THE CONCEPT OF UNITY IN THE TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE    Doctor Quang-Luong DAU acupuncturist at Paris

In the Traditional Chinese Medicine, the man is considered like an integral entity in which every organ and every part of the body is bound closely to the others in the same way as the tie between the mind and the body, compatible to the Latin byword "Mens sana in corpore sano " .

To understand the ties between the different parts of the body, we are going to analyze the "Theory of the five energizing elements" .

These five elements are: Wood, Fire, Soil, Metal and Water.
 

                             


We could observe on the drawing that every energizing element is in relation with the other four elements.

Now take like example element WOOD.

1) Wood is in relation with Fire by a productive tie (Wood generates Fire = relation mother - daughter ).

2) Wood is bound to the Water which is its mother (Water generates Wood = relation daughter - mother).

3) Wood dominates the Soil and forbids it according to a destructive relation .

4) Wood is submitted to a permanent control of Metal (relation dominated - domineering ).

So it is clear that any trouble of element Wood can provoke some problems to the other elements and vice-versa. The physician's duty consists in raising these unrests to the level of different elements and to determine their origin to consider a radical and suitable therapy. A trouble to element Wood can have an origin in itself, that means an unbalance of energy Yin - Yang in itself, or a faraway origin localized in the other elements.

To every energizing element corresponds an internal organ of Yin character and a hollow internal organ of Yang character as it is shown in the following drawing:

 In the Traditional Chinese Medicine, the internal organs are classified in two opposite groups following the dialectic Yin - Yang:

a) The Organs are of YIN character because they are not communicated directly with the outside; they are located therefore in the more internal layer of our body. These are: Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lungs and Kidneys.

b) The Viscera are the hollow organs that have a direct communication with the outside; they are of YANG character. These are: Gall bladder, Small Intestine, Stomach, Large Intestine, Bladder .

The state of mind, like the feelings, has a narrow relation with the internal organs. The mind and the body have an reciprocal influence one on the other as it is shown in the following drawing:

 
Only while considering the unrests of our organism under this point of global view that we can act to the root of every health problem to solve it.