How the Chinese organ clock yields a more nuanced view of the Heart
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Here I will present a basic overview of TCM information concerning the Heart and then add a layer of information gleaned from the Organ clock (a more CCM way of looking at things). I want to do this to demonstrate how the Classical approach yields a more nuanced view than the straight organ-based TCM approach does, including a small aspect of the clinical relevance of this approach. Disclaimer : I’m still a student. :)
The Heart is a central organ system. From the perspective of governmental metaphor, the Heart is most easily compared to the Ruler of feudal society. What does the ruler do? It’s tempting to simply say that he rules and leave it at that. However, most rulers through history have acted less as hands-on managers of their empires and acted more as figureheads – acting as moral compasses, inspiring and motivating the people when needed, acting as interpreters of Divine law and generally providing a center point around which the wheel of government turned. The Heart is said to provide a similar function for the human body. To look at this and say that the Heart is “most important” would be erroneous. The Emperor without his ministers, without the workers, without the land – is nothing. It is an interdependent system. But, still, the Emperor is crucial and a lot of attention should be paid to those things that are crucial. We’ll do so now.
In TCM, the Heart is said to have many functions/associations:
- The Heart contains the Shen, which rules the other “spirits” of the Zang organs
- Shen, as I have explained briefly elsewhere, can be translated as “Spirit” but it contains more meaning than the normal English concept of Spirit. Many contemporary commentators talk about Shen simply as consciousness, but I feel it is more than that.
- The Heart governs the Blood Vessels
- The Heart acts as Ruler of the other organ systems
- The Heart, as related to the brain and consciousness, is in charge of many mental processes (one can see this as similar to the Heart’s function via its relationship to Shen – the fire of consciousness)
- The Heart propels the Blood
- The Heart governs speech
- There are other attributes, but these are the main ones mentioned in a variety of texts.
In truth, despite all of these things, most Heart related pathologies diagnosed in TCM have to do with mental function or, sometimes, heart organ abnormalities (such as blood stasis in the Heart yielding angina). In clinic, I mostly see Heart Qi/Blood deficiency (with palpitations and poor memory) and some version of the confusingly named “Heart Fire” resulting in insomnia, anxiety and some type of vexation. Rarely do I see doctors diagnosing a problem with the heart when there are circulation problems (blood vessels) or speech problems. Further, I think that there should be more attention paid to the fact that, as EMPEROR of the other organ systems, the Heart may be a great place to look when a seemingly unrelated pathology is difficult to cure with the methods we would normally utilize. While I will not focus much on blood vessel or speech problems in this article – I would like to do so in the future.
For now, to help us understand the Heart a little more deeply, I offer a brief exposition of some of the basic symbols associated with the Heart on the Chinese medicine organ clock. I will then describe some ways we can use this understanding to expand on the basic information we learn from TCM literature.
What do we learn about the Heart organ system from the organ clock?
Temporal nature : 11-1pm (High Noon) and the Summer Solstice
At first glance, the pairing of the Heart with high noon makes intuitive sense. This is the time we associate with the zenith of the sun, the burning off of morning fogs, the time when all things are apparent, illuminated, complete. But look again at the symbol for the taiji and superimpose this over the organ clock. Remember these symbol fields are multi-layered and 
while some aren’t meant to be compared one-to-one, the flow of Yin and Yang through the organ clock (and through the days on Earth) is a crucial piece of information in our understanding of organ systems.
This is the time of the birth of the Yin. Which brings us to another temporal aspect of the Heart – it is situated at the time of the Summer solstice. The solstice is the time of the greatest day length – so again, it is all flourishing and awake and alive. However, the hidden principle is the one of the birth of the dark – for the zenith of a thing always brings about its immediate descent into expiration. What goes up must come down.
What does this tell us about the Heart? That while it is a very Yang organ, as the Emperor should be, but it also contains a deep Yin principle within it. Our professor, Heiner Fruehauf, often relates the Heart to the feminine principle – which makes sense given this information. In that way, it may be more accurate for us to think of the Heart as the Empress – or some amalgam of the Emperor and Empress. Here is perfect control, high intelligence, beauty, grace, compassion, mercy and power. It is an intensely active principle – Yang – but with this huge strength of the Yin.
Why do I say that the strength of Yin is large when it is, in reality, just the beginning of the growth of Yin? Because the entire momentum of Yin’s growth starts at this point – it somehow contains the whole force of the future splendor of Yin’s fullness. It is strong in the sense that is young, vital, and on the ascent.
