Thoughts on Zang Fu Theory, the Tai Ji symbol and Nature

Posted on | December 12, 2008 |

In Daoism, in the beginning of time, there existed the Wu Ji (無極), which could be considered the state of existence before any creation - it was the Primordial Qi (氣). Wu Ji literally means “lacking in extremes,” and represents a time without any differentiation. At some point along this Path of Qi (the Dao 道), the Tai Ji (太極) emerged. Tai Ji has the meaning of “great extremes,” and in the West, we recognize this concept by what we call the “Yin Yang symbol.”

In the Tai Ji symbol, we can see the interplay of extremes, which, even though they are opposites, when the apex of each is reached, the beginning of the next is born. We call these two extremes “Yin” and “Yang.”

Because of the complexities that are created from the interplay of the two extremes, the Chinese divided the pie of possibilities into five categories. Each category was named after a natural symbol, which could be used to point at the various occurrences born from the interplay between Heaven and Earth (or Yin and Yang). Fire represented the apex of Yang and Water represented the apex of Yin. Wood represented the birth and rising of the Yang after the Yin had reached it’s apex, and Metal represented the death and decay that builds after the height of the Yang. Earth represented the central core that held the entire process together - for if it were not held together, the extremes would separate and the Qi would return to it’s Wu Ji state.

Every material thing and experience in the world could then be described by this macrocosmic view. Zang Fu theory is the story of the macrocosm with it’s pertinent symbols applied to the human body. Each Chinese organ in the body is considered to be either more Yin or more Yang. Because some of the organs (Liver, Heart, Lung, Kidney and Spleen) have a denser nature and are considered to store the spirits, they are classified as Yin organs. Because some of the organs are viewed as filled with space (Gall Bladder, Small Intestine, Large Intestine, Bladder and Stomach) , they are classified as the Yang organs. This does not mean that the organs are completely Yin or completely Yang (because by definition, such a thing would mean they could not exist), but rather that some of the organs embody more of the characteristics of these ideas. Once an organ has been classified as either Yin or Yang - it can then be classified under one of the five symbols.

For example, the Heart is classified as a Yin organ, and within it’s Yin classification, it has an association with the Fire phase of the Tai Ji cycle. The Fire phase represents what can be seen at 12:00 on the symbol (if we were to place an analog clock over the top of it). This is the apex of the Yang, as it has reached it’s height, but it must also be understood that this is the most Yin part of the whole process. The Tai Ji symbol shows us this with a small black (yin) circle in the center of the Yang head. Just as a seed is the most concentrated nature of a plant, and an egg is the most concentrated nature of the human being - so we find here the seed of the Yin. With this we know that in the Wu Xing (五行), we can see that the symbol of Fire represents this hot, expansive and upwards moving Yang energy, but it also holds the information that the seed of Yin has now been planted and will soon begin to take over. We see this in all things at this phase of their cyclical nature: the summer, adulthood, volcanic eruption, etc… Zang Fu theory strives to make these connections in the body, and in doing so, it uses the symbol of Fire to point at the meaning of the Heart within the body.  It is very important to note that the Heart is identified as the Yin-Fire organ, and so what exactly is the Yin at the Fire time? It’s the seed of Yin that is settled there, and only because it is there can the Yang burn so very brightly and be at it’s most expansive.

When we think about one of the biggest roles of the Heart in Chinese medicine, it is to hold the Shen spirit, and in this way, it must be the most concentrated of all of the Yin organs in the body.  It is through this dense nature that the vibrant and heavenly Shen spirit is able to burn, like a fire on precious oil, within our bodies. The Heart rules the blood, which is one of the dark Yin fluids of the body, but it is responsible for transmitting the warmth of the Shen throughout the body. Here again is the concentrated Yin holding onto the Yang. Because everything in Chinese medical philosophy is holographic, the Heart can be split into more and more divisions (Heart Yang, Heart Yin, Heart Qi, etc…), but if taken back to the Tai Ji symbol, the answers can be deduced in the same way.

To move to a different place in the cycle, we can use the Small Intestine as another illustration. The Small Intestine will stand very close to the Heart’s realm on the Tai Ji. This is a sensitive time for the dark and congealing energies and while they are beginning to manifest in potential, the Yang is burning at it’s brightest. The Small Intestine is considered to be a Yang-Fire organ, and so is going to represent more of the Yang nature that is taking place at the Fire phase of the clock; the end of the summer, the flowing of the lava. From Chapter 8 of the Suwen, it can be said that the Small Intestine holds the office of he who acts as Receiver and Repository and takes care of the transfer of matter. At the end of the summer, we can see that the fruits are filled with sunlight and nutrients and explode with their seeds. I think that this is the role of the Small Intestine in the body. It is said in Zang Fu theory that the Small Intestine separates the clear from the turbid. This can be seen as the end of summer process in which the sun is beating down on the mountains and the sea, evaporating their essences (and almost succussing them for the planet) so that they can rain back down onto the world in the Fall. Whereas the Heart plays more of a holding and storing function, the Small Intestine plays more of an evaporation and separation function.

If we move our attention to the opposite end of the symbol, we find water represented. We can take a look at Kidney function in the body now, which is described as Yin Water in Zang Fu theory. This can be seen as the Yin of the Yin, and should be noted as the time in nature when things are congealed, condensed and covered. A great symbol for this is the seed buried beneath the snow. It holds the memories of all the plants that have produced it through the ages, and in this memory lies the pilot light of it’s species. The Yin within Water is the time of rest during which this seed sits and waits. It is the will of the seed, the fidelity it has to it’s origins that is really stored inside.

Zang Fu theory connects the Kidney to the storing of the Zhi spirit, which is often translated as “will” or “fidelity,” and we can see this connection in the seed, the winter and the ocean. The Kidney is also connected with the reproductive function of the human being, and this is easy to see with the seed metaphor. Through the controlling of the water metabolism, the Kidney also plays a role in separating the clear from the turbid, which is a major function taking place during the winter time.

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I'm a Chinese medicine student who uses this blog as a place to store my thoughts and occasionally rant and rave about things I trip over in life.

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