4 Functions of Kidney Jing

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Maciocia in The Foundations of gives 4 basic functions of

Jing or Essence. (I personally prefer the term Jing to Essence because this

is another of those cases like Shen where the translation doesn't really do

the term justice.)

 

The 4 basic functions are: 1.) Stages of life (growth, reproduction, and

development), 2). the basis of Kidney Qi, 3). the production of Marrow, and

4). the basis of constitutional strength.

 

1). The stages of life. Jing is what is responsible for maturation in

children - the growth of bone, the increase in height, the development of

teeth, the eventual sexual maturation, etc. After puberty it's what inables

males to become fathers and females to become mothers. It is the loss of

Jing that is responsible in later years for the graying of hair, the loss of

hair, the decline of sexual energy, etc.

 

Jing cycles in females are 7-year cycles, and those in males follow 8-year

cycles. You'll note that girls tend to mature sooner than boys.

 

2). The basis of Kidney Qi. Kidney Essence is necessary in the

transformation of Kidney Yin into Kidney Qi by the Fire provided by Kidney

Yang and the Gate of Vitality.

 

3). The production of Marrow. You've seen in a previous post that the TCM

concept of Marrow is very, very different from that of the Western concept

of marrow. TCM Marrow is produced from Jing and is the matrix of bone

marrow, the brain, and the spinal cord. In some cases of disorders

involving the bone marrow, the brain, and the spinal cord, the Root is a

Kidney Jing Deficiency. Some of these can be improved - like the ones that

are due to the person lacking nourishment. Improve the diet and you provide

more Post-Heaven Jing which is a part of Kidney Jing. Others can't be

corrected or corrected so easily.

 

Marciocia writes, " The 'Spiritual Axis' in chapter 33 says: 'The Brain is

the Sea of Marrow.' Thus, if the Kidney-Essence is weak, the brain may lack

nourishment and the person may lack concentration and memory and suffer from

dizziness and a feeling of emptiness of the head. " (p. 40)

 

4). The basis of constitutional strength. Maciocia writes that even though

Defensive Qi is most responsible for protection from pathogens, Kidney Jing

plays an important role.

 

Victoria

 

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