I think this Yin principle is very important. At the height of summer, at the height of noon, this is when we may have the tendency to go all upward and outward – but it is crucially important that we go within, nourish our deep spiritual nature. Some cultural customs bear this out – such as the tradition of the midday siesta and the many spiritual activities that go on around the summer solstice. I think that, in some ways, the failure to do this can be seen in American capitalist culture. The principle of constant up, out, grow, flourish is often not balanced with careful reflection, willingness to “stand down,” controlled descent and respect for the more passive aspects of the universe. This failure has penetrated the consciousness of many American people and others affected by this philosophy and may have something to do with much of the pathology we see today. More about this later.
Earthly Branch Wu : combined with the symbolism of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac
The Earthly branch Wu 午, reinforces what we’ve already discussed about the Summer Solstice – given that it is the Earthly branch associated with that part of the year. It is a picture of either a battering ram or a mortar and pestle, and thus we see again the idea of death or destruction in this life affirming and light giving symbol of the Heart. Wu 午 is also associated with the number five insofar that it is pronounced the same as 五, Wu – “five.”
This brings us to consideration of the association of the number five and the Heart. We should note that we’re talking about the fifth month when we talk about the Heart. The number five is extremely important in Chinese cosmology – witness the deep symbolism of the five elements and a whole variety of other symbolism assocaited with five. There’s just so much that I could say in this realm (and actually did, but then deleted to save your poor eyes) but I will have to stop here for the sake of article length.
The Earthly Branch Wu 午 is related to the Horse in the Chinese Zodiac. Remember, the Earthly Branches were associated with an animal to help them be easier to understand by the common people. The Horse is a particularly fascinating symbol for the Heart, which I could talk for a long time about. But consider just a few simple items. The horse is tireless, constantly galloping away, carrying great loads, even fighting in battle – just as our physical Heart must
persist throughout our lifetimes. The horse seems to share a Shen level connection with the human being – a really close rider and horse seem to read one another’s minds, few verbal commands are needed when the relationship is strong. The horse is one of the most beloved animals in all cultures, people sometimes take better care of their horses than they do their children!
I am certain there is more to understand about the horse – I would love to hear what people come up with in the comments to this post – please post below!
As always, there are many more symbols that we can pull from the organ clock to help us understand the Heart more deeply – but let’s work with what we have so far.
How does this help us understand the Heart more completely?
There’s a lot one could say about these symbols. The most important take-home message I have received is the crucial nature of respecting the Yin nature of the Heart. However, I don’t think you should start dousing your anxiety ridden patients with cooling herbs! On the contrary, they probably need Fu Zi. Which actually brings me to an important relationship and my overall point. You’ll excuse me if I diverge a bit into conjecture and philosophical exploration? Thanks.
We often talk about the relationship of the Heart and Kidney – fire and water. They are obviously related via their Liuqi designation of Shaoyin, or lesser Yin. We learn that the Shaoyin fire of the Heart must descend through the Earth to reach the Shaoyin water of the Kidney. In doing so, the cold Kidney water, the depth of our wisdom and lineage, is animated by the pure fire of Spirit and consciousness. Wisdom without use of that wisdom is nothing but a lifeless puddle. Likewise, the pure Kidney water must be steamed up to cool and contain the sometimes over-exuberant Heart Shen. Consciousness without wisdom quickly becomes tyranny and zealotry.
This is one way that I understand the importance of using Fu Zi even in the case of patients who appear to have lots of flaring Heat – such as patients with intense insomnia and anxiety. So many TCM physicians would balk at serving Fu Zi to such a patient. To provide one example of a powerful use of this principle, let’s go to that little book known as the Shang Han Lun.
下之後．復發汗．晝日煩躁不得眠．夜而安靜．不
嘔不渴．無表證．脈沈微者．乾薑附子湯主之
Xià zhīhòu．fù fāhàn．zhòurì fánzào bùdé mián．yè ér ānjìng．bù
ǒu bù kě. wú biǎozhèng．mài chén wēi, shēn wú dà rè zhě,gān jiāng fùzǐ tāng zhǔ zhī.
