Study On Xiang(Image)Thinking In Qianjing Fang

Objective:The dissertation is to explore the medical knowledge and the system of Xiang (image) thinking in Qianjin Fang by studying SunSimiao’s Qianjin Yaofang and Qianjin Yifang, and to discuss the characteristics and the application methods of image thinking in Traditional Chinese Medicine.Methods:Based on the concepts and characteristics of Xiang (Image), thinking and image-thinking, this study employed literature analysis method to classify, compare and analyze the medical knowledge in Qianjin Fang and to explore the image thinking in it.Results:Qianjin Fang embodies the method of image thinking in the aspects of principle, method, prescription and medicine. The image thinking system is reflected in Yin and Yang theory, five elements theory, visceral states and meridians, treatment based on syndrome differentiation, correspondence between human and the universe, herbal prescriptions and health cultivation, which are interconnected as a whole.Conclusion:The Xiang thinking in Qianjin Fang includes not only the characteristics of Xiang thinking, such as comparing and contrasting based on similar images, but also the thinking, speculating and deducing based on reasoning. Through speculating based on the exterior presentation, the inner disease and its mechanism are learned. Such a method pays much attention to the extracting and mastering of Xiang, which is the elementary stage of Xiang thinking. On the other hand, imagery thinking is the higher stage of the Xiang thinking in Qianjin Fang, whose cultivation and development needs human’s observation, reflection, and practice. The application methods of Xiang thinking in Qianjin Fang include the following four:Xiang-taking, comparison and contrast, deduction and reflection. These methods are vital to the understanding and application of Qianjin Fang, and are also ways to study TCM.Image thinking, which is simple, pure and natural, is an important thinking mode in learning TCM. It is beneficial to understand and grasp the TCM theory, the study of it is helpful to improve the diagnosis and treatment of TCM. In one word, Xiang thinking is the core of TCM thinking and have far-reaching influence on the development of TCM.