Supporting the Right Qi and Expelling Evil Qi is a term in treatment theory. It refers to a therapeutic principle. Supporting the Right Qi (扶正, fuzheng) means to assist the body’s righteous energy and enhance its ability to resist disease; Expelling Evil Qi (祛邪, quxie) means to eliminate pathogenic factors, allowing the righteous energy to stabilize. Supporting the Right Qi and Expelling Evil Qi complement each other, both aiming to eliminate disease and strengthen the foundation. In clinical practice, treatment can be adjusted based on the specific conditions of the righteous and evil energies, employing methods such as supporting the Right Qi while expelling evil, expelling evil while supporting the Right Qi, or a combination of both. Supporting the Right Qi and Expelling Evil Qi primarily addresses conditions characterized by deficiency of the Right Qi and excess of evil Qi, with a focus on supporting the Right Qi while assisting in expelling evil.
Explanation of Symptoms
The fluctuations of righteous and evil energies significantly impact the occurrence, development, and transformation of diseases. The onset and progression of diseases are processes of struggle between righteous Qi and evil Qi. When the righteous Qi is abundant, the body has the ability to resist disease, leading to a reduction or absence of illness; conversely, when the righteous Qi is insufficient, diseases will occur and progress.
Therefore, the key to treatment is to alter the balance of power between the righteous and evil energies, supporting the righteous Qi and expelling the evil Qi, thus guiding the disease towards recovery.
Supporting the Right Qi: This involves using medicinal herbs or other methods to enhance physical constitution and improve disease resistance, aiming to overcome illness and restore health. It is applicable to diseases primarily characterized by deficiency of the Right Qi, in accordance with the principle of “draining when there is excess” as stated in the Huangdi Neijing. Clinically, different methods such as tonifying Qi, nourishing blood, enriching Yin, and strengthening Yang may be employed based on the specific condition.
Expelling Evil Qi: This involves removing the evil Qi from the body to achieve the goal of restoring the righteous Qi. It is suitable for diseases primarily characterized by excess evil Qi, also in line with the principle of “draining when there is excess” from the Huangdi Neijing. Clinically, various methods such as inducing sweating, purging, clearing heat, and resolving phlegm may be applied based on the specific condition.
Clinical Application
In clinical practice, applying the principle of Supporting the Right Qi and Expelling Evil Qi requires careful observation of the dynamics of righteous and evil energies, distinguishing their roles and timing based on their respective positions during the disease process.
Purely supporting the Right Qi is only suitable for cases primarily characterized by deficiency of the Right Qi; purely expelling evil Qi is only suitable for cases primarily characterized by excess evil Qi. The approach of expelling evil Qi first and then supporting the Right Qi is appropriate for cases with excess evil Qi but not significant deficiency of the Right Qi, while supporting the Right Qi first and then expelling evil Qi is suitable for cases with deficiency of the Right Qi but not significant excess evil Qi. The simultaneous use of both methods is applicable for cases with deficiency of the Right Qi and excess evil Qi, known as “combining attack and tonification”. It is essential to discern whether there is more deficiency or excess; if deficiency is predominant, the focus should be on supporting the Right Qi with some expulsion of evil, while if excess is predominant, the focus should be on expelling evil with some support of the Right Qi. In summary, the principle is to “support the Right Qi without leaving evil Qi, and expel evil Qi without harming the Right Qi”.
The principles applied in traditional Chinese medicine for treating diseases include the eight methods of sweating, vomiting, purging, harmonizing, warming, clearing, resolving, and tonifying, which can be categorized into the two major principles of Supporting the Right Qi and Expelling Evil Qi. The occurrence of diseases is closely related to the weakness of the righteous Qi, as stated in the Ling Shu: “Wind, rain, cold, and heat cannot harm the body if the righteous Qi is strong; evil cannot harm a person alone.” Therefore, in the prevention and treatment of diseases, Qian’s theory proposes a theoretical system for the differential application of Supporting the Right Qi and Expelling Evil Qi. He believes that expelling evil cannot be separated from supporting the Right Qi, as supporting the Right Qi can mobilize the body’s positive factors, adjust the balance of Yin and Yang, and enhance the body’s disease resistance; conversely, supporting the Right Qi cannot neglect the expulsion of evil, as expelling evil can eliminate pathogenic factors. Hence, it is said that “when the Right Qi is sufficient, evil Qi will naturally depart” and “when evil Qi departs, the Right Qi will naturally stabilize”.
Unilateral expulsion of evil Qi often leads to excessive attack, damaging the righteous Qi and affecting the patient’s ability to resist disease; conversely, purely supporting the Right Qi may “indulge the enemy”, failing to eliminate pathogenic factors and potentially exacerbating the evil Qi, thus harming the Right Qi. Qian also emphasized that in formulating prescriptions, Supporting the Right Qi and Expelling Evil Qi should not be treated equally. During the differential diagnosis process, careful analysis is required to distinguish the primary and secondary roles; only by clarifying the sequence and roles of Supporting the Right Qi and Expelling Evil Qi can correct treatment be achieved. In other words, when the patient primarily exhibits deficiency of the Right Qi, the treatment should focus on supporting the Right Qi, supplemented by expelling evil; conversely, when the patient’s righteous Qi is not significantly deficient, the focus should be on expelling evil, supplemented by supporting the Right Qi.
Content from A+ Medical Encyclopedia