When precipitation has been used, yet sweating is then promoted so that the person in the daytime is vexed, agitated and sleepless, but by night time becomes peaceful and retching, thirst, exterios signs and great generalized heat are all absent, and the pulse is sunken adn faint, then Gan Jiang Fu Zi Tang governs (Mitchell/Ye/Wiseman version).
While I would like to think that most doctors would see patient with this picture – particularly the faint pulse – and realize that an intensely warming formula can be indicated, I think that most would still shun such strength and instead use something milder, more cooling, and most likely less effective.
One more point and then I’ll close this article. I believe that this fire-water relationship and the general Yin nature of the Heart leads us to realize the wisdom of having a well-developed spirituality. Only by combining the deep wisdom of contemplation (dwelling in the water) with the animating ecstacy of consciousness (dwelling in the fire) can we have balance. Advising our patients to nourish themselves in this way – of course without necessarily promoting a particular practice or tradition – may go a long way to helping them achieve greater health.
Chinese medicine and the senses : Part I : Scent
As I have been contemplating this new project that Abdallah and I have begun, I’ve found myself stymied at times. The aim of the project is clear, but the methodology is less so. Simply, everything that we’ve said in our introductory posts makes a ton of sense on a variety of levels, but when it gets down to “doing,” things become a little unclear. I know what I want to put out (multi-media posts that draw all of us deeper into our relationship with the world and its interpenetration with Chinese medical concepts) but how do I get the inputs to create the outputs?
Why is this harder than it sounds?
In the United States, and I suppose in most Western countries, our sensory experiences are more or less controlled. For the most part they are stifled, except for sight and hearing which are simply overwhelmed. Actually, thinking about it, we overwhelm all of our senses – limiting what they experience to a set number of approved, mostly synthetic items and then amping those up to the nth degree. I’ve grown up in the States my entire life, thus I’m subject to this dismal state of affairs. Fortunately, through Qigong and other experiences, I’ve gradually learned to lighten up, literally and figuratively.
Regardless, I find that fully utilizing my sensory capabilities requires effort – most of all it requires intention. The sense of smell is particularly interesting. So, to start a short series on the senses and how to return them to their natural state and attune them to a higher degree than ever – I’ll offer my thoughts on the sense of smell.
Chinese medicine and the sense of smell
In Chapter 11 of the Neijing Suwen, it says:
“故五氣入鼻藏於心肺．心肺有病．而鼻為之不利也”
This has been translated in a couple of different ways. The basic translation says:
“When the five Qi/odors enter the nose, they are stored in the Heart and Lung. Heart and Lung disease is detrimental for the nose.”
Maoshing Ni goes on to posit that the five scents are really “the five qi of environmental energy that we breathe in.” Regardless of the fact that I don’t see this particular statement in the text (thus underscoring my basic problem with Ni’s translation) it is interesting to contemplate. What is odor? Certainly it is Qi – but beyond that? In thinking about this, consider the Neijing’s statement that the odors are 藏/cang/stored by the Heart and Lung. The Lung makes a lot of sense given that the nose is the orifice of the Lung in both a Western and Chinese context. But what does it mean to say that the Lung receives and stores these odors? One could posit that they become part of the Qi that then rains down on the body as heavenly restorative water/Qi. I’m not sure if that position could be supported by the texts.
More interesting to me is the relation of odors and the Heart. What can it mean that the Heart stores odors? You’ll excuse me if I offer my own simple theories. As famously studied by Gilles Laurent at Cal Tech, there is a powerful association between scent and human memory. Nothing brings back a scene or person to the mind like a scent last experienced in that scene or with that person. When considering this idea, I most naturally think about the smell of my clothing when I come back from my mother’s house on a visit. I smell her for weeks afterward – and though the smell is created in part from her detergent, there is more to it than that. The scent is wrapped up in emotion, the scent contains not just detergent fragrances, but her spaghetti sauce aroma, her hair, the smell of Idaho, cold winters, the essence of what comes from her pores as a product of all she eats, drinks… well, you get the idea. The memories triggered are as complex.
Consider also the devotional aspects of scent – incense of various kinds have been used in religious ceremony and other spiritual activity since time immemorial. The Catholics still use incense as part of Mass, as do some Episcopalian congregations. Buddhist and Hindu shrines are nearly always adorned with incense censers. We can also think about the effects of Moxibustion using artemesia. While some people hate moxa for its thick smoke and messy nature, I find it to bring an essential element to treatments where it is indicated. While not explicitly of a spiritual nature, I do believe that there is something of an offering that occurs when using moxa in treatment.
