FWD: Now Zheng Qi/Xie Qi Zheng -Xie Qi

April 10, 2003

April 11,2003

April 11, 2003

Dear Emmanuel,

It would have been much easier to 'apply' the Zheng Qi/Xie Qi philosophy if you have provided an actual case study to look at. However looking up the genetic marker HLA-B27 from the Merck Manual fifteenth edition, I was able to get an understanding of this genetic marker and the condition 'ankylosing spondylitis (AS)'

There seems to be a genetic as well as environmental backgrounds to this condition . If such is the case, then we can say that from the point of view of TCM, there is an underlying zheng Qi (medicatrix naturae) or Yuan Qi (primordial Qi ) xian tian zhi Qi (pre-natal Qi ) deficiency which makes the patient predisposed to a wide range of external (wai gan) heteropathies ( Xie Qi ) like extremes in climactic and weather factors and 'pestilential Qi', as well as internal heteropathies (nei shang ) like irregular eating patterns (yin shi bu jie), emotional imbalances (Qi Qing ) etc.

The notion of the Zheng Qi - Xie Qi dialectics is indeed a very old concept. In many ways it reflects the ancient Yin and yang philosophical dialectics ( as pointed out by Ken ) in multiple temporal and spatial contexts. In the context of medical practice in ancient China, Zheng Qi -Xie Qi dialectics is reflected in the notions of bing yin (pathoetiology) bing ji (pathomechanism), bing neng (pathopotentials) , and bing li (pathoprinciples) . Zhao Fen in his book Elucidation of TCM Foundational Theory zhong yi ji chu li lun xiang jie (l981, Fujian Science and TEchnology Publication ) wrote a whole chapter on Bing Neng dealing with various dialectical aspects of Zheng Qi and Xie Qi .

Regares,

Rey Tiquia

Phd Candidate

Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science

University of Melbourne

April 11, 2003

The notion of the Zheng Qi - Xie Qi dialectics is indeed a very old concept. In many ways it reflects the ancient Yin and yang philosophical dialectics ( as pointed out by Ken ) in multiple temporal and spatial contexts. In the context of medical practice in ancient China, Zheng Qi -Xie Qi dialectics is reflected in the notions of bing yin (pathoetiology) bing ji (pathomechanism), bing neng (pathopotentials) , and bing li (pathoprinciples) . Zhao Fen in his book Elucidation of TCM Foundational Theory zhong yi ji chu li lun xiang jie (l981, Fujian Science and TEchnology Publication ) wrote a whole chapter on Bing Neng dealing with various dialectical aspects of Zheng Qi and Xie Qi . Rey TiquiaPhd Candidate Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science University of Melbourne

Rey,

Thank you. I dashed off my general understanding on this topic as a starting point rather than present a single case study. The Merck 17th ed. actually collates a lot of the information (though, of course, no ref. to chiro. or CM). If you read deeply enough into the 17th ed. running around to different chapters you will eventually gain an idea of how resolution occurs in middle to later life ... but only with supportive treatment.

I only wrote for about 5 minutes between phone calls at work. So getting you to respond with the above information (plus the other part of your post) was quite a rich reward for my efforts. I feel I got more than I gave.

Zheng Qie/Xie Qi's historical and "philosophical dialectics (as pointed out by Ken) in multiple temporal and spatial contexts" seems an especially attractive realm of inquiry. Also I will indeed look up Zhao Fen's book. Thank you for the sudden riches you've bestowed.

Emmanuel Segmen