Zang Fu theory
Encyclopedia
The zàng-fǔ organs are functional entities stipulated by Traditional Chinese medicine
(TCM). They constitute the centre piece of TCM's general concept of how the human body works. The term zàng (脏) refers to the organs considered to be yin in nature - Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung, Kidney -, while fǔ (腑) refers to the yang organs - Small Intestine, Large Intestine, Gall Bladder, Urinary Bladder, Stomach and Sānjiaō
.
Each zàng is paired with a fǔ, and each pair is assigned to one of the Wǔ Xíng. The zàng-fǔ are also connected to the twelve standard meridians - each yang meridian is attached to a fǔ organ and each yin meridian is attached to a zàng.They are five system of Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung, Kidney
To highlight the fact that the zàng-fǔ are not equivalent to the anatomical organs, their names are often capitalized.
aspect, but overall, the zàng organs are considered to be yin, and the fǔ organs yang.
Since the concept of the zàng-fǔ was developed on the basis of Wǔ Xíng philosophy, they're incorporated into a system of allocation to one of five elemental qualities (i.e., the Five Elements or Five Phases). The zàng-fǔ share their respective element's allocations (e.g., regarding colour, taste, season, emotion etc.) and interact with each other cyclically in the same way the Five Elements do: each zàng organ has one corresponding zàng organ that it enfeebles, and one that it reinforces.
The correspondence between zàng-fǔ and Five Elements are stipulated as:
Heart system, Liver system, Spleen system, Lung system, Kidney system.
In listing the functions of the zàng organs, TCM regularly uses the term ‘’governing‘’ (主) - indicating that the main responsibility of regulating something (e.g. blood, qì, water metabolism etc.) lies with a certain zàng.
Although the zàng are functional entities in the first place, TCM gives vague locations for them - namely, the general area where the anatomical organ of the same name would be found. One could argue that this (or any) positioning of the zàng is irrelevant for the TCM system; there is some relevance, however, in whether a certain zàng would be attributed to the upper, middle or lower jiaō
.
The Heart
Since there are only five zàng organs but six yin channels, the remaining meridian is assigned to the Pericardium. Its concept is closely related to the Heart, and its stipulated main function is to protect the Heart from attacks by Exterior Pathogenic Factors. Like the Heart, the Pericardium governs blood and stores the mind. The Pericardium's corresponding yang channel is assigned to the Sānjiaō (‘’Triple Burner‘’).
The Spleen
The Liver
Metal. home of the Po
(魄, Corporeal Soul), paired with the Large intestine
The function of the Lung is to descend and disperse qi
throughout the body. It receives qi through the breath, and exhales the waste. The Lung governs the skin and hair and also governs the exterior (one part of immunity). A properly functioning Lung organ will ensure the skin and hair are of good quality and that the immune system is strong and able to fight disease. The normal direction of the Lung is downwards, when Lung qi "rebels" it goes upwards, causing coughing and wheezing. When the Lung is weak, there can be skin conditions such as eczema, thin or brittle hair, and a propensity to catching colds and flu. The Lung is weakened by dryness and the emotion of grief or sadness.
Water. Home of the Zhi (志, Will), paired with the bladder
The Kidneys store Essence, govern birth, growth, reproduction and development. They also produce the Marrow which fills the brain and control the bones. The Kidneys are often referred to as the 'Root of Life' or the 'Root of the Pre-Heaven Qi'. Kidneys house the Will Power (Zhi).
Metal
The function of the Large Intestine is to control the passage and conduction of stools. In the process, it transforms the stools and reabsorbs fluids from them. It receives food and drink from the Small Intestine, conducts the food and drink down, and after absorbing some of the fluids, it excretes the stools. The Large Intestine is closely related to the Lungs, in the way that Lung Qi aids in its downward movement, therefore influencing defecation. As the Lungs control the skin, the Large Intestine also has influence on it.
.
Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...