This relationship of memory and spirituality to the sense of smell helps me to link it to the Heart. While we often talk about the Kidney as being the storehouse of memory in Chinese Medicine, from what I’ve read and learned, the type of memory held by the Kidney is more primal, older and is less easily accessed by consciousness. The Heart seems a likely place (especially in its relationship to the Western concept of mind) to store the memories of this life. The Heart’s relationship to Shen makes its connection to human spirituality quite clear.
In classical five element acupuncture, the art of smelling is still employed. The five odors, discussed first in the Neijing, are assessed by the practitioner to help understand the primary pathology of the patient, as well as used as a key in discovering the patient’s landscape tendency (constitutional factor). This is one of the most difficult diagnostic techniques for Westerners, as I’ve already hinted at. I find it to be incredibly difficult, personally, particularly given how so many patients cover up their natural odor as a matter of course. For the sake of completeness, I should list the five odors!
- Fire : scorched – one of my professors says that this is the smell of recently dried clothes
- Earth : fragrant – like rotten vegetables or new compost
- Metal : rotten – like a garbage bin or feces
- Water : putrid – like urine or stale wine
- Wood : rancid – like rancid oil, mcdonalds
Scent and herbal medicine
Briefly, what is the role of scent in Chinese herbal medicine? Most would say, “There is no role!” I disagree. One of the reasons I am a huge proponent of patients taking home and cooking their own bulk herbs is because of the experience they gain by doing so. Looking at the herbs, smelling them in their dried state, allowing the smell to permeate their living space, smelling their powerful odors when drinking – all of this, in my opinion, is part of the therapy. While many patients are unwilling to have this experience, it is one I encourage and have benefited from personally. The worst case scenario with regards to this would be taking pills of granuled Chinese herbs. I believe the move in this direction is detrimental, but understand when some patients choose this path.
Scent and the natural world
The sense of smell is much more emphasized in certain animals, including dogs. The sense of smell is a fantastic way to seek out prey that is not yet within range of the vision. While animals that live their lives in the air can afford to skimp on smell and focus on vision, animals that do most of their hunting in forests and tall grass fields need an alternative way to seek out their prey.
The natural world is full of odor. The sweet decay of Pacific Northwestern forest floors. The acrid, putrid, complicated smells of downtown sidewalks. The unbearable sweetness of babies nursing for the first time. Blood, urine, feces, animals marking their territory with complicated brews of hormones and urine – these less pleasant smells are just as much a part as any of the others. The human world is no different in this respect, though we would like it to be so.
Fearless smelling
Being able to integrate myself fully into the world using all of my senses is the primary methodology of this Chinese Medicine awareness project. So, how to proceed with the sense of smell? My first trick will be simply to allow myself to smell everything, without reservation. This means making a conscious effort to breathe deeply through my nose at all times. I will also be going out of my way to smell things that are likely to be interesting or complex. I will also be practicing this during tea drinking. The difference in smell between two otherwise similar puerh teas, for example, can be remarkable and really impacts the experience of the tea. This, of course, brings me around to the importance of smell for TASTE – but perhaps that’s for another article.
Do you have any ideas of how one can integrate the exercise of the sense of smell into daily living? Share your thoughts in the comments!
It drops deep as it does in my breath
I am in a state of heightened awareness as I sit down to write this post.
My breathing is deep and slow, without my direction. My posture is erect as possible but without strain. My vision is open and yet acute. I feel the air coming in to the edges of my nostrils. I feel it careen down my windpipe and alight on the left-side of my throat, where my dry cough originates. I get this when I talk too much: after lecturing for 8 hours without a break, which I do frequently. Suddenly I am aware of the stickiness, a sink of sorts, that draws the inspiration to that place. I am breathing. It appears before my mind’s eye. It is paler than you’d think, not red or inflamed. I can see the network of vessels visible under the thin mucous layer. I feel my chest expanding from the corners, in dark hollows . As I close my eyes for a moment, my shoulders drop. They’ve been folded into an origami crane’s tail all of this time. Now there’s clouds forming before the craggy precipice of my shoulders.
How can I understand my experience (recognizing that I do not need to understand it)?
Can it be the Oud I was compelled to wear today? Incidentally, Oud derives from the same tree that gives us the medicinal Chen Xiang: why not grab your Materia Medica and look it up. Feel the pages beneath your fingertips. Write down some notes long-hand, allowing your hand to teach your heart away from the abstraction that marks the computer keyboard.
