What I learn

heritage in chinese civilisation

 3.4  The Five Internal Organs

i. The body is seen as a unified country in TCM, with the
- heart as the king, that which governs the spirit
- lung as the chancellor (respiration determines state of being); responsible for management 'zhi' and regulation 'jie'
- liver as general in charge of defence, strategies (detox, conducts metabolism, stores blood)
- spleen as granaries minister 
- kidney as invigorating minister, responsible for ingenuity; growth, development, fertility of body

ii. The importance of spleen/stomach
- spleen in TCM is always associated with stomach, refers to function, not an anatomical organ; means the fruits, cereals eaten, water drunk, are transformed into Qi and blood
- e.g. if after chemotherapy, a person must have appetite for food, if not, it means there has been excessive treatment affecting the stomach and spleen, and the person can die due to this, loss of appetite and desire for food, (and not due to the cancer he has chemotherapy for)

iii. The brain has a combined function with heart, i.e. to think

iv. The five internal organs are also known as spiritual organs that govern
- spirit (heart)
- spiritual soul (liver)
- physical soul (lung)
- idea (spleen)
- will (kidney)
e.g. spleen governs idea, direct thinking; if a person faces a problem and cannot solve it, he will 'fa pi Qi' (vent spleen anger)

v.  All five organs generate and restrain each other, in the order of the Five Elements
fire – heart
earth – spleen
metal – lung
wood – liver
water – kidney
e.g. 
a. spleen/stomach is the mother of the lung; when a person has tuberculosis, re-enforce earth to generate metal, i.e. enhance spleen/stomach to repair lung calcification
b. if angry and no appetite to eat, regulate the liver Qi (wood) to control stomach/spleen Qi (earth) in order to have appetite again

vi. Internal disorders are due to imbalance in Yin-Yang Qi, and blood
It is also caused by the seven emotions – joy, anger, sorrow, brooding, fear, fright, grief – which will most damage the five internal organs
“When one is indifferent to fame and fortune, and achieves inner peace, the principal Qi will be smooth in the body.”
e.g. the liver and gallbladder work best between 11.00 pm and 3.00 am, thus, one must sleep within these hours; if one stays up and does mental work, blood goes to the head instead of the liver which is responsible for lipid metabolism, thus a person will beget fatty liver.

vii. Man is integral in nature (tian ren he).  Movement of Qi comes from descending Heaven Qi and ascending Earth Qi; man is product of Heaven and Earth.  He lives within the movement of Qi.  This movement of Qi is manifested in the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter – which produces wind, cold, heat, dryness, dampness, summer heat, which only affects the five internal organs under extreme circumstances.

viii. Diet and the four seasons
Spring Qi  corresponds to liver Qi
Summer Qi corresponds to heart Qi
Autumn Qi corresponds to lung Qi
Winter Qi corresponds to kidney Qi
a. in spring, liver is most active, do not eat too much sour, eat more sweet to enhance stomach/spleen Qi, e.g. Chinese yam, dates
b. in summer, eat less bitter food, more acrid food such as fresh ginger, garlic, scallion to protect lung
c. in autumn, eat less acrid food, more sour food for liver, e.g. pears, grapes
d. in winter, eat less salty food, more bitter food to protect heart, e.g. celery, asparagus lettuce

* Heritage in brief, for contemplation