Master Li Yulin
The spring yang rises. The yang qi hidden underground ascends and spreads outward, warming the earth. The qi of heaven and earth intermingle, and warm winds and gentle qi fill heaven and earth. Ice and snow melt, grass and trees sprout, and vitality revives. Insects and animals wake from their deep sleep and begin to move about in search of food; birds fly and insects chirp, willows sway, all things are reborn, and heaven and earth are renewed.
The qi of heaven is mild and the qi of earth sprouts forth; warmth and emergence join, and all things grow and flourish. As the cold qi disperses and warm qi arises, people too follow this mild, sprouting qi: they go to bed at nightfall and rise early and stroll in the courtyard. There is no need to dress up or to bundle up tightly as in the cold of winter; one simply wears loose, comfortable clothes, takes off one's cap and lets down one's hair, and walks slowly in accord with the gentle qi of spring. Though it is mild, the air is still on the cool side, and people must still protect their yang qi.
“The spring qi is in the head”: that is, the spring qi arises at the head of all things. Move slowly and gently so that the hidden heart, will, intention, and qi can sprout forth. Since this is the qi of giving life and nurturing, there should be no qi of killing and destruction; since one is to give things the vitality to be reborn, one must not startle them or rob them of what they need; since one is to aid and reward, one must not carelessly punish, destroy, or break. It is like doing good: bestow kindness without seeking repayment, and give to others without regret. The qi of spring birth is like spreading benevolence and virtue far and wide, giving without seeking return, to aid the growth of all things. This is the ordinance of the spring season and the way of nurturing life.
The Monthly Ordinances (Yueling): In the solar term Beginning of Spring (Lichun), in the first five days the east wind melts the ice; in the next five days hibernating insects begin to stir; in the last five days fish rise up to the ice. In the solar term Rain Water (Yushui), in the first five days the otter sets out fish as an offering; in the next five days the wild geese come; in the last five days grass and trees begin to sprout. In the solar term Awakening of Insects (Jingzhe) in mid-spring, in the first five days the peach trees begin to blossom; in the next five days the orioles sing; in the last five days hawks turn into doves. Next comes the solar term Spring Equinox (Chunfen): in the first five days the swallows arrive; in the next five days thunder begins to sound and the herbaceous peonies flourish; in the last five days lightning first appears. Next, in late spring, comes Pure Brightness (Qingming): in the first five days the paulownia begins to blossom; in the next five days field mice turn into quail and the tree peonies bloom; in the last five days rainbows first appear. Next comes Grain Rain (Guyu): in the first five days duckweed begins to grow; in the next five days the cooing doves preen their feathers; in the last five days the hoopoe alights on the mulberry. All these are ordinances of the sprouting forth of spring yang. If one goes against them and instead carries out the autumn ordinances of killing, plundering, and punishment, the liver qi will certainly be injured. When the liver is injured, there is little qi to serve the summer ordinance of growth: wood fails to produce fire, yang qi is insufficient, summer brings many cold changes, and the qi that serves growth and nurturing is diminished.
The east wind arises in spring, and the spring qi communicates with the liver. Spring illnesses are mostly in the liver, and its transport point is at the neck. As grass and trees break through the soil, so “when the spring qi causes illness, the illness is in the head.” Essence is the root of the body; therefore one who stores essence will not suffer warm disease in spring, because when the essential qi lies hidden and stored, yang does not rise recklessly.
The five zang organs correspond to the four seasons. The east and the color green-blue enter and communicate with the liver, which opens into the eyes and stores essence in the liver. The essence of wood qi is its spirit, the ethereal soul (hun). In the direction of rising yang, the eyes are its instrument. Wood bends and straightens and so sways and moves; hence its illnesses break out as fright and alarm. Its flavor is sour; its nature is soft and brittle, bending and straight, like grass and trees. The I Ching says the image of grass and trees is like the trigram Xun (Wind), and among domestic animals Xun belongs to the chicken. Wheat carries out the ordinance of spring birth, so among the five grains it belongs to wheat. The Materia Medica (Bencao) says: wheat is the chief of the five grains. The essential qi of wood rises above as the Year Star (Jupiter), and all things flourish upward; hence the spring qi is in the head. Among the five notes, jue corresponds to the qi of wood. The generating number of wood is three and its completing number is eight. Things of the wood kind are firm yet pliant, like the pliant toughness of the sinews; all changes of qi arising from wood are agitation.