Lung Qi opens into the nose; when the Lung is in harmony, the nose will distinguish the fragrant from the foul
That’s a simple statement. I have patients with multiple chemical sensitivities that can tell you the difference. But what about the things that we say unwittingly about others? What about the thoughts that waft before us?
Can this state derive from my son regaling me with plans to tour Tasmania to see the Eastern Rosella in the wild?
Can it be this passage from A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century
Purity is reached through the Absolute Water, the Water of the Unseen, that is, the Limpidity with which the visible world is flooded, Limpidity which is variegated in Its manifestation, One with Itself in Its seeming multiplicity, Self-manifested, Hidden through the intensity of Its manifestation, Absolute in Its relativity-this Water which is free from any taint and which availeth for purification…This restriction excludeth the waters of the sensible world and the psychic world, since both of these waters have suffered change from their original state. It is the water of the Spirit which fulfills all that the definition requireth, for This is indeed Absolute, being free from any taint, and remaining ever as It was, not adulterated by anything, not flavored by anything, not added to anything, not restricted by anything, with naught above It and naught beneath It. Here lieth the Truth of Absoluteness and it is only This that deserveth the name Water.
Simple Signs, Symbol Science
Really, this is the crux of the matter. The point of the last passage is not in the symbolism of water, just as my writing about the Lung does not affect my breath. It is rather, that the believer, no matter what symbolism he sees, still performs his ritual ablution, and is purified in it whether he recognizes the Absolute Water or not. Indeed it is the joining of the simple action and the unseen aspects of it that are the realm of the symbolic, but still transcend beyond it.
I guess, what we are going for has been aptly described by Heiner Fruehauf in his freely available papers at Classical Chinese Medicine. There he defines the concept of symbolique developed by R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz:
the highly complex science of synthesising the manifold layers of reality into a single crystal of meaning.
So what we’re going for is reconstructing the awareness that informs the science right where we are, and in doing what we’re doing. The next action, then, is to offer that glimpse to you, by whatever means necessary. Each of the things that informs my experience of this day, with all of its metal and Lung-oriented imagery could be a photo, a poem, a story, or an investigation of scents, tastes, sights, and sensations. Honestly, I haven’t written a complete poem since the week before starting acupuncture school. My photographic chops are nil (and I will not take pictures of people or many living things). But as for a spirit of experimentation and an inner attention to the senses, those I have in spades. Thanks for coming along for the ride….
Abdallah
Learning about the Large Intestine using the Chinese Organ Clock, Part II
In the first part of this post on the Large Intestine organ system, we discussed some basic information including: the name and official related to LI, the five element and six conformation designation and more. In this post, I’d like to dig a little deeper into the symbolism of this important organ system. In particular, I’d like to reflect on the way that the Large Intestine organ system, similar to its Metal partner the Lung, creates a conversation about purity and impurity in the body.
Hexagram 34 : Da Zhuang : 大壯
There was some discussion of this hexagram in Delli’s post about the balance of Wood and Metal energy, and I’d just like to add to that description. Stephen Karcher interprets the name of this hexagram as “Invigorating Strength” in his Total I Ching, others call it variously Great invigoration or Great strength and of course many other translations exist. I think that Karcher puts it well when he interprets the text as indicating,
“The way to deal with it is to focus your strength through a central creative idea. Putting your ideas to the trial will bring profit and insight. Beware of hurting others through excessive use of force” (Karcher 271).
This is, in a way, a perfect encapsulation of all that I talked about in the previous article! In the energy of Large intestine, we have great capacity to focus (transmit the Dao, give birth, get things done – just PUSH) and the danger for that focus and force to turn destructive (the Dictator, great fevers). On a more psychological level, Large Intestine energy gives us the ability to focus our power on a single point and move through any difficulty until our deed is done. This is a great skill whether we are employing it in the bathroom (!) or the boardroom. (Editors note: How could I resist?)
The more esoteric factors come in when we consider the trigrams that this hexagram is composed of – which Delli already elegantly spoke about in the article referenced above. The combination of Wood over Metal, Thunder over Heaven creates a situation of invigoration, movement, excitement and – ultimately – new beginnings. We must clean out the old to bring in the new, and the force that allows us to do this must be up to the task. Heiner Fruehauf would often talk about the Large Intestine as being the purest of the organ systems, because it has to deal with the least pure of substances – it requires great purity to maintain deep purity for the body. We can think about the use of colonics on a base level to represent the essence of this ideal – keep the colon clean and free flowing and your body can detoxify.
