| The life gate doctrine is an important part of the theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This article systematically and thoroughly studies the life gate water theory and investigates the relationship between the life gate water and the kidney deficiency syndrome. And at the same time, the article carries out clinical trials of Liuweidihuang Pills (LPs) and three LPs tonifying ingredients in order to develop the treatment for life gate water syndromes and perfect the life gate doctrine.The life gate doctrine was put forward in between the Qin and Han dynasties, developed in between the Jin and Yuan dynasties and further enriched in between the Ming and Qing dynasties. The development of the life gate doctrine was deeply influenced by some Confucian philosophic thoughts in Song and Ming dynasties and by the doctrines of taoist internal meditation exercise (内功修炼) and internal immortality exercise (内丹术). The anatomical location of the life gate, however, still remains unclear up to now, and there are many kinds of understanding and ideas about its actual site, such as the heart-mentality-eye hypothesis, kidney hypothesis, lower abdomen hypothesis, womb hypothesis, and vagina hypothesis. These hypotheses reflect the TCM theorists' successive studies of the life gate doctrine. However, the life gate doctrine was established on the basis of the experiences of the internal meditation exercise and some of the TCM theories, and in fact, the life gate is formless. The different understanding and ideas of the location of the life gate are the deductions made by TCM theorists in different dynasties according to the different functions they entrusted to it. According to the life gate doctrine, the life gate is close related to the kidney, and there are several relationships between the life gate and the kidney, namely congenital and acquired, formless and concrete, and whole and partial. The life gate and the kidney represent two levels on which the life phenomena are discussed. The life gate is the root of all the congenital matter and the internal organs. Investigations and discussions of the life gate are the practices of trying to understand the origin of life and reveal the nature of the life phenomena.The life gate water, as a kind of the genuine yin, exists in the life gate just as the life gate fire does. The life gate water is the original matter of life and plays an important role in the formation of life. Many philosophers in the pre-Qin period pointed out the importance of water, such as that 'Taiyi produces water" and "water is the origin of all the living things." The yin of the life gate water is essence and the yang of the life gate water is qi. The life gate water goes up along the spinal cord into the brain, secretes fluid into the meridians and vessels, and nourishes external limbs and internal organs. Together with the life gate fire, thelife gate water circulates day and night. The life gate water is the water existing in the fire, which can not be harmed by the fire, but can be nourished by the fire.As the life gate is the roots of the internal organs and the twelve meridians, the syndromes related to the life gate water and the life gate fire are always of deficiency type. The insufficiency of the life gate water tends to cause the internal deficiency fire, which can be treated with Liuweidihuang Pills or Zuogui Pills (Zuogui Decoction can also be used in this case), which is called the leading-the-dragon-into-the-sea therapy, because Liuweidihuang Pills and Zuogui Pills take same three tonifying ingredients (prepared rehmannia root, dogwood fruit and Chinese yam) as their key ingredients which can cure the insufficiency of the life gate water. Although Liuweidihuang Pills are well-known among the TCM drugs for nourishing kidney yin, not all the nourishing-kid-yin drugs can be used to treat the insufficiency of the life gate water. The results of the analysis of many TCM drugs for nourishing kidney yin show that the reason why Liuweidihuang Pills can be u...
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