In ancient times, the excessive and deficient factors of wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness, and fire were referred to as the “Six Excesses” (Liù Yín). The pathogenic effects of the Six Excesses have the following five characteristics:
1. The Six Excesses often invade the human body through the skin or the mouth and nose, thus they are considered external factors, and diseases caused by the Six Excesses are collectively referred to as external contraction diseases (Wàigǎn Bìng).
2. The occurrence of external contraction diseases is often seasonal; for example, wind diseases are more common in spring, summer heat diseases in summer, damp diseases in late summer, dryness diseases in autumn, and cold diseases in winter. This indicates a close relationship with the seasons, hence they are also called “seasonal diseases” (Shí Bìng).
3. When the Six Excesses cause disease, there is often an initial symptom of fever, hence they are also known as “external contraction heat diseases” (Wàigǎn Zhuàn Rè Bìng).
4. Due to the different seasons, various climatic changes will affect different organs. As stated in the “Neijing Suwen – Discussion on Coughing”: “The five organs each suffer from disease according to their respective seasons; if not, they transmit their afflictions. Humans and nature are interrelated, thus the five organs are treated according to the seasons. If one is affected by cold, the result may be a cough; if severe, it may lead to abdominal pain or diarrhea. In autumn, the lungs are first affected; in spring, the liver; in summer, the heart; in late summer, the spleen; and in winter, the kidneys.” This means that humans are responsive to the natural world, so each organ is affected by the seasonal factors it governs, leading to disease from cold, with mild symptoms manifesting as cough and more severe symptoms resulting in abdominal pain and diarrhea.
5. The pathogenic factors of wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness, and fire can influence and transform into one another under certain conditions. Liu Hejian once advocated the idea that “all six qi can transform into fire”.
The pathogenic effects of the Six Excesses are primarily characterized by the five points mentioned above. Although these are simple macro clinical observations from ancient times, they accurately reflect objective practice. Below are some examples to illustrate the pathogenic effects of the Six Excesses on the human body:
First, different pathogenic factors have different characteristics. For instance, the nature of wind is to move and not remain still, changing unpredictably, and it is the precursor to numerous diseases. As stated in the “Neijing Suwen – Discussion on Wind”: “Wind is good at movement and changes frequently… thus wind is the leader of all diseases; its changes lead to other diseases, and it is ever-present in the climate throughout the year, with warm and cold air invading the human body, causing diseases such as wind-dampness, wind-cold, and wind-heat, all of which are true, hence it is called the ‘leader of all diseases’.” Its pathogenic characteristics primarily allow it to invade the surface of the body, as stated in the “Huangdi Neijing”: “Wind enters from the outside, causing chills, sweating, headaches, and a heavy body with aversion to cold.” If the wind and wood qi is excessive, it can further affect the spleen and cause disease, as stated in the “Huangdi Neijing”: “When the wind qi is strong, the wood prevails, and the dampness of the earth is affected, leading to spleen disease.”
Regarding cold as a pathogenic factor, the “Huangdi Neijing” states: “All heat diseases are related to cold… when a person is harmed by cold, it results in heat disease.” This indicates that cold can be the cause of heat diseases. If cold is excessive, it can affect the heart, as stated in the “Neijing Suwen – Discussion on True Essentials”: “When cold qi is strong, it prevails over water, and fire heat is affected, leading to heart disease.”
The characteristics of heat as a pathogenic factor are that it causes excessive sweating and depletes qi, as stated in the “Huangdi Neijing”: “Qi deficiency leads to body heat, resulting from summer heat.” Symptoms often include mental confusion, and in severe cases, sudden death; if the fire heat is excessive, the lungs may be affected.
For dampness as a pathogenic factor, traditional Chinese medicine believes that “the dampness of the earth harms the skin, flesh, and tendons”; it is also believed that “due to dampness, one feels wrapped up”, reflecting the heavy and sticky characteristics of dampness as a pathogenic factor.
The above discussion illustrates that the Six Excesses have different pathogenic characteristics due to their differing natures. The TCM principle of “examining the cause to treat” is based on this.
Second, seasonal prevalence of diseases. Seasonal prevalence refers to the fact that due to the differing climates of the four seasons, each season has its own characteristics, leading to not only general diseases but also some that are prevalent in specific seasons. As stated in the “Huangdi Neijing”: “Spring is prone to nasal bleeding, mid-summer to chest and rib diseases, late summer to cold and diarrhea, autumn to wind and malaria, and winter to numbness and convulsions.” Furthermore, TCM also notes the interrelated effects of seasonal diseases, as stated in the “Huangdi Neijing”: “If one is harmed by cold in winter, they will surely suffer from warm diseases in spring; if harmed by wind in spring, they will develop diarrhea in summer; if harmed by summer heat in summer, they will develop malaria in autumn; if harmed by dampness in autumn, they will develop cough in winter.”
From the above, it can be seen that the statement in the “Huangdi Neijing” that “the beginning of all diseases arises from wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness, and fire” is indeed scientific. If people are poorly adapted to the six meteorological factors of wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness, and fire, and their compensatory mechanisms are inadequate, it can lead to pathological states. The Six Excesses act on the human body primarily in two ways: one is that the aforementioned meteorological factors first act through certain intermediary links before affecting the human body, thus exhibiting seasonality; acute infectious diseases mediated by insects are the best examples. Malaria is most common in the summer and autumn, which is related to the conditions for the breeding of mosquitoes in nature. The prevalence of scrub typhus is related to the growth season of the chigger mite, hence it is most common from June to September. Other diseases such as epidemic meningitis are more common in spring and are classified as spring warmth, while epidemic hepatitis B is more common in late summer and is referred to as summer dampness.
Excerpted from “Buddhism, Daoism, and Health Preservation”
Excerpt by: Tea is Fragrant
Broadcast by: Yan Jing
Typeset by: Dong Xia
