The five Zang organs represent storage and are associated with Yin.The Fu organs are part of the digestive system, representing Yang. Within this system, Yin Wood corresponds to the liver, Yang Wood corresponds to the gallbladder, Yin Fire corresponds to the heart, and Yang Fire corresponds to the small intestine. Fire has two components: the heart and the small intestine.The Spleen represents Earth and is Yin, while the stomach, which is Yang Earth, is its counterpart. The lungs are Yin organs, thus the lungs are Yin, and the large intestine is Yang. Water can be categorized into Yang Water and Yin Water.
When we talk about Zang, we refer to Yin, while Fu refers to Yang. Therefore, the kidneys are Yin, and Yang Water corresponds to the bladder.These codes have their significance; let me illustrate with an example.Why does Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) define the heart as fire?Because the heart continuously beats, generating heat, which is not how Western medicine views it.Western medicine focuses on structural issues, such as valve insufficiency, arrhythmias, myocardial infarction, and arterial sclerosis, only observing the external form.Thus, the diseases defined by Western medicine are all about form, lacking the essence.It may seem detailed, but it only addresses form, not essence.
Because the heart beats continuously, over a hundred thousand times a day, consider how hot the heart must be!Since it generates heat, we can only use the term “fire” to describe it, right?Thus, the source of body temperature comes from the heart, as the heart’s continuous beating circulates throughout the body. Western medicine only understands the aftermath, not the cause; they know the body temperature is 98 degrees Fahrenheit but do not understand how it is generated—it comes from the heart.The small intestine is here; it is Yang Fire because it is part of the digestive system. Food enters the stomach and then the small intestine, where it is digested.Why is the small intestine also defined as fire?Because the heart and small intestine are interrelated, this relationship is called the “interior-exterior relationship”.
In TCM, when we refer to the exterior, we mean the Fu organs, and when we refer to the interior, we mean the Zang organs.Both the heart and small intestine are defined as fire; the small intestine is considered the second heart. The heat generated by the heart should ideally rise, similar to how hot air balloons rise, right?Heat naturally rises, but if it only rises, it can lead to overheating, resulting in a high fever that could be fatal!Thus, the lungs were created; the lungs represent Metal in the Five Elements theory, where fire overcomes metal, creating a balance between the two.
The lungs are like the sky, which is always cold.If we consider the heart as the engine, the lungs are the water tank. If the lungs only facilitated breathing, that would be too simplistic!You need to understand the balance between the lungs and the heart; under normal conditions, the lungs help to direct heat downwards. Practicing Qi Gong allows the Qi to descend, with the Dantian being the meeting point of the small intestine, guiding the Qi downwards.Thus, the temperature of the small intestine becomes very hot.Originally, the source of heat comes from the heart.
What does it mean to be a normal person? In my clinical practice, I often ask patients, who told you that you have liver disease?The answer is usually a liver disease specialist.All the signs outside are from specialized doctors, while I am a health doctor.TCM and Western medicine are opposites; Western medicine complicates diseases, while TCM seeks to understand what constitutes a normal person.If you are trained to only look for diseases, you may search for a long time without finding a solution.If you are trained by me, you will immediately recognize what is abnormal!TCM does not require you to read many books; rather, you need to “understand”—that is the most important!I aim to help you understand what a normal person is.
The heat from the heart directs down to the small intestine, so in a normal person, the heart and small intestine operate at the same speed, temperature, and pressure.Therefore, TCM is a physical medicine. Einstein was a master of physics, yet he never traveled to space.Landing on the moon was accomplished by Armstrong, right?His office was small, and with just a blackboard and chalk, he could calculate black holes, proving Einstein’s theories with data received from NASA.
TCM is a physical medicine that emphasizes time, speed, temperature, and pressure.He never visited a black hole, yet he could calculate its properties.TCM operates according to time, speed, temperature, and pressure; your body is a small universe.This is TCM, which allows us to observe the internal from an external perspective.The small intestine generates heat, enabling food digestion.Is the small intestine so intelligent that it can digest food?If you remove the small intestine, will it still digest food? Without heat, it will not digest.This is how a normal person functions.
Thus, the small intestine is defined as fire; after digestion, food enters the large intestine, which removes the water from the food.Try eating pig intestines; can the large intestine intelligently remove the water from the food?The large intestine surrounds the small intestine; the small intestine is fire, while water flows above, and fire burns below, causing the water in the large intestine to vaporize.Thus, this vapor can rise through the intestinal wall; the large intestine and lungs are interrelated, allowing water to return to the lungs, transforming into normal body fluids, while the residue is expelled. This process must be completed within twenty-four hours; this is a basic concept.
As we gradually discuss the “Huangdi Neijing”, we will delve deeper.Why can TCM treat cancer? It is simple; have you ever heard of someone dying from heart cancer, unlike breast cancer, lung cancer, lymphatic cancer, or liver cancer?People die from heart disease, not heart cancer.The heart does not develop cancer because it is very hot; cancer cells passing through the heart are like moths to a flame.If the entire body were as hot as the heart, cancer cells would cease to exist.Humans are very hot; how can I prove this? In winter, if you exhale and it is not white vapor, then you are an alien, not from Earth.Everyone has Qi, which is hot; in TCM, the concept of heat Qi is vapor.This is a simple example.For instance, water nourishes wood; the bladder is in front of the small intestine, with the bladder here and the small intestine there, where the kidneys first vaporize, and the second vaporization occurs in the small intestine.We will discuss the “Huangdi Neijing” in more detail later.The small intestine is very hot, representing fire; when the bladder contains 400CC of urine, it expands, and the bladder becomes a hot air balloon rising. Until it reaches 400CC capacity, we do not feel the urge to urinate. Once it is full, we urgently need to go to the bathroom.When urinating, the heat from the bladder generates speed, force, and pressure to expel the urine; during the vaporization process in the bladder, it is the first distillation, and during the second vaporization, the impurities are expelled.The clean water is sent to the liver, which receives the clean water (water nourishes wood), allowing it to eliminate toxins and pass them to the gallbladder to be transformed into bile.The human body is complex; if we do not use this diagram to represent it, there is no other diagram that can do so. We have discussed it in such complexity, yet we can simplify it to the point of no further simplification.In reality, it cannot be replaced; it must be represented by this symbol.
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