.
Dr. Amily Guenier
Abstract:This study presents the translatability of metaphor in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the UK context. In this article, we first examine the modern theory of metaphor from cognitive and practice-based perspectives. The role of metaphor in the construction of health communication and medical system in China and the West is then discussed. An inquiry into the metaphors used in the expression of wellbeing in English and Chinese follows. The article then focuses on the ecology of the intercultural communication and translation of TCM in the UK. The possibility is that the sharing of medical metaphors cross-cultures has broad implications for the deeper understanding of human health experiences. This research also demonstrates that anyone reaching across cultures to treat Westerners with Chinese medicine, or Chinese with Western psychology/biomedicine can benefit by learning more about the structures of conceptual metaphors in each system (Chinese and western). Although human body is a potentially universal source domain for metaphors expressing abstract concepts, cultural models that are set up from specific perspectives where certain aspects of bodily experience or certain parts of the body are viewed as especially salient and meaningful in the understanding of those abstract concepts. The classification of “five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water” “Qi blockage and flow” “Yin-Yang balance” allows for more positive metaphors for envisaging recovery, greater sensitivity to patients, more flexible treatment strategy, and more sensitive communication by healthcare providers.
Keywords: Intercultural communication, metaphor, traditional Chinese medicine
Introduction
Metaphor plays a key role in health communication across cultures to illuminate and explain abstract concepts and make them more accessible by comparing them to ideas already possessed in a cognitive framework (Casarett et al., 2010; Kirklin, 2007). Creating a common language can enhance the therapeutic relationship by serving as the basis for the shared understanding of clinical reality (Reisfield & Wilson, 2004, p. 4024). It provides a way to understand the health experience across affective and conceptual meaning and might have an impact on people’s health behaviour and decision making. However, understanding metaphors can present unique challenges, and the interpretation or misinterpretation depends on each individual’s prior experience and are context -specific. The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used in the UK due to the limitations of biomedicine and their metaphoric logic of transformation, which promises wholeness, balance and wellbeing. Fundamental concepts in TCM are metaphorical, for example, illness are due to “blockage of Qi flow” or “Yin-Yang imbalance” excessive “wind” or “fire”. However, the translatability of these key concepts as metaphors is a question in practice. Translatability is defined as the ability to translate lexical and functional meanings of elements in cultural ecology from a source language to a target language. It would also be defined as “the capacity for some kind of meanings to be transferred from one language to another without undergoing radical change” (Pym & Turk, 2001: p.273). TCM and Western bio medicine science face almost irreconcilable differences, and therefore, this study is to explore whether metaphor bridge TCM and western medicine(WM) together to help communicate TCM to the Western people and find its suitable ecology in the UK?
Traditional Chinese Medicine in the UK
Currently, there are over 3000 Chinese medicine clinics in the UK providing treatment ranging from acupuncture to herbal formulas and patent Chinese herbal medicine, Taichi, Chinese medicine massage (tuina), moxibustion, auriculotherapy, cupping, pharmacology, Qigong and bone setting to over 25 million UK residence. The clinic treatments results show that TCM in a healthcare protocol improves outcomes for patients (Maizes, Rakel, & Niemiec, 2009). For example, TCM can provide good support to patients who suffer from the conditions of chronic and degenerative, e.g., irritable bowel syndrome (Bi, Yuan, & Bian, 2017) and low back pain (Yuan, Guo, Liu, Sun, & Zhang, 2015). Documented evidence has shown the effectiveness of the integration of TCM and WM in treating pandemic viral diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (Liu, Zhang, He, & Li, 2012), influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (J.-H. Li, Wang, Guo, & Li, 2016) HIV and AIDS (Wang & Zou, 2011), and hand, foot and mouth disease (X.-h. Li et al., 2017). The benefits of using TCM attracted global attention when Professor Tu won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering artemisinin, an extract of a TCM herb Artemisia annua L., used to treat malaria. In addition, Wang Zhenyi and Chen Zhu were awarded the Seventh Annual Szent-Gyorgyi Prize for progress in cancer research for combining the WM all-trans retinoic acid and the TCM compound arsenic trioxide to treat acute promyelocytic leukemia (State council report, 2016).
