Chinese Medicine --- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

The Chinese have a unique system of categorizing illnesses that is widely divergent from its Western counterpart. The philosophy behind Chinese medicine is that man lives between heaven and earth and comprises a miniature universe in himself. The material of which living things are made is considered to belong to the "yin" or female, passive, receding aspect of nature. The life functions of living things, on the other hand, are considered to belong to the "yang" or masculine, active, advancing aspect. The functions of living beings are described in terms of the following five centers of the body:

• (1)"heart" or "mind" (xin)-- this refers to the "command center" of the body which manifests itself as consciousness and intelligence
• (2) "lungs" or "respiratory system" (fei)--this system regulates various intrinsic functions of the body and maintains cybernetic balance
• (3) "liver" (gan)--this term includes the limbs and trunk, the mechanism for emotional response to the external environment and the action of organs
• (4) "spleen" (pi)--this organ system regulates the distribution of nutrition throughout the body and the metabolism, bringing strength and vigor to the physical body and
• (5) "kidneys" (shen)--this refers to the system for regulating the storage of nutrition and the use of energy; the human life force depends on this system. This theory is used to describe the system of body functions and as a whole is referred to as the "latent phenomena".

The passage of the seasons and changes in the weather can have an influence on the human body. Those having the most pronounced effect are wind (feng), cold (han), heat (shu), moisture (shih), dryness (tsao), and internal heat (huo "fire"). Excessive or extraordinary changes in the weather harm the body and are referred to as the "six external disease-causing factors" (liu yin). On the other hand, if mood changes within the individual, such as happiness(hsi), anger(nu), worry(yu), pensiveness(szu), grief(pei), fear(k'ung) and surprise(ching) are too extreme, they will also harm the health. These emotions are called the "seven emotions"(ch'i ch'ing). In Chinese medicine, the six external disease-causing factors interacting with the seven emotions form the theoretical foundation of disease pathology. These theoretical models, coupled with the "theory of latent phenomena," , are used to analyze the patient's constitution and his illness and diagnose the exact nature of his overall physical and psychological loss of balance. Based on this analysis, the doctor can prescribe a method to correct the imbalance. The object of Chinese medicine is the person, not just the illness. In Chinese medical thinking, illness is only one manifestation of an imbalance that exists in the entire person.

Yin-yang philosophy and the theory of five elements form a system of categories that explain the complete relationships between parts of the body and the environment. Yin and yang represent two opposite sides in nature such as hot and cold or light and dark. Each of the different organs is said to have yin or yang characteristics. Balance between the two is vital for maintaining health. The five elements--earth, fire, water, metal and wood-are categories of characteristics into which all known phenomena can be classified. For example, just as water subdues fire, phenomena associated with water are said to control those classified under fire.