| Modern psychology needs seeking diversified scientific models to bail out its current dilemma. TCM psychology, an increasingly flourishing branch of traditional Chinese medicine in the treasure-house of splendid Chinese culture, has opened up a new approach, profound in historical accumulation,for the diversification and localization of psychological research models. According to the theory of viscereal manifestation in traditional Chinese medicine, five-spirits is governed respectively by five-zang organs, functions as the core of psychological activities, and generates various mental activities and seven-emotions, which are the essential elements of emotional structure and personality structure. That constructs the theoretical system of TCM Psychology. This paper, based on the analysis of TCM classics, by a comparative study of modern and TCM psychology, attempts to clarify the following three basic views:1.The original meaning of five-spirits is compatible with modern psychological theory. Five-spirits is a kind of psychological function, focusing mainly on cognitive activities, related to subconsciousness, motivation and personality, manifested as psychological phenomenon such as feeling, perception, memory, thinking, language, dreams, intention, etc. Among them, the heart governing psycholocial activities, with cognition as the main focus, includes perception of things, adaptation to environments and formation of after-birth memory; The ethereal soul comes along with spirit, and participates in psycholocial activities, but it is hard to present in the psychological process and restricted by spirit, ideation and will. Therefore, its property is similar to Freud's subconsciousness and the ME as well as Jung's collective unconsciousness; The corporeal soul participates in the formation of the most basic perceptual and conscious activities, and is a physiological function related to perception and consciousness, especially the latter; Ideation is an essential part of memory activities or processes, including thinking, imagination, etc. , and an active processive psychological activity; Will is a clear and deep long-term memory, or a clearly oriented spiritual pursuit, possibly including mental "complexes" and personality factors, which is a fixed and stable psychological activity for a period of time. 2.Five-spirits forms the perfect core structure of psychology. There is clear-cut relationships between various kinds of spirit-mind, based on which diversified, profound, complex intellectual and emotional activities are generated as as to lay a a solid foundation for the formation and enhancement of personality. Among them, the etherealsoul comes before birth, as yin within yang; The corporeal soul is also innate, as yang within yin; Spirit forms gradually and develop constantly in the process of socialization after birth, as yang withing yang; Ideation participates in all psychological processes, and is an active, processive psychological activity, as yang within yang; Will is a fixed psychological activity for a period of time , as yin within yang. Among five-spirits, more pertaining to yang and less to yin, there exist complex relationships, such as visibility-invisibility, dynamics-statics, generation-restriction and yin-yang. The normal maintenance of these relationships is the basis of seven-emotions harmony as well as physical and mental health.3.Seven-emotions is the extension of five-spirits psychological structure. Five-spirits is mainly related to human cognitive activities and personality factors, while seven-emotions is related to human emotional and sensible activities. The relationship between five-spirits and seven-emotions mainly includes the following three aspects: First of all, five-spirits is the spirit-mind basis for the generation of seven-emotions. Without five-spirits activities, there would be no seven-emotions. The impact of constitutions on emotions and wills is also realized in the way that five-zang organs transform five-qi and govern five-spirits which generates five wills; Secondly, the constitution is the physical basis for the seven-emothins generation. In psychology, constitutions are manifested as temperaments, the formation of which depends on the specific constitutional basis; Thirdly, seven-emotions affect the human body by disturbing qi movement. We classify seven-emotions by two dimensions, namely "emotional quality" and "emotional process". Emotional activities with different "quality" or "process" will produce a "positive" or "negative" impact. The understandting of cognition and relationship between personality and emotions in modern psychology highly comply with the understanding of the relationship between five-spirit and seven-emotions in traditional Chinese medicine .Visceral anifestation refers to the five physical and pathological systems centering on five-zang organs. It is the theoretical basis of tradtional Chinese medicine. By five-zang organs governing five-spirits respectively, the unity of spirit and body is formed. The scientific connotation of five-spirits lies in its affirmation that the functional coordination between five-zang organs is the basis of life activities and that life activities are the basis of psychological activities. The theory of five-spirits fully reflects the thinking of "spirit and body in company" held in traditional Chinese medicine. Various concepts and thoughts of TCM psychologyGod, represented by the theory of five-spirits, is not only the theoretical focus of traditional Chinese medicine, but also a hot issue with which Chinese thinkers analyze things and establish theories. Therefore, the in-depth study on five-spirits is of great significance not only for the development of traditional Chinese medicine and TCM psychology, but also for the development and promotion of Chinese traditional culture, especially traditional psychological culture. |
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