The life energy Qi
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) evaluates observations and phenomena in patients in five phases of transformation. An element is assigned to each phase of change, but it is in constant change. The five Chinese elements are: Wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
The 5-Elements-Teach is not about the appearance of the individual elements, but about functional connections. There are numerous relationships between the five elements. The most important is probably that one element arises from the other, one element promoting the other in infinite order.
Transferred to the interpersonal relationship, it is called the mother/son rule (nourishing cycle): Wood is made of water, wood is made of fire, fire becomes earth (ashes), earth or in earth becomes metal, metal or better from mineral rich earth becomes water and water becomes wood again… Conversely, the elements weaken each other, we speak of the relationship son/mother (debilitating cycle): wood drinks water, water washes metal and minerals out, metal displaces earth, earth smothers fire, fire consumes wood, wood consumes water… There is also a grandmother/grandson relationship (taming cycle): one element is skipped here. Thus fire melts the metal, but is simultaneously extinguished by water.
The sum of all phenomena of a transformation phase is called functional circle (chin. : Zang Fu). Here, meridians, seasons and – particularly important for diagnostics – feelings and emotions are assigned to the individual elements.
The following list gives an overview: Transformation phase wood: Transformation phase fire: Transformation phase earth: Transformation phase metal: Transformation phase water:
- Meridians: Liver, gall bladder
- Season: Spring
- Climate: Windy
- Direction: East
- Color: Green
- Taste: Sour
- Tissue: muscles, tendons
- Type of disease: colics, neuralgia
- Sensory organ: eye
- Emotion: Anger
- Meridians: small intestine, heart, pericardium, 3-fold warmer
- Season: Summer
- Climate: Hot
- Direction: South
- Color: Red
- Taste: Bitter
- Tissue: blood vessels
- Type of disease: Restlessness, fever
- Sensory organ: Tongue
- Emotion: joy, passion
- Meridians: stomach, spleen
- Season: Late summer
- Climate: Humid
- Direction: Center
- Color: Yellow
- Taste: Sweet
- Tissue: connective and fatty tissue
- Type of disease: Mucus accumulation, edema
- Sensory organ: Mouth
- Emotion: Concern
- Meridians: lung, colon
- Season: Autumn
- Climate: Dry
- Direction: West
- Color: White
- Taste: Hot
- Tissue: skin, mucous membrane, immune system
- Disease type: Skin diseases
- Sensory organ: Nose
- Emotion: Grief
- Meridians: kidney, bladder
- Season: Winter
- Climate: Cold
- Direction: North
- Color: Blue
- Taste: Salty
- Tissue: Bone
- Type of disease: degeneration, arthrosis
- Sensory organ: ear
- Emotion: Fear
In traditional Chinese medicine, the energetic flow system is represented by the body as a system of so-called meridians in which Qi flows. The meridians carry the names of the assigned organs. Again, there are Yin and Yang channels.
On each side of the body, 12 meridians run symmetrically. These are divided into 3 circuits (front, back and side). One circuit consists of 4 meridians and supplies the entire body with energy. For a detailed description of the individual meridians and their course see the article “Acupuncture points and meridian teachings”.
- Meridians of the ventral/frontal circulation: lung (Lu), colon (Di), stomach (Ma), spleen (Mi)
- Meridians of dorsal/posterior circulation: heart (He), small intestine (Dü), bladder (Bl), kidney (Ni)
- Meridians of lateral/lateral circulation: pericardium (Pe), 3Heater (3E), gallbladder (Gb), liver (Le)
