1, the identification basis of four qi: four qi, also known as four properties, are four different medicinal properties of drugs (narrow sense): cold, hot, warm and cool. It mainly reflects the influence of drugs on the ups and downs of yin and yang and the changes of cold and heat. It is an important part of the theory of drug properties and one of the main theoretical bases to explain the nature of drug action.
Four qi is so important, so how to judge whether the medicine is cold, hot or cold?
The generation of cold, hot, warm and cool drugs is closely related to the climate change in four seasons. For example, the Classic of Materia Medica says: Anyone who speaks slightly cold will be born with spring breath; People who talk a lot feel the breath of summer; Say it is flat, feel the breath of autumn, and it will be cool when it is flat; Those who talk about the cold feel the smell of winter. The spirit of this thing is also derived from heaven. Because of the change of climate in four seasons, drugs have different characteristics, so they are called "four qi".
The four characteristics of drug performance were summarized by the ancients according to the different reactions of drugs acting on human body. This is related to the cold and hot nature of the diseases it treats. Su Wen Zhi Zhen Da Lun pointed out: "The so-called cold, hot and cold are the opposite of their diseases." "Hundred Kinds of Records of Shennong's Herbal Classics" emphasizes that "when you enter the abdomen, you will know its nature". It profoundly reveals the true meaning of cold, heat, warmth and coolness in traditional Chinese medicine. Generally, drugs that can relieve or eliminate heat syndrome are cold in nature; All drugs that can relieve or eliminate cold syndrome are generally warm. For example, mint and kudzuvine root are mainly used for exterior syndrome of wind-heat with cool nature; Gypsum and Anemarrhena asphodeloides are mainly used to treat qi-excess heat syndrome, which belongs to cold nature; Ephedra and ginger are mainly used for exterior syndrome of wind-cold with mild nature; Aconite and ginger are mainly used for impotence, and their nature is heat. So generally speaking, warm drugs have the effect of warming the interior and dispelling cold; Cold medicine has the function of clearing away heat and purging fire.
2. Identification basis of five flavors: Five flavors refer to the five basic flavors of drugs: sour, bitter, sweet, pungent and salty. Since Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica put forward that "drugs have five flavors: sour, salty, sweet, bitter and pungent" and regarded them as medicinal properties, all previous dynasties' materia medica have followed them and continuously supplemented and developed them in long-term practice, gradually perfecting the five flavors of traditional Chinese medicine.
"Lu Chunqiu" records: "There must be ups and downs in harmony." "Soul Pivot, Evil Pathogens Hiding the Fu-organs" says: "Shui Gu has five flavors when he enters the stomach." It shows that the origin of the five flavors is mostly related to cooking and eating.
At first, the original meaning of five flavors refers to the true taste or smell of drugs, which is directly perceived by human taste organs (mouth taste or nose smell). For example, coptis is bitter, ebony is sour, ginger is pungent, licorice is sweet and so on. All of them reflect the true taste of drugs and belong to the category of medicinal properties. The taste of medicine originates from the mouth. In the long-term medical practice, the ancients found that different flavors have different functions. Su Wen's Zhi Zhen Da Yao Lun summarizes it as "pungent, sour, sweet, slow, bitter, firm, salty and soft", which summarizes the functions of the five flavors. Later generations of physicians made a supplement on this basis. Specifically, pungent flavor has the function of dispelling cold and activating collaterals, such as ginger dispelling cold, woody incense promoting qi, safflower promoting blood circulation; Sour taste has astringent and astringent effects, such as Schisandra chinensis astringent intestine to stop diarrhea; Sweet taste has the functions of tonifying, harmonizing and relieving pain, such as ginseng invigorating qi, rehmannia replenishing blood, licorice neutralizing, relieving pain, and reducing drug properties and toxicity; Bitter taste has the effects of purgation (including purgation and purgation) and dryness, such as rhubarb purgation, almond purgation, coptis purgation, Atractylodes rhizome drying dampness, Anemarrhena rhizome and phellodendron bark strengthening yin; Salty taste has the function of moistening intestines and relaxing bowels, such as diarrhea of mirabilite, dredging stool, softening and hardening oysters, and eliminating phlegm and nuclei; Light taste has the function of osmotic diuresis, such as poria cocos and coix seed osmotic diuresis.
According to the function of drugs, the taste of drugs is determined. Since the five flavors were used to summarize the functions of drugs, they have gradually developed into theoretical tools, and people have adopted the method of inferring taste by efficacy, thus producing abstract taste. In this way, the taste of drugs contained in materia medica does not conform to the actual taste. For example, the divergent function is defined as spicy, the nourishing function is defined as sweet and so on. If ephedra has no obvious pungent taste, it is defined as pungent taste because of its strong divergent effect. Another example is gypsum, which is tasteless, but its pungent taste has been recorded in past dynasties. Materia Medica is interpreted as "pungent and instant release". Therefore, the five flavors of drugs have gone through the cognitive process of "taste (taste in mouth) and functional taste (taste in performance)". In particular, the expressed taste has been separated or partially separated from the directly felt taste, which is a summary of the actual curative effect of drugs and has more direct guiding significance for clinical medication.