When wind prevails, all things sway; hence it is said that when wind prevails there is movement. The Zuo Commentary (Zuozhuan) says: “Excess of wind brings disease of the extremities.” Joy and anger harm the qi; cold and heat harm the body; sudden anger harms yin; sudden joy harms yang. If one is harmed by cold in winter, one will surely fall ill with warm disease in spring; if one is harmed by wind in spring, one will have diarrhea with undigested food in summer.
The east generates wind, wind generates wood, wood generates sourness, sourness generates the liver, the liver generates the sinews, and the sinews generate the heart. Yang qi rises and spreads upward, dispersing to become wind. Wind comes from the east; in the spring season the east wind melts the ice, the warm wind is mild, the wind stirs the trees to flourish, and the wind makes grass and trees grow. Everything with a sour flavor is produced by wood qi. The “Great Plan” of the Book of Documents (Shangshu) says: “That which bends and straightens produces sourness.” The sour flavor enters the liver; everything sour first nourishes the liver, and the essential qi of the liver nourishes the sinews and collaterals. Once the wood qi of the liver has nourished the sinews within, the wood qi of the sinews in turn nourishes the heart. The liver governs the eyes. In heaven this is called the Dark Obscurity (xuanming), meaning that the sky is high and distant and not yet in full brightness.
In human beings it is the Tao, called transformation by the Tao: when people are transformed by the Tao, they return to it and follow it. On earth it is transformation, meaning creation and transformation: all things are transformed and nurtured according to the seasons, and all this is the meaning of creation and transformation. All things grow and the five flavors are complete, all produced by the creative transformation of heaven and earth. Being transformed by the Tao, human alertness and intelligence all arise from the Tao. In the dark, distant, empty brightness the spirit dwells, and the dark emptiness can give rise to spirit-qi. What is called spirit is, in heaven, called wind: it flies, stirs, and bends things, and once released it reaches far and everywhere—is this not the power of spiritual transformation? The spirit on earth is called wood: soft and pliant, bending and straight—is this not the very nature of wood? In the human body it is called the sinews: through the sinews and channels the whole body is bound and linked together, so that strength can be concentrated. Among the organs it is called the liver. The spirit of the liver is the ethereal soul, and the ethereal soul dwells in the liver; when the ethereal soul is still, body and mind are not in disorder. Among colors it is called cang, which means pale green, the color of grass and trees. Among notes it is called jue, the note of wood, because its tone is straight. The Record of Music (Yueji) says: “When jue is in disorder there is worry, and the people are resentful.” Among sounds it is shouting—calling out, also called whistling. Among changes it is grasping—that is, drawing things in. Among the orifices it is the eyes, with which one sees shapes and colors. Among flavors it is sour, and sourness can be used to gather in. Among emotions it is anger, and anger serves to check what is wrong and reckless. Too much anger harms the liver, and sorrow and worry can resolve anger (that is, overcome anger). Too much wind harms the sinews, making the sinews and collaterals tense and cramped; dryness can resolve the harm of too much wind (that is, overcome wind). Too much sourness harms the sinews, and pungent metal can resolve an excess of sourness.
The east generates wind, and wind nourishes the substances of wood nature. Its virtue is to spread warmth and mildness; its transformation is growth and flourishing; its governance is unfolding and opening; its ordinance is wind; its change is shaking and setting in motion; its calamity is scattering and falling.
When pathogenic wind arrives, disease comes as swiftly as wind and rain. When the pathogenic qi of heaven touches people, it harms the five zang organs; when the cold and heat of food and drink touch them, they harm the six fu organs. The qi of the four seasons and the winds of the eight directions are all heavenly pathogens. When the eight winds issue pathogens and become channel winds and touch the five zang organs, the pathogenic qi causes illness. The wind that comes from the northeast (in the first month) is called the Baleful Wind; when it harms people, it lodges within in the large intestine and without in the flanks, below the armpit bones, and in the joints of the limbs. The wind that comes from the east (in the second month) is called the Infant Wind; when it harms people, it lodges within in the liver and without in the knots of the sinews, and its qi governs dampness of the body. The wind that comes from the southeast (in the third month) is called the Weak Wind; when it harms people, it lodges within in the stomach and without in the muscles, and its qi governs heaviness of the body.
Liver illness brings dizziness of the head and eyes and fullness and propping in the flanks; spleen illness brings pain and heaviness of the body, or abdominal distension. All kinds of swaying, trembling, shaking, and dizziness caused by internal stirring of wind belong to the liver; all kinds of bodily rigidity brought on by violent anger belong to wind (yang pent up within while yin moves without).
(Master Li Yulin is the director of the Taoist Medicine Clinic of White Cloud Temple in Beijing, China.)