More about Metal
Metal has many characteristics and associations that resonate with what we’ve discussed about Large Intestine. The color of Metal is white – the purest color in the spectrum, the reflection of all color back to the observer – nothing “sticking” to the object. Most Western cultures tend to associate white with purity, chastity, even divinity. The scent of Metal is pungent – which I always associate with much incense. Incense and other pungent things can be used to open the mind, to communicate with Spirit. All of these upward, brilliant, pure things infuse the Large Intestine with the ability to deal with impurity – the ability to “transmit the Dao/way” and to create “change and transformation.”
Importantly, the Yin emotion most often associated with Metal is sadness or grief. When people have a great injury to a Metal organ system, they have a tendency to stay in grief, to not let go. This is a malfunction, in a way, of the descending quality of Metal. You are unable to let things fall where they may. On the other hand, we can think of it as becoming dragged down in the filth, unable to let the filthy things leave our view but instead stay there creating toxicity. Of course it is normal to have sadness when a sad event has occurred – but the tendency to hang on to these things is never healthy. We must learn to let go of the things that are ready to pass (Large Intestine) and take in the freshness of the new world we are privileged to live in (Lung).
Large Intestine 1 : Metal point of the Yang Metal channel : 商陽, shāng yáng, the metal note
To show how this can manifest on a very specific practical level, consider the metal point on the Large Intestine channel – LI1, the Jing-well point of the Large Intestine channel. As many Jing-well points, LI-1 is excellent at clearing acute accumulations of heat, but on the Yangming Large Intestine channel, perhaps this effect is even more emphasized. Its use in descending the fire in cases of high fever certainly resonate with what we’ve been discussing so far. It is also known for its ability to descend Qi stagnation in the chest through its connection to the Lung – again we see use of the physiological descending property of the Large Intestine. Some Worsley-style five element acupuncturists use this point to descend mental stagnation, encouraging the patient to “let go” of old emotions that no longer serve. Certainly the rest of us could learn something from this usage.
I will end this article here, though clearly there is much more to say. I’ve only provided a brief glimpse into the symbolism of this mediator of the pure and impure. I’m interested to hear comments from readers – how does this resonate with your picture of Large Intestine and how does it clash? Can you see any practical benefits to working with this kind of knowledge? NCNM students, chime in with your further understanding of this material – we’ve learned so much – let’s share! :)
Eric
Learning about the Large Intestine through the Chinese medicine organ clock, Part I
This post is part of a series of articles discussing the symbolism of the organ systems of Chinese Medicine. To help dig into the rich symbolism of the way that Chinese medicine describes the body, I am using the Chinese organ clock. As always, this information comes from my distillation of what my teachers have graciously offered to me liberally mixed with my own understanding and experience. I hope it will be of use to students and practitioners as well as being of interest to savvy members of the general public. To make the series easier to digest, I’ve decided to break each organ system post into pieces. This is post 1 of 2 about the Large Intestine.
I have already written about the Lung organ system – check it out if you’re interested.
Large Intestine : The Rising Sun
The Large Intestine organ system sits at the time of 5-7am on the Chinese organ clock. This is the time of the sunrise, at least most of the time. :) This energy is very much part of the power of the Large Intestine – imagine the brilliance and activation that comes with those first rays of the sun. A great tool for understanding the Large Intestine, then, is easily available to almost anyone. Wake early, say around 4:30am. Head to a nearby area that gets a fair amount of traffic, preferably a downtown area. Sit somewhere in the open from about 5 to about 7am and just observe. This is the essence of Large Intestine. It also works, particularly in the summer, in a very wild natural area where you’re likely to see the natural habits of animals and plants… but I’ve found the urban environment to be quite a good teacher.
It is the bursting forth of activity, of the physicality of living systems, that is so resonant with the energy of the Large Intestine. I think that the Fu organs are often unfairly overlooked – thought to be merely accessories to the Zang. While some texts may suggest that this is the case, I feel it is worth your time to consider the role of the Fu organs in physiology. The Large Intestine, especially, holds many powerful secrets.
What’s in a name?
