Traditional versus modern Acupuncture

2. QI AND YIN-YANG (DUALITY)

 
Qi is the general Chinese name for energy. Qi is immaterial and is neither created nor destroyed; it just changes form. Qi and substance interchange. Every thing in the universe, organic/inorganic, material/solid, immaterial/intangible, hot/cold depends on, or is a manifestation of Qi. Life and death, health and disease, growth and senility, composition and decomposition is caused by changes in the proportions and types of Yin and Yang Qi.

There are many types and expressions of Qi, creative and destructive. Qi can manifest in Yin and Yang forms, in the Five Phases, in a flower, the wind, a laugh and in empty space, nothingness.

Yin-Yang: Thousands of years before the Bible spoke of Good and Evil, the Chinese developed the concepts of duality and relativity. To them, nothing was absolute, but was a mixture of opposing forces, Yin (the passive or negative force) and Yang (the active or positive force).

"Yin and Yang are the source of creation and the cause of destruction of all things": Chinese concepts of Yin and Yang were essential, fundamental parts of this world view. The Yin-Yang principle refers to opposites. Everything in creation has its opposite number. Yin-Yang referred to female/male, below/above, Earth/heaven, passive/active, front/back, dark/bright, etc.

This concept of Yin-Yang was applied to everything in life: art, politics, philosophy, medicine, architecture, etc. Everything in nature can be characterised by its proportions of Yin and Yang Qi.

In medicine, Yin-Yang referred to hypo/hyper states, solid organs/hollow organs, female genitalia/male genitalia etc. Chronic dis-eases were Yin, acute dis-eases were Yang, etc. Table 1 shows some other examples of Yin-Yang.

TABLE 1. Examples of Yin-Yang (states of relative opposition)