Medical Dialogue
医学会话
Discussion of Five-Phase Theory
讨论五行理论
Dr. Terry Vigil is a physician of Western medicine and she is a patient of Dr. Wang. Dr. Wang is a TCM clinician and professor at an American acupuncture college. Today they are having tea together.
| wang: | Good morning, Dr. Vigil. How are you doing? |
| vigil: | I'm great, thank you, Dr. Wang. I'm glad we could meet like this. |
| wang: | Me too. Thank you very much for your referral. |
| vigil: | I should thank you too for taking such good care of my patients. I am very impressed with how many reports I get from them that they're feeling much better since visiting you at your office. |
| wang: | I am happy to know that they are getting better. |
| vigil: | Yes, and I am very curious about your type of medicine. I have questions and I thought it would be nice to meet like this. |
| wang: | I agree. Please, where would you like to begin? |
| vigil: | The concepts of yin and yang are not difficult to grasp. But presently, I'm fascinated by one theory in particular. |
| wang: | Yes? |
| vigil: | The Five Element theory. Do you use Five Element Theory in your practice? |
| wang: | Yes, I do. Human life depends on the balance of yin and yang and the balance of the five phases. They are the basis of Chinese medical theory. |
| vigil: | Could this explain why your treatments seem to be addressing more than the original complaint that brought me and my patients into your office? |
| wang: | Yes. In Chinese, the theory of five phases is called Wu Xing. Wu means "five" and Xing means elements and their "movement" or "process". These are the processes of Nature. These five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water are the five qualities of all natural phenomena. Each element has an effect on and interacts with a particular body tissue, sense organ, temperament and so on. Let me stop here because you look puzzled. Here, I will draw it for you. |
| vigil: | Thank you. |
| wang: | Wood promotes fire; fire promotes earth; earth promotes metal; metal promotes water; and water, in turn, promotes the growth of wood. |
| vigil: | Is this the "mother-son" relationship? |
| wang: | You have read this theory. |
| vigil: | On the internet. |
| wang: | What do you remember about the "mother-son" relationship? |
| vigil: | Well, the "mother-son" relationship implies an inter-promoting movement. The mother element promotes the son element. |
| wang: | Yes, fire is the son of wood, for example, and it is the mother of earth. This generative process continues through the circle, running clockwise. |
| vigil: | How else can these elements affect each other? |
| wang: | In the law of movements, there is engendering, as you said, and restraining. These are both normal conditions that both cooperate and oppose each other. With pathological patterns of excess or deficiency we may observe overwhelming and rebellion. |
| vigil: | What is restraining among them? |
| wang: | Restraining means bringing under control. Wood restrains earth; earth restrains water; water restrains fire; fire restrains metal, and metal in turn restrains wood. |
| vigil: | What about overwhelming? |
| wang: | Overwhelming refers to an attack. The order of overwhelming is the same as that of restraining but it is harmful. |
| vigil: | And rebellion? |
| wang: | Rebellion means the elements are being preyed upon. The order of rebellion is the opposite to that of overwhelming. |
| vigil: | Can you talk more about how you apply the theory of five elements to guide your clinical treatment? |
| wang: | Well, in terms of the acupuncture prescription I work from groups of points. These are called five shu points or "transporting points" and the energetics of each one has a matching element. I needle into these points. The principle is to "reinforce the mother" or "reduce the son". |
| vigil: | Wow. |
| wang: | That's in a nutshell*. I hope I didn't move too fast through it. |
| vigil: | No, no. It's a lifelong study, I imagine. |
| wang: | It is. |
| vigil: | Well, Dr. Wang. I'm really glad we were able to meet like this. I appreciate all that you have done for me and for every present and future patient I refer to you. And thank you for taking the time to share with me the basis of your medical theory. |
| wang: | If you like, we can meet again. Next time I can ask you some questions. |
| vigil: | Oh, yes, of course. That would be great fun. |
| wang: | Take care, Dr. Vigil. |
| vigil: | Thank you very much. |
| wang: | It is my pleasure. |