Based On The Theory Of Phlegm Disease Of Traditional Chinese Medicine Of Cognitive Science Research

Cognitive science technology, information science technology, and life sciences and biotechnology, are regarded as three central science technologies of twenty-first century in the world by scientific community. Based on the starting point that any theory and any area can’t separate from human cognition, that’s to say, the cognitive science technology is throughout all concepts, theories, specialties, and professions which have been developed by human beings so far. By an extension of this logic, all the achievements of civilization made by human including material progress and spiritual one, in essential, are embodiments of human cognitive achievements.The theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) was formed two thousand years ago, in the Qin and Han dynasties. It is represented by Huangdi’s Internal Classic, The Classic of Difficult Issues, Shen Nong’s Classic of the Materia Medica, and Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases. Generally speaking, through two thousand years of heritage, the theory of TCM doesn’t bring about significant innovation and development in essential. But there is one exception. The thought of phlegm disease formed in Sui dynasty is considered as a major theoretical innovation in the entire theory of TCM, especially in the aspects of etiology and pathogenesis. The thought of phlegm disease performs on a unique part and plays an important role in the theoretical research and clinical practice of practitioners after Sui dynasty. This phenomenon is rare in the whole academic development history of TCM. Taking phlegm disease in TCM as cognitive object, the article, from the new point of cognitive study of phlegm disease in TCM, endeavors to probe into the concept and theory of phlegm disease in TCM, and reveals the reflective cognitive rules in order to explain a series of their cognitive origin like what phlegm is in TCM, and why the phlegm is illustrated like this in ancient Chinese medicine on the basis of the relative theories and viewpoints recorded in Huangdi’s Internal Classic combining with theories of modern cognitive science such as prototype theory, embodied cognitive science theory, conceptual integration theory, and conceptual metaphor theory and so forth. The main body of the paper is divided into five parts. Part one, the past and present researches of phlegm disease is systematically reviewed in order to understand the historical evolution and the status quo of phlegm disease theory. Part two, the modern cognitive science research of concept and theory in TCM is preliminarily summarized. Overall, the research is still in the primary stage of exploration, which is reflected from the following aspects:lack of attention to discipline and comprehensive planning to study TCM theory from these modern cognitive science perspectives like cognitive linguistics, cognitive psychology, and cognitive logic in the whole TCM field at present, small scale of the academic circles in relative researches, and failing to thoroughly promote their research ideas, methods, and achievements. Part three, from the perspective of language philology, the origins of the Chinese character of tan痰and the meaning of phlegm have been deeply explored. The conclusion after textual research is that tan originates from the Chinese character of dan淡(interchangeability of words or characters). The Chinese character of tan痰and the meaning of phlegm have been formally recorded in Treatise on the Origins and Manifestations of Various Diseases in Sui dynasty, which have been using in medical literature since then. Part four, as the mainbody of the dissertation. This part, in the light of cognitive linguistics, clarifies and discusses the phlegm as an etiological concept and a concept of syndrome from the aspects of prototype, scope, cognitive pattern, and cognitive extension. Based on this, we can draw several conclusions. First of all, phlegm as one of the TCM etiologies, the mechanism of its production is at the premise of qi disorder, and the transformed body fluids interacting with external and internal pathogens. The etiological prototype of phlegm is qi phlegm. Secondly, the syndrome of phlegm is as one of TCM syndromes. It emphasizes on the clinical symptoms and signs of phlegm syndrome in each pattern. The syndrome prototype of phlegm displays as tangible sputum or greasy tongue coating, and sings of qi disorder. Finally, on the basis of essential property from metaphor transformational generation, and from the point of similarity of body fluids and blood from the same source, phlegm resulting from body fluids has cognitive interactivity with stasis deriving from the blood. In the etiology and pathogenesis, phlegm leads to blood stasis, and the blood stasis can generate phlegm. In clinic, concurrent treatment of phlegm and blood stasis is of great significance. Part five, cognitively sum up the phlegm disease syndrome differentiation and treatment based on the research results of the above four parts. From the point of view of dynamic epistemic logic in cognitive logic, the differentiation and treatment of phlegm disease is a dynamic cognitive process of information exchange between doctor and patient. In the process, the doctor’s belief will also change dynamically, which embodies the logical character of the thought of syndrome differentiation and treatment in TCM. From prototype theory of cognitive linguistics perspective, the differentiation and treatment of phlegm disease should be focused on the prototype of phlegm etiology and phlegm syndrome, to develop the useful and discard the useless of many stereotypes like theory of tangibility and intangibility of phlegm, theory of strange diseases due to phlegm, and patient suffering from phlegm and retained fluid, warm herbs should be given for harmonization, and makes syndrome differentiation and treatment on phlegm from the root and branch.