Large Intestine in Chinese is called 大腸 Da Chang, the Great/Big Intestine. Certainly this name seems to be relatively straight forward. One note, however, is that the second character – Chang – contains the phoenetic element Yang 昜 . Yang relates to the activity of the sun – so this is a kind of organ/flesh (meaning of the other radical in Chang -月 Rou) that has the power of the sun. Large Intestine shares this character and thus this meaning with Small Intestine, Xiao Chang. So the pair together have some power of the sun, the Yang force that sustains all life on Earth.
What does the Neijing say?
One really starts to think highly of the Large Intestine when the Neijing gets involved. :) In Chapter 8, where each organ system is described, we can read:
大 腸 者 ， 傳 道 之 官 ， 變 化 出 焉
Dà cháng zhě ， chuán dǎo zhī guān ， biàn huà chū yān
One translation: Large Intestine is the official of the transmission of the Way, change and transformation emerge from it.
Of course there are many possible translations – from the basest translation informed by the known physiological function of the Large Intestine to the most esoteric! But it is remarkable that the Neijing chose to use such a deeply philosophical term – Dao (Tao) the Way – in the line for an organ that so many of us think of as vile and not worthy of notice. At my school, the latter part of that sentence is debated – it seems – every single class. Bian Hua is a term used in many places in the Classical texts and each professor has their own assessment of its meaning and importance. That alone should give us pause. In the second part of this article, this paradoxically veneration of Large Intestine will be discussed again.
Element (Wu Xing) + Conformation (Liu Qi)
The Large Intestine is Yang Ming Metal – which reveals yet another side of this intriguing organ. Yang Ming is, symbolically and otherwise, the stage of an illness when great fevers can mount. Yangming disease includes obstruction of the bowel. In all cases, Yangming diseases involve heat, often dryness, and the pathologies associated with Yangming can be dangerous – indeed. The Stomach, another important Fu organ, is also designated Yangming. Together, LI and ST take in the materials from the Earth that keep us alive (food and drink) and reject the parts that no longer serve us. Without Yangming, nothing gets in and nothing comes out. This kind of control of the Yangming can also be manifested more subtly. One of the archetypes we have been taught to associate with Large Intestine in particular is that of the Dictator – clearly a more negative aspect of the organ system.
The metal aspect of Large Intestine is most purely expressed in its physiological descending effect. The Large Intestine is the great descender – as a cup of coffee will quickly remind you. Lung is also metal and frequently afflicted with diseases (cough, hiccough) that result from failure to descend. But most people will tell you that they find the undescending diseases of Large Intestine much more bothersome. Slight constipation is merely an irritation, but when you don’t have a bowel movement for 6-7 days, you will do almost anything to rectify the situation.
Earthly branch and Chinese zodiac animal
The Earthly branch associated with LI’s place on the Chinese organ clock is Mao – 卯. One definition of Mao is to flourish or explode – which again hearkens back to the physiological function of Large Intestine and the association with the early morning. This time of year is best characterized by the quickly growing buds on trees – they seem to grow daily! Mao is a Yin Wood branch, which associates it again with that Spring energy since Wood and Spring are closely affiliated.
The zodiac animal associated with this earthly branch is the Rabbit or Hare. This symbol really ties together a lot of what I’ve been discussing so far. What do rabbits do? They reproduce, to be sure. They also produce a whole lot of tiny hard pellet-like bowel movements! Both of these functions are deeply ingrained in Large Intestine. We easily associate the latter, but what of the power of reproduction?
While we don’t normally think of the bowel as being associated with birth, we can look to many of the other symbols of Large Intestine for help understanding this. Great descending force is important for a successful birth – represented by the symbol of metal. Some people who have given birth can tell you that their “pushing” really became effective when they started to think about the way they push to have a bowel movement! Also, consider the springtime and early morning energy. How like a rapidly growing infant! We can consider the fact that the acupuncture point Large Intestine 4 (He Gu) is contraindicated in pregnancy, as well.
In the second section of this article (published soon) we will look at some slightly more esoteric aspects of Large Intestine and then round out the discussion by looking more closely at how this theoretical information bears out in practice.
Thanks for reading,
Eric
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Updates from my personal blog (Ericgrey.com)- Some lyrics… May 12, 2009
- A bikeride into God May 8, 2009
- Quiet versus moving Qigong practices March 7, 2009
- A new perspective on the healthcare crisis February 26, 2009