(TCM). They constitute the centre piece of TCM's general concept of how the human body works. The term zàng (脏) refers to the organs considered to be yin in nature - Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung, Kidney -, while fǔ (腑) refers to the yang organs - Small Intestine, Large Intestine, Gall Bladder, Urinary Bladder, Stomach and Sānjiaō
San Jiao
San Jiao is a term found in traditional Chinese medicine , as part of modelling the workings of the human body attempted by early Chinese medical writers...
.
Each zàng is paired with a fǔ, and each pair is assigned to one of the Wǔ Xíng. The zàng-fǔ are also connected to the twelve standard meridians - each yang meridian is attached to a fǔ organ and each yin meridian is attached to a zàng.They are five system of Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung, Kidney
To highlight the fact that the zàng-fǔ are not equivalent to the anatomical organs, their names are often capitalized.
Major differences between the zang-fu and anatomical organs
To understand the zàng-fǔ it is important to realize that their concept did not primarily develop out of anatomical considerations. The need to describe and systematize the bodily functions was more significant to ancient Chinese physicians than opening up a dead body and seeing what morphological structures there actually were. Thus, the zàng-fǔ are functional entities first and foremost, and only loosely tied to (rudimentary) anatomical assumptions.The zang-fu in context of yin/yang and the Five Elements
Each zàng-fǔ organ has a yin and a yangYin and yang
In Asian philosophy, the concept of yin yang , which is often referred to in the West as "yin and yang", is used to describe how polar opposites or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Opposites thus only...
aspect, but overall, the zàng organs are considered to be yin, and the fǔ organs yang.
Since the concept of the zàng-fǔ was developed on the basis of Wǔ Xíng philosophy, they're incorporated into a system of allocation to one of five elemental qualities (i.e., the Five Elements or Five Phases). The zàng-fǔ share their respective element's allocations (e.g., regarding colour, taste, season, emotion etc.) and interact with each other cyclically in the same way the Five Elements do: each zàng organ has one corresponding zàng organ that it enfeebles, and one that it reinforces.
The correspondence between zàng-fǔ and Five Elements are stipulated as:
- Fire (火) = Heart (心) and Small Intestine (小肠) (and, secondarily, Sānjiaō [三焦, ‘’Triple Burner‘’] and Pericardium [心包])
- Earth (土) = Spleen (脾) and Stomach (胃)
- Metal (金) = Lung (肺)and Large Intestine (大肠)
- Water (水) = Kidney (肾) and Bladder (膀胱)
- Wood (木) = Liver (肝) and Gall Bladder (胆)
The zang-fu in detail
The zàng organs' essential functions consist in manufacturing and storing qì and blood (and, in the case of the Kidney, essence). The fǔ organs' main purpose is to transmit and digest (传化) substances (like waste, food, etc.).Five System
Modern Zang-xiang, Five system of Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung, KidneyHeart system, Liver system, Spleen system, Lung system, Kidney system.
Yin organs
Each zàng has a corresponding ‘’orifice‘’ it ‘’opens‘’ into. This means the functional entity of a given zàng includes the corresponding orifice's functions (e.g. blurry vision is primarily seen as a dysfunction of the Liver zàng as the Liver ‘’opens‘’ into the eyes).In listing the functions of the zàng organs, TCM regularly uses the term ‘’governing‘’ (主) - indicating that the main responsibility of regulating something (e.g. blood, qì, water metabolism etc.) lies with a certain zàng.
Although the zàng are functional entities in the first place, TCM gives vague locations for them - namely, the general area where the anatomical organ of the same name would be found. One could argue that this (or any) positioning of the zàng is irrelevant for the TCM system; there is some relevance, however, in whether a certain zàng would be attributed to the upper, middle or lower jiaō
San Jiao
San Jiao is a term found in traditional Chinese medicine , as part of modelling the workings of the human body attempted by early Chinese medical writers...
.
