Modern workers who stay up late often think that “health preservation = soaking goji berries in a thermos”. It is not until they open the “CEO Manual of the Human Body” by Zhang Zhongjing from the Eastern Han Dynasty that they realize—”When the five organs are functioning smoothly, the person is at peace.” This sister book to the “Treatise on Cold Damage” does not discuss lofty principles of saving lives but specifically addresses modern ailments caused by “working 996 and ending up in the ICU”, revealing the truth about health in just three sentences.
“When there is liver disease, know that the liver affects the spleen, and one must first strengthen the spleen.”
Just like when the marketing department (liver) collapses, the finance department (spleen) will inevitably be affected. When modern people are up at 3 AM revising PPTs while chugging coffee, and the next day they experience bloating and loss of appetite, it is a living example of “liver fire attacking the spleen”. Zhang Zhongjing’s treatment method can be considered workplace wisdom: “Do not wait until the disease has occurred to treat it”—rather than waiting for stomach pain to take medication, it is better to prepare a piece of pumpkin cake to protect the spleen and stomach during overtime, as “the spleen and stomach are the foundation of postnatal life”.
“There are three main causes of illness.”
Zhang Zhongjing attributes the causes of illness to the “three-piece set of running a red light”: staying up late (internal cause) + overeating (external cause) + internal anxiety (neither internal nor external cause). Workers rely on iced Americanos to survive Mondays and hot pot to vent on Fridays, perfectly gathering the “three poisons”. However, the book also provides a way to break the cycle: “If one can cultivate caution, they will not allow evil winds to disturb the meridians”—translated into plain language: less self-destructive behavior is better than any tonic.
“Women’s diseases are caused by deficiency and accumulation of cold and qi stagnation.”
This gynecological principle has struck many women hard—winter ankle exposure leading to chronic cold legs, stress causing menstrual irregularities, and bubble tea leading to a little belly, all hit home! But the sage’s prescription is extremely simple: “Warming the meridians decoction is the main treatment”, warming not only the uterus but also providing the wisdom of “replacing cold drinks in air-conditioned rooms with ginger and jujube tea”. Modern independent women should understand: “If blood is not flowing well, it becomes water”; instead of blaming their boyfriends during menstrual pain, they should soak their feet.
“For phlegm and fluid diseases, one should use warming herbs to harmonize them.”
Those who flaunt iced milk tea as “phlegm-damp workers” often have health check reports indicating “fatty liver” and “thyroid nodules”, yet they still follow trends by drinking celery juice. Zhang Zhongjing shakes his head: “There are four types of drinks: phlegm, suspended, overflowing, and supporting”; this is not detoxing but creating toxins! His solution is very “anti-influencer”: a cup of Fu Ling (Poria), Gui Zhi (Cinnamon Twig), Bai Zhu (White Atractylodes), and Gan Cao (Licorice) decoction is more effective at “scraping oil” than a coconut latte—here, the oil refers to the sticky waste in the body.
“Food injures the spleen and stomach, and overwork injures kidney qi.”
Modern people live the “punk health” scene: taking melatonin to sleep while scrolling on their phones until 2 AM; getting gym memberships while drinking alcohol at social events. The sage has long seen through this contradiction: “Do not exhaust the house and room” reminds you not to treat your kidneys like a credit card to be maxed out, and “moderate the temperature of food” advises you to avoid extreme pulls between hot pot and ice cream. Remember: “In the four seasons, the spleen is strong and not affected by evil”—immunity is the best beauty treatment.
After reading this 1800-year-old “Human Maintenance Guide”, I suddenly realize that Zhang Zhongjing is indeed a master of time management: “Sour enters the liver, pungent enters the lungs, sweet enters the spleen”—putting down your phone during meals is more important than counting calories; the two characters “cultivate caution” encapsulate all health secrets. In this era where medicine is treated like food, perhaps we should learn from the ancients—the cost of preventing disease is always lower than treating it.