Acupuncture & TCM

This Chapter should be read in conjunction with the information provided in the internal link to Meridian Therapy

References:
Listowska A., & Nicholson, M.A., (2011) Complementary Medicine, Beauty and Modelling, Xlibris Corporation, USA.
Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, et al, (1980) Essentials of Chinese Acupuncture, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, China.
Nicholson, M.A., (2008) Purple Healer, Principles of Advanced Natural Medicine Diagnostics, Intype Libra, Wimbledon, London UK.
Deng Liangyue, et al, (2002) Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Revised Edition), Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, China.

5-ELEMENTS AND THE THEORY OF YIN/YANG

Complementary medicine would not be complete without an understanding of the foundations of acupuncture in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practice.

The concept of Yin and Yang, and the principles of the 5-Element theory demonstrate two of its major philosophical foundations.

Their principles can be quite easily applied in everyday life. For instance, the lung and the large intestine have a relative balance between them so that when the bowel is blocked the lung then suffers accordingly. In simple terms, chronic constipation and bowel disorders can cause respiratory difficulty, with the hair and skin altering as a result. Similarly, with the liver and gall bladder connection, a dysfunctional liver can result in problems with the gall bladder. Such are two of the applications of the principles of TCM in ordinary daily life.

TERMINOLOGIES AND ABBREVIATIONS

Meridian Diagnostics (also encompassing ‘Ryodoraku’) generally accords with the following legend of abbreviations when used to identify the 14 main meridians associated with traditional Chinese medicine and accessed in acupuncture and moxibustion.

[Diagram with modifications from Braz, P., (2004), The Law of the Five Elements at 23, cited in Listowska & Nicholson, Complementary Medicine, Beauty and Modelling at 291.]

5-ELEMENT THEORY

The ancient Chinese assumed that the flow of body energy was mirrored in daily activities and worldly events like the five seasons of Autumn (Fall), Winter, Spring, Summer, and Late Summer.

The Elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, expressed the formation of the basis of the Chinese medicine 5‐Element theory; each Element ‘promoting’ the next in line, but itself being ‘promoted by’ the previous Element, and either ‘acting upon’, ‘over‐acting on’ or ‘counter‐acting’ another Element.

Element	Promoting	Acting Upon	Overacting	Counteracting
WOOD	Fire	Earth	Earth	Metal
FIRE	Earth	Metal	Metal	Water
EARTH	Metal	Water	Water	Wood
METAL	Water	Wood	Wood	Fire
WATER	Wood	Fire	Fire	Earth

The theory explains the various interactions between each of the 5 Elements, and although the 5-Element theory originated thousands of years ago, it is nonetheless still to this day a major tenet of traditional Chinese medicine and meridian diagnostics, as well as healing practises using acupuncture points and moxibustion. Many terminologies used in traditional Chinese medicine illustrate the capability of the various activities of the Elements that form the 5-Element theory, Elements being comprised of particular energy meridians.

MOTHER/SON RELATIONSHIPS

The Mother/Son and Grandmother/Grandson relationships are descriptive of two ‘cycles’ of activity in the 5-Element theory, namely, the ‘Sheng cycle’ referred to as Mother/Son, and the ‘Ko cycle’, Grandmother/Grandson.

Sheng & Ko Cycles

The 5-Element theory expounds two cycles, the Sheng cycle and the Ko cycle. In the Elements diagram (above), the ‘Sheng cycle’ is depicted by the curved arrows pointing from one Element to another. Mother/Son relationships describe the Sheng cycle, where one Element ‘promotes’ or is promoted by another element. Therefore, as each of the 5 Elements can act as a Mother ‘promoting’ its Son, it can also act as a Son promoted by its Mother. Hence the relationship provides the application of the ‘reinforcing’ and ‘reducing’ points along the Yin and Yang meridians that comprise each Element, [Listowska & Nicholson, Complementary Medicine, Beauty and Modelling at 291, citing Beijing College, et al, 1980 at 327] and with each Element capable of being both a Mother and a Son.

In the Sheng cycle, the Wood Element, for example, comprised of liver (Yin) and gall bladder (Yang) meridians, when acting as a mother, promotes Fire, i.e. her son, but not forgetting that Fire is itself also the mother of the Earth Element. In the diagram, Earth promotes Metal since Earth is the mother of Metal, whilst Water being the son of Metal is therefore promoted by Metal. This cycle of promotion applies to each of the Elements in turn.

For example, the Metal Element is a ‘mother’ to the Water Element; a ‘son’ to the Earth Element; a ‘grandmother’ to the Wood Element; and a ‘grandson’ to the Fire Element. So, depending on its particular activity, each Element is capable of acting in the capacity of a ‘mother’, ‘son’, ‘grandmother’, and ‘grandson’ according to its action and its effect on the other Elements.

