A re-draft of Wai Gan (External Affectations) & Liu Yin (6 Excesses)

[Guest guest]

Hi Z'ev, Jason & All,

 

Unfortunately, my attempt to transmit the Chinese ideograms and their

accented Pinyin terms failed, even though they appeared to be correct

on my screen before I pressed the send button.

 

This seems to be because my email software (Pegasus Mail 4.51)

corrupted them either in the outbound or inbound mails.

 

Therefore, I have removed the ideograms and replaced the accented

vowels with simple Roman vowels in the re-draft below.

 

The codes in Ashley's original mail (1), and their conversion to

unaccented Pinyin(2) and English (3) using

http://www.zedwood.com/search? were:

 

(1) (2) (3)

20845 Liu 6

22240 Yin cause

22806 Wai External / Outside

23506 Han Cold

24863 Gan Affectation; Contraction; affected by; feeling

26257 Shu Summerheat

28139 Yin Excesses; Excessive / Wanton

28287 Shi Damp

28779 Huo Fire

28909 Re Heat

29157 Zao Dryness

30149 Bing disease

37034 Xie Evil

39118 Feng Wind

 

Transposing those terms into Ashley's original mail gives the

following:

 

In the UK there seems to be confusion about what the weather is in

terms of Bing Yin (disease cause / cause of disease).

 

Of the Wai Gan (External Affectations) the Liu Yin (6 Excesses) I've

seen described as a collective term for untimely climatic influences.

I've seen it translated as the Six Evils, Six Pathogens, Six Abnormal

Climatic Changes. However, isn't there a difference between:

 

Feng (Wind) and Feng Xie (Wind Evil),

Han (Cold) and Han Xie (Cold Evil),

Shu (Summerheat) and Shu Xie (Summerheat Evil),

Shi (Damp) and Shi Xie (Damp Evil),

Zao (Dryness) and Zao Xie (Dryness Evil),

Huo (Fire) and Huo Xie (Fire Evil),

Re (Heat) and Re Xie (Heat Evil)?

 

Normally Feng (Wind), Han (Cold) and Shi (Damp) etc aren't harmful

and thus not pathogenic or Xie (Evil). And as the theory goes it is

only an untimely appearance or when in abundance that they become

harmful.

 

However, in the UK when I talk to my colleagues it seems that they

conceptualise Feng (Wind), Han (Cold), Shu (Summerheat), Shi (Damp),

Zao (Dryness), Huo (Fire), Re (Heat) as Feng Xie (Wind Evil) etc.

This lack of clarity or insecurity with theory and terminology seems

to have an effect on how we diagnose and which formulas we apply.

 

I'm interested in how other people think about the differences

between the weather/climate and the Wai Gan (External Affectations) &

Liu Yin (6 Excesses), are they the same? Also, if we are talking

about the Liu Yin (6 Excesses), how do you conceive of what happens

when they meet the human body, I have an expectation that the

response is heterogeneous?

 

Within medical anthropology there are commonly held cross cultural

folk and lay beliefs surrounding the interaction of the for want of a

better word 'weather' and illness. (I can supply interesting examples

and the references for this discourse if you are interested?) I

wonder, when patients present with a condition they attribute to the

'weather' if they, and we, as Chinese medicine practitioners are

actually talking about the same thing? I'm not looking for the

essentialist 'answer' rather the range of opinions, a dialogue

perhaps?

 

A quick Google search today suggests that some email software (such

as Pegasus Mail - my email software) may corrupt unrecognised

ideograms or accented vowels.

 

Google suggests that other software, such as MS Access can send and

read indograms and accented vowels without problems.

 

I will be very happy if Doug can work out a way for List members to

transmit

ideograms and accented Pinyin terms without corruption.

 

Best regards,

Phil

Rogers