Biao-ben Theory In Health Preservation Of Chinese Medicine

Health maintenance in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has made a remarkable contribution to preventing and controlling diseases, slowing the aging process, improving the quality of life, and so on. In recent years, material living conditions keep improving and the life span generally increasing, which makes people pay more and more attention to health maintenance. As the concept of health is constantly changing, the social demand for health maintenance is subsequently growing. It was recorded in "Plain Questions, Thinking of Old People Health Preservation" that the ancient people learned the natural rules, guided by which they had meals and lived, so that they could maintain good body feature and spiritual state, and keep living more than hundred years. This comment explained the general principles and ideas of health maintenance in TCM properly.Theory and practice of health maintenance in TCM, the wisdom crystallization of the Chinese nation, has a profound philosophical ideas and effective methods. Biao and Ben Theory is an important part of the basic theory of TCM, health preservation in TCM is one embodiment of theory that treatment should base on the root (Ben). It was documented in "Plain Questions, disease transmission theory" that Those who knows Biao and Ben could achieved good results easily, but the ones who doesn’t know usually made mistakes. National physician master Lu Guangshen once put forward that the rules of TCM lies in the health maintenance under the guidance that treatment based on the root. Thus, during the process of exploring the theory and methods of health maintenance, we must follow the way of thinking and methodology that disease should be controlled based on considering the root.In this study, we firstly collated and analyzed the theory and methods of health maintenance in TCM under the guidance of theory of Biao and Ben. We found that preserving one’s Tian Nian (the ideal lifespan) is the goal of health maintenance. The basic health maintenance theories are the prevention theory, the holism theory and the balance theory. The basic rules in keeping good healthy focused on people-orientation, harmony, balance and adaptation. In the practice of keeping in good health, attention should be paid to the aspects of Ben, such as protection of vital Qi, preservation of essence, Qi and spirit, conformation to the heaven and earth, etc..Then we classified and inducted the content of Biao and Ben Theory in health maintenance, and we think Ben and Biao are pairs of corresponding concepts. Ben anD Biao are connected with eah other, and they are essence and phenomenon, causes and results. In the health maintenance process, the content of Biao and Ben Theory includes patients are Ben and doctors are Biao; Disease causes are Ben and the symptoms are Biao; Primary illness are Ben and secondary diseases are Biao; Inner diseases are Ben and the outer diseases are Biao; the vital Qi is Ben and the evils are Biao, etc.. These contents of Biao and Ben Theory play a significance guiding roles in the practice of health maintenance. We figured out the misunderstanding that relying too much on the doctors, applying the tonics blindly, overemphasizing on poison discharge, paying more attention to external symptoms than the internal causes, and then we claimed the right measure that should be taken under the guidance of Biao and Ben Theory.At last, we concluded the practice of health maintenance based on Biao and Ben Theory, and we bring up that every aspect, such as keep healthy through diet, meridians and acu-points health maintenance, drugs to preserve health, keep mental health, sports to keep healthy, should be put into practice under the guidance of Biao and Ben Theory, so that to make health maintenance in TCM glow the new vitality in the new era, and play a better role in keeing people’s health and longevity all around the world.