Mother/Son - dual affections

Additionally, a ‘Mother’ Element may adversely affect a ‘Son’ Element, and vice versa, i.e. the Son ‘insulting’ the Mother. Each Element consequently has a potential effect on any one or more of the other Elements, with all the various actions of the Elements giving rise to concepts of “opposition” and “interdependence” of Yin and Yang, together with the several Element relationships, described as:

“inter‐promoting”;
“inter-acting”;
“over-acting”;
“counter-acting”;
“inter‐transforming”; and
“inter‐consuming‐supporting”.
[Additional terminologies used by Beijing College, et al, 1980 at 11‐21]

ABBREVIATION	MERIDIAN
LU [1]	Lung Channel of Hand-Taiyin
LI [2]	Large Intestine Channel of Hand-Yangming
ST [3]	Stomach Channel of Foot-Yangming
SP/PAN [4]	Spleen Channel of Foot-Taiyin
HT [5]	Heart Channel of Hand-Shaoyin
SI [6]	Small Intestine Channel of Hand-Taiyang
UB/BL [7]	Urinary Bladder Channel of Foot-Taiyang
KID [8]	Kidney Channel of Foot-Shaoyin
PER [9]	Pericardium Channel of Hand-Jueyin
SJ [10]	Sanjiao Channel of Hand-Shaoyang
GB [11]	Gall Bladder Channel of Foot-Shaoyang
LIV [12]	Liver Channel of the Foot-Jueyin
REN	(Central Vessel / Conception Vessel
DU	Governing Vessel

YIN / YANG

The theory of Yin/Yang and the 5-Elements are tenets of traditional Chinese medicine philosophy and fundamental to their understanding.

Chinese acupuncture theory views every object as having two primary characteristics, ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’, which conflict but are nonetheless mutually dependent. Whereas one characteristic of Yang reflects a downward movement, the other characteristic of Yin reflects an upward movement. Whereas Yin is regarded as ‘cold’, Yang is ‘hot’; and whereas Yin is ‘interior’, Yang is ‘exterior’, and so forth, each being an opposite of the other. The Yin/Yang theory thus depicts the birth and death of everything, and the proliferation and disintegration of all things.

Yin/Yang relationships also provide a template from which physical assessments can be made. But importantly there is no fixed charter for ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang ’, because everything is relative. They depict characteristics of nature and life, and more importantly the ‘substance’ and ‘functions’ of the body’s organs and tissues. Body tissues and organs relate to either Yin or Yang according to their locations and functions. If one views illness or disease as arising from imbalance between Yin and Yang, then healing will be directed at restoring Yin and Yang towards relative balance, and promoting circulation of qi (energy flow) and blood. [Listowska & Nicholson, "Complementary Medicine, Beauty and Modelling" at 287, citing Beijing College, et al, 1980 at 12-14.]

The ‘location’ of a body part or component is therefore just as important as its ‘function’, and vice versa. For instance, the back of the leg is regarded as Yang since it is located at the back (i.e. posteriorly), whereas the front of an arm is Yin because it is located in the front (i.e. anteriorly). The spine and the back are therefore Yang, whereas the chest and abdomen are Yin. In this way, each part of the body is seen as having either a Yin or a Yang aspect attributed to it. On such basis, no matter what body area one refers to, it must consequently display either a Yin or a Yang characteristic. Even though a body part may be Yin or Yang, that particular body part will also contain a Yin and Yang component within itself. For instance, the Liver is regarded as a Yin organ, but conceptually it will also incorporate a Liver Yin and a Liver Yang aspect. Depletion or excess of either Liver Yin or Liver Yang gives rise to the concept of Shi (excess) or Xu (deficiency), or ‘heat’ or ‘cold’ residing in the organ’s function at a particular time. This depicts an influence on the organ’s ability to fulfil its duties and functions as well as its potential to disrupt other body organs.

There is much value in this conceptual arrangement of body parts, since whatever is manifested on the outside reflects the quality of the interior. Hence, the skin at various locations over the body reflects the quality of the body’s interior components, with dermatomes and sclerotomes reflecting nerve innervations to the exterior skin surface, and bones or bone parts, respectively.

The human body and its myriad of various components cannot under any circumstances be isolated from each other. The big toe has a connection with the face, albeit not directly. In muscle testing, the adductor muscles can be seen to have a relationship with the nostrils, although quite unable to be rationally explained. Similarly unexplained is that an eruption or other condition of the join in the anterior (front) of the arms can reflect the condition of the uterus. There is no proper reason to suggest that a particular organ or tissue should be isolated when every body part matters just as much as any another, but nonetheless in a very particular and different hierarchy of importance. One can see this from permanent removal of body parts.

