The Ideology Of Supporting The Yang' And The Coupling Of Ganjiang, Fuzi And Guizhi In The 'Shanghan Lun'

BackgroundThe Yang Qi being the foundation of the body, governs the normal physiology of the human body-the presence of which means healthiness, and the is true in the absence of which. The emphasis of Yang Qi can be seen in many of the commentaries of ancestral philosophers and intellects. The "Zhou Yi" stresses the importance of the Yang, raising the notion that without the Yang then the infinite transformations would not exist. The'Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic'also places the Yang in high regard:"The Yang is like the Heaven and the Sun'. The'Shanghan Lun'inherited the mentality of the 'Inner Classics', and is thus reflected in its heavy use of Guizhi, Fuzi and Ganjiang in multiple sections of the book. TCM doctors such as Lu Chong Han, Zheng Qin An etcetera have further developed the art of supporting the Yang, utilizing it in their clinical practice, and strengthened the technique both theoretically and clinically. The'Shanghan Lun'is a compilation of Principles, Methodologies, Formulas and Medicinal, its employment of Aromatic and Warming Methodologies to support the Yang attributes to the latter development of such technique by later generations. Studying the application and coupling of the main herbs Fuzi, Guizhi and Ganjiang in'Shanghan Lun' is imperative to understand the foundation of'Supporting the Yang', and lead a clearer direction in clinical practice.ObjectiveThis research aims to summarize the application and coupling of Fuzi, Ganjiang and Guizhi in the'Shanghan Lun'to better understand the theory of Supporting the Yang, and thus leading to better utilization of this technique in the clinical environment.MethodThis study analysed and categorized topic specific Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) publications to systemically examine the'Yang Supporting' approach. First the three coupling categories-1)Guizhi and Ganjiang; 2)Fuzi and Guizhi; and 3) Fuzi and Ganjiang were used to filter clauses from the 'Shanghan Lun', those clauses that match were then closely examined for their corresponding signs and symptoms, etiological factor, patho-mechanism(s), and treatment strategy (ies). The results were then compared to representative case histories from my supervisor for correlations between theory and clinical relevance of the couplings.ResultsThe'Shanghan Lun'brought'Supporting the Yang'to the clinical, 'Using the Yang as a foundation, preserving the Yang'is ubiquitous in the book. This strategy is mainly demonstrated in the Yang Warming herbs such as Fuzi, Guizhi and Ganjiang, and the coupling of which amplifies such Warming actions. Through systemically studying the couplings, one can dive deeper into the conception of'Supporting the Yang'. The results indicate that by adding Guizhi to Ganjiang can disperse Yang throughout the body instead of stagnation of Yang in the Middle; Ganjiang supplements the actions of Guizhi to support the Righteous Qi and dispel etiological factors, and is thus particularly effective in patterns such as 1) the External Pathogen enters internally causing Diarrhoea,2) The Yang vacuity of the Middle Jiao,2) Cold Damp and Rheum stagnating in the Chest and 4) Stagnation of Yang Qi. Fuzi supplements the Fire to raise the Yang and dispel stagnation, however it has a wandering characteristic, on the contrary, Guizhi is specific to the Qi level, and acts on the Wei Qi and the Ying Qi. The Guizhi and Ganjiang coupling can increase its actions to Support the Righteous Qi to dispel Cold, and releasing Etiological Factors in the Exterior, this is most effective in individuals with patterns of Wei Qi vacuity with lingering Wind, Cold, Damp pathogens. Ganjiang and Fuzi when coupled will revive the Yang and rescue Counterflows, strengthening its warming actions. The wandering nature of Fuzi is restrained and brought into the Zang by Ganjiang, hence it can revive the declining Yang and used for emergency Yang revival.