Second, quote quotations
Chinese medicine has a very long history in China. From Huangdi Neijing to Shennong Bencao Jing, the application of traditional Chinese medicine is discussed in detail. About the use characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine, it can be roughly divided into two parts: "sexual taste" and "meridian tropism". The so-called "sexual taste" refers to the "four qi and five flavors" of traditional Chinese medicine, or the "essential characteristics" of traditional Chinese medicine; And "meridian tropism" refers to the "exogenous tendency" of traditional Chinese medicine, which zang-fu organs and meridians are more easily connected with. With the progress of the times, in the Song and Jin Dynasties, Zhang creatively put forward the theory of "quoting classics" according to the thickness and the rise and fall of the four flavors of traditional Chinese medicine.
The so-called quoting classics seems mysterious, but it can be simply understood as "quoting classics". That is to say, when the prescription is formulated, the Chinese medicine that is intentionally added can directly "lead" the medicine to the hospital and play an auxiliary role. Generally speaking, in a prescription, as a "classic" Chinese medicine, most of them are just used blindly, and a few use two kinds of medicinal materials, while more than three kinds are extremely rare.
For example, we often say "clearing heat and purging fire". According to Zhang's theory, Rhizoma Coptidis should purge heart fire, Radix Scutellariae should purge lung fire, Rhizoma Anemarrhenae should purge liver fire, Caulis Akebiae should purge small intestine, and gypsum should purge stomach fire. In addition, Radix Bupleuri and Radix Scutellariae should be added to clear the lower energizer and disperse the fire of shaoyang. At this time, Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi and Coptis chinensis are the so-called "menstrual drugs".
After Zhang's theory of "quoting classics and reporting envoys" came out, it had a great influence on later physicians. On this basis, about 8 kinds of "menstruation-regulating drugs" were gradually sorted out and summarized:
1, drug-inducing ascending: this term is easy to understand, that is, guiding drugs ascending, and purposefully selecting "channel-inducing drugs" for prescriptions with head and face diseases. For example, "Asarum", Xanthium sibiricum, Platycodon grandiflorum and so on are all "menstruation-regulating drugs". It is worth mentioning that "Platycodon grandiflorum", known as "the root drops more, and Platycodon grandiflorum can rise", is often used as a "medicine for inducing menstruation" when the upper jiao is sick and needs to lift qi.
2. Drug-induced downward transport: The so-called drug-induced downward transport is different from our understanding of "severe downward diarrhea". There are two commonly used Chinese medicines: Cyathula and Inula. Among them, "Achyranthes bidentata" is recognized by doctors in past dynasties as a product to induce drugs to reduce sperm, while Inula has the saying that "a hundred flowers blossom and then fall alone". When the disease is in the lower energizer, you need to choose one more.
3. Introducing drugs to the disease site: China old saying "Introducing drugs to the disease site". For example, Notopterygium Notopterygium can lead medicine to the tip of upper limbs, and its "good brother" is good at leading medicine to lower limbs. The most famous drugs are scalp drugs: headache caused by Ligusticum, headache caused by shaoyang caused by Bupleurum, headache caused by Atractylodes macrocephala, etc.
4. Return the fire to Yuan: Where is the so-called Yuan? That is to say, less yin is also. For example, the "cinnamon" of Jinkui Shenqi Pill is actually the most commonly used product of "returning fire to yuan". Cinnamon is almost an essential "meridian-inducing medicine" for the syndrome of deficiency fire causing fire and yin-yang interaction.
5. Bleeding: This is easy to understand. When the Qi sinks, it becomes a necessary way to improve the Qi. For example, Buzhong Yiqi Decoction, a famous prescription for invigorating qi, contains Bupleurum and Cimicifuga, and its purpose is to improve the qi of ginseng and Astragalus, so as to promote the rise of clear qi in middle energizer.
6. Leading blood downward: There is a syndrome of "hyperactivity of liver yang" in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, which is caused by insufficient yin and blood in the liver meridian, failure to converge yang, and even hyperactivity of liver yang. At this time, you can see the image of red head and red face. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that this is caused by "blood flowing against qi", and "Achyranthes bidentata" is often used as a "menstruation-inducing drug" to induce blood to descend, so as to prevent syncope caused by "blood remaining qi rushing up".
7. Exogenous pathogen: Exogenous pathogen invades the body, and if it is depressed but not dispersed, it will easily block the qi movement. Therefore, Chinese medicine often says "dispersing exogenous pathogens", and the most commonly used "meridian-guiding drug" for inducing exogenous pathogens is Bupleurum. Xiaochaihu decoction of shaoyang syndrome and Chaihu's "reconciliation of shaoyang" actually mean attracting evil from outside;
8. Inducing pathogenic gas discharge: Contrary to the rising of air entraining, inducing pathogenic gas discharge is mainly to induce pathogenic gas to fall and come out from the lower coke. For example, the "Achyranthes bidentata" in Yunv decoction has the function of inducing heat and evil downward; Akebia manshuriensis in Daochi powder also has the function of guiding the fiery evil of heart meridian out of the waterway.
In a word, "Quoting Classics and Reporting" is a summary of the experience of traditional Chinese medicine medication by doctors in past dynasties. To sum up, it is mainly based on the unique "ups and downs" of traditional Chinese medicine and the location of the disease. This is of great guiding value to the actual formula.