Heart
The Heart
- ‘’stores‘’ (藏) the shénShen (Chinese religion)Shen is a keyword in Chinese philosophy, Chinese religion, and Traditional Chinese Medicine.-Pronunciation:Shén is the Modern Standard Chinese pronunciation of 神 "spirit; god, deity; spiritual, supernatural; awareness, consciousness etc". Reconstructions of shén in Middle Chinese Shen is a...
(神, ‘’Aggregate Soul‘’, usually translated as mind) - governs xuě (blood) and vessels/meridiansMeridian (Chinese medicine)The meridian is a path through which the life-energy known as "qi" is believed to flow, in traditional Chinese medicine. There is no physically verifiable anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians.- Main concepts :...
- opens into the tongue
- reflects in facial complexion
Pericardium
Since there are only five zàng organs but six yin channels, the remaining meridian is assigned to the Pericardium. Its concept is closely related to the Heart, and its stipulated main function is to protect the Heart from attacks by Exterior Pathogenic Factors. Like the Heart, the Pericardium governs blood and stores the mind. The Pericardium's corresponding yang channel is assigned to the Sānjiaō (‘’Triple Burner‘’).
Spleen
The Spleen
- governs ‘’transportation and absorption‘’ (运化), i.e. the extraction of jīng weī (精微, lit. ‘’essence bits‘’, usually translated with food essence, sometimes also called jīng qì [精气, essence qi]) - and water - from food and drink, and the successive distribution of it to the other zàng organs.
- is the source of ‘’production and mutual transformation‘’ (生化) of qì and xuě (blood)
- ‘’contains‘’ (统) the blood inside the vessels
- opens into the lips (and mouth)
- governs muscles and limbs
Liver
The Liver
- governs "unclogging and deflation" (疏泄) primarily of qì. The free flow of qì in turn will ensure the free flow of emotions, blood, and water.
- ‘’stores‘’ (藏) blood
- opens into the eyes
- governs the tendons
- reflects in the nails
Lung
Metal. home of the Po
Hun and po
Hun and po are types of souls in Chinese philosophy and religion. Within this ancient soul dualism tradition, every living human has both a hun spiritual, ethereal, and yang soul that leaves the body after death and a po corporeal, substantive, and yin soul that remains with the corpse...
(魄, Corporeal Soul), paired with the Large intestine
The function of the Lung is to descend and disperse qi
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
throughout the body. It receives qi through the breath, and exhales the waste. The Lung governs the skin and hair and also governs the exterior (one part of immunity). A properly functioning Lung organ will ensure the skin and hair are of good quality and that the immune system is strong and able to fight disease. The normal direction of the Lung is downwards, when Lung qi "rebels" it goes upwards, causing coughing and wheezing. When the Lung is weak, there can be skin conditions such as eczema, thin or brittle hair, and a propensity to catching colds and flu. The Lung is weakened by dryness and the emotion of grief or sadness.
Kidney
Water. Home of the Zhi (志, Will), paired with the bladder
The Kidneys store Essence, govern birth, growth, reproduction and development. They also produce the Marrow which fills the brain and control the bones. The Kidneys are often referred to as the 'Root of Life' or the 'Root of the Pre-Heaven Qi'. Kidneys house the Will Power (Zhi).
Large intestine
Metal
The function of the Large Intestine is to control the passage and conduction of stools. In the process, it transforms the stools and reabsorbs fluids from them. It receives food and drink from the Small Intestine, conducts the food and drink down, and after absorbing some of the fluids, it excretes the stools. The Large Intestine is closely related to the Lungs, in the way that Lung Qi aids in its downward movement, therefore influencing defecation. As the Lungs control the skin, the Large Intestine also has influence on it.
Criticism
The concept of the zàng-fǔ is not scientific - the underlying assumptions and theory have not been (and are not expected to be) verified or falsified by experiment. Probably because of this, the concept (and TCM as a whole) has been criticized as pseudoscientificPseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
.
External links
- The Zang Fu Information on the Zang Fu Organs, including functions, detailed pathologies and pathology flowcharts.
- five elements and zang-fu
- Syndrome differentiation according to zang-fu - Chinese medicine diagnosis on organ diseases.