Teeth can be extracted and discarded without loss of life, whereas the brain and heart cannot. Understandably, some organs are placed in a superior position in the hierarchy of importance, and this will greatly depend on the ‘function’ that they perform, and whether their loss is unfavourable to the continuation of life. Even so, the result of a simple tooth extraction must be overcome, since the whole body will have been affected in some way, albeit marginally in most cases. How the body manages to overcome its complications is determined by its own reserves of energy, its resilience, and its actual ability for rectification. So, for a period of time in every circumstance, the body must readjust to every aspect of its alterations, some daily, some yearly, and some second by second. Consequently, the ‘autonomic nervous system’ is essential to overall health as it performs its work silently, relieving us all from the burden of internal bodily decision‐making.

Long-term abuse of the body's 'substance' or 'function' must therefore give rise to serious ramifications. It is therefore how the body can resolve and disperse its consignment of Yin and Yang that may determine not only its future but also the quality of that future. In this respect, the body’s organs and its Yin and Yang references must have a ‘relative balance’ in both substance and function in order to adjust to the ravages of life and survive the myriad of abuses that they have to endure from time to time. Malfunctioning organs, tissues, or body parts may subsequently cause an imbalance of Yin and Yang, as well as disrupting free flow of Qi and Blood. Hence, the aim of acupuncture and meridian diagnostics is to re‐establish a ‘relative balance’ between Yin, Yang, Qi, and Blood. This returns the body to improved health, since neither operates in isolation from the other.

EXAMPLE ACUPUNCTURE POINTS

Ko Cycle

In the Elements diagram, the ‘Ko cycle’ is depicted by the internal straight arrows. Grandmother/Grandson relationships describe the Ko cycle, where one Element: 1. ‘acts upon’; 2. ‘overacts on’; or 3. ‘counteracts’ another Element.
When Wood ‘acts upon’ or ‘over‐acts on’ its Earth grandson it is acting in its capacity as grandmother. When the Wood Element ‘counter‐acts’ its Metal grandmother it is acting in its capacity as a grandson. Furthermore, when Wood acts in the capacity of a grandmother it can also be ‘counteracted upon’ by its Earth grandson. Therefore, whereas the Sheng cycle reflects ‘promoting’, the ‘Ko cycle’ underpins three separate individual and possibly concomitant activities of ‘acting upon’, ‘overacting’, and ‘counteracting’. The Ko cycle therefore reflects not only the normal action of “acting upon”, but also the abnormal actions of “over‐acting” and “counteracting”.
[Listowska & Nicholson, Complementary Medicine, Beauty and Modelling at 292, citing Beijing College, et al, 1980 at 17‐19]

EXAMPLE ACUPUNCTURE POINTS

Zang-Fu Organs

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the Zang‐Fu organs have close relationships, even though their physiological functions are quite different. [Listowska & Nicholson,Complementary Medicine, Beauty and Modellingat 293, citing Deng Liangyue, et al, 2002 at 42; Beijing College, et al, 1980 at 22] ‘Zang’ refers to the solid Yin organs (“substance”), whilst ‘Fu’ refers to the empty Yang organs (“function”).

In the 5‐Element Theory of traditional Chinese medicine, the Yin organs (Zang) are the Lung, Kidney, Liver, Heart, Pericardium, and Spleen, whereas the Yang organs (Fu) are the Large Intestine, Urinary Bladder, Gall Bladder, Small Intestine, Sanjiao, and Stomach.

The ‘Sanjiao Meridian’ with 23 acupuncture points differs from the other regular meridians in that it connects with the Pericardium Meridian in an internal‐external relationship. The Sanjiao Channel does not represent an actual organ but is seen as a “generalization of part of the functions of some of the zang‐fu organs located in different sections of the body”. [Listowska & Nicholson, Complementary Medicine, Beauty and Modelling at 293, citing Beijing College, et al, 1980 at 28] Traditional Chinese medicine theory of Zang‐Fu relationships is said to be: "of great significance in clinical differentiation of syndromes and treatment" [Listowska & Nicholson,Complementary Medicine, Beauty and Modelling at 293, citing Deng Liangyue, et al, 2002 at 41/42]

There are also ‘Extra Fu Organs’, namely, “brain, marrow, bones, vessels, gallbladder, and uterus”. The ‘Brain’ and the ‘Uterus’ are regarded as ‘Yang’, however the Gall Bladder falls into both the ‘Yang’ and ‘Extra Fu’ categories as a component of the Wood Element.