’) formulas such as ‘Zhexie Decoction (澤瀉湯) ’, ‘Fuling Guizhi Baizhu Cancao Decoction(笭桂朮甘湯)’, ‘Wuling Powder’ and ‘Fangji Huangqi Decoction(防己黃芪湯)’ are famous formulas used to eliminate excessive water in the body to treat vertigo, palpitations, headache, swelling and pain of knee joint correctly.
