WFAS International symposium on Acupuncture, Rome 2002
Date : November 8th 2002 Friday
Session Hour : 16 : 20 – 18 : 30
Room : Main Hall
Seeking the Origin of Oriental Medicine in the Theory of “I”
Tokyo Japan
Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Osteopath Clinic
Clinic Director Mitsunori Seino
Introduction
Current research into the academic system of the fields of oriental medicine related in particular to acupuncture, moxibustion and herbal medicine is not properly based on oriental concepts (Chinese philosophy). Furthermore, the disaffection of theoretical and clinical aspects of oriental medicine (the medical arts of acupuncture and moxibustion) seems to impede further development of oriental medicine. I believe that a unified language is required for the theory and practice of oriental medicine. Thus, my studies are based on the theoretic of “I” as the origin of ideographic culture.
Methods
The most valid theory pertaining to the establishment of “I” holds that “gua” (designations) were introduced through Fuyi and "tuan" (tuanci = guanci) by Wén Wáng, while "yao"（yaoci）has been attributed to Zhōu Gong and Shí yì (ten wings) (comprising 2 chapters of "tuanzhuan" and 2 chapters of “xiangzhuan”, "wenyanzhuan", 2 chapters of "xicizhuan", "shuoguazhuan", "xuguazhuan" and "zaguanzhuan") to Confucius, but no complete forms of these texts have survived. Therefore, the "Shí sān jing zhù shú" version compiled by Wáng Bí is considered to be the definitive text on this subject. I searched these texts for uses of the characters "Yin" and "Yang" and discussed their linguistic interpretation with reference to the background of characters as they appeared at that time.
Results
The entire volume of the “Shí sān jing zhù shú” of the Book of Changes contains 21,055 characters, including a total of 1,363 different ideographs. This represents a comparatively high ratio of different characters to total number of characters. The first ideograph used is the character “gang”, meaning strength. In the field of “I” things are usually expressed in terms of mutually exclusive but complementary concepts. Examination showed that while the pairs "gang - strength – rou - gentleness", "ji - fortune – xiong - misfortune" and "jiu - nine – liu - six" are used frequently, use of the pair “yin - yang” is comparatively rare.
A closer examination regarding the terms "yin" and "yang" shows that the term "yin" was used 20 times and the character "yang" was used 19 times. Thus, “yin” is the 187th most frequently used character while “yang” is the 198th. The character “yin” was used in the following sections with the given frequency: "kunweidi - 3 (xiangzhuan - 1, wenyanzhuan - 2), ditiantai - 1 (yaozhuan), tiandifou - 1 (yaozhuan), zefengzhongfu - 1(tuanci = guanci) and the rest were found in “xici”, 4 in the first and 6 in the second volume and 4 in shuoguazhuan. The character “yang” was found to be used twice in qianweitian (xiangzhuan - 1, wenyanzhuan - 1), 3 times in kunweidi (wenyanzhuan - 2), once in ditiantai (yaozhuan), once in tiandifou (yaozhuan), while the rest were found in xici, 3 in the first volume and 6 in second. Examination of the places they appear reveals that in 38 out of the 39 instances these characters appeared in the Shí yì written by Confucius. This suggests that they have come into use relatively recently.
Linguistic interpretation reveals the following aspects of the “yin - yang” concept as it is used in “I”.
1. The characters “yin - yang” are relative.
2. The mutual ideas of “yin-yang” are understood as a dynamic and not a constant.
3. Neither yin nor yang exists independently as a substance or idea. Their concepts are apparent only when they are applied to objects.
Discussion
In the field of “I” pairs of characters are frequently used. These include for example the characters for "fortune - ji" (288 occurrences), "misfortune - xiong" (118 occurrences), "nine - jiu" (219 occurrences), "six - liu" (230 occurrences), "strength - gang" (95 occurrences), "gentleness - rou" (66 occurrences). Examination of the use of these characters with regard to historic context shows that terms expressing relative comparisons include a wide variety of meanings, which finally led to their expression as the symbols/ideographs of "yin" and "yang". This suggests that the generalized "yin - yang theory" formulated by people of later periods has its origins in " I". It is hard to understand the classics like Su Wen (essential questions), Ling Shu (miraculous pivot) and Nan Jin (difficult issues) because the ideographs in these classics have a strong tendency to be used as symbols. However, I realize that interpreting background and meaning of ideographs used in “I Ching” and proceeding to decipher ideographs in the classics based on Yin Yang theory can reduce the hardship of understanding of the classics.
Conclusion
Understanding of classics like Su Wen (essential questions), Ling Shu (miraculous pivot) and Nan Jing (difficult issues) will probably be facilitated when based on the "yin - yang concepts" used in “I”. Thus, I believe that by using common terminology, based on an understanding of the linguistics used in “I”, and its application to clinical practice, the disaffection between oriental medicine and medical care, particularly acupuncture and moxibustion, can be eliminated.
Key words: “I”, yin, yang, ideograph, oriental medicine