TCM is an integral part of Chinese culture, with unique diagnostic and treatment methods and a huge amount of historical literature to support its theories. The Neijing or Huangdi’s Canon of Medicine is used as the main source of Chinese medical theory. Compiled between 300 and 100 BC, it is regarded as the bible of TCM (Keji & Hao, 2003; Xu & Yang, 2009). In particular, Zhang Xi Chun (1860-1933) in his book ‘Records of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in combination’ stressed the importance of integration of TCM and WM. Patient assessment and treatment in Chinese medicine is based on a range of diagnostic tools including: pulse taking, facial and tongue diagnosis and correspondences to the five elements (water, wood, metal, earth and fire). In mainland China, diagnosis is routinely used in conjunction with modern medical technology: X-rays, MRI scans, etc. While in the UK, the Chinese medicine clinics tend to rely more on the traditional way of diagnosis.
TCM is becoming more and more widely used throughout the world. The WHO Global Atlas of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine shows that the majority of the world’s population is using some forms of TCM on a regular basis, most often herbal medicines (Bodeker et al., 2005). Currently, TCM is used in 183 countries and regions around the world. According to the WHO, 103 member states have approved the practice of acupuncture and moxibustion, 29 have enacted special statutes on traditional medicine, and 18 have included acupuncture and moxibustion treatment in their medical insurance provisions. The export value of Chinese medicines amounted to $US4.019 billion in 2022 (Xiang, Chen, Wei, & Zhou, 2022). TCM has demonstrated its effectiveness in the global context, especially when facing global health crisis such as Covid-19 (Ren, Zhang, & Wang, 2020; W.-Y. Wang, Xie, Zhou, & Liu, 2021; Jia Xu & Zhang, 2020). Chinese medicine are also the choices of many Chinese immigrants worldwide. To effectively communicate and translate TCM to the UK residents would be of great value for public benefits.
Ontological metaphors in TCM
In terms of ontological metaphors, TCM share some common ground of container metaphor as in the west. As human’s primary way of existence is substantial, our experience of physical objects and substances allows us to understand the world and ourselves beyond mere orientation. Thanks to those experiences, we can pick out parts of those experiences and treat them as discrete entities or substances of a uniform kind. Just as the basic experiences of human spatial orientations promotes orientational metaphors, our experiences with physical objects (especially our own bodies) provide the basics for an extraordinary wide variety of ontological metaphors, that is, ways of viewing events, activities, emotions, ideas, etc., as entities and substances. Ontological metaphor is generated when our experience with physical objects and substances make it possible to conceive of abstract intangible concepts such as emotions, ideas, psychological activities and states as concrete tangible entities and substances.
For example, in TCM, “Zang Fu 藏府”, originally means “depots and palaces”, a pair of images taken from life and official system, and is used to name the organs of the human body; the meridians of the human being are named by metaphorizing the rivers of the earth, an image taken from the nature; the weight and graduated arm of a steelyard as well as a pair of compasses and carpenter’s square are used to describe the pulse images of the four seasons, which are images taken from everyday life; “closing door to keep the invader” – e.g. administering tonics for a patient with externally contracted febrile disease will keep external pernicious influences inside the body.
Several translations are available for “经络系统”: “Meridian System” is the standard translation approved by WHO, but the word “Meridian” only indicates a two-dimensional grid while Jing Luo system is supposed to carry qi and blood, and thus must be a three-dimensional system; “Channel System” is the most popular translation in the English literature on Chinese medicine, but the word “Channel” is polysemous; “Vessel System”, a translation in Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen by Paul U. Unschuld in 2003 is the best translation if we take into account the origin and development of the concepts of Mai (脉, vessel) and Jing-Luo (经络). Based on some anatomical knowledge on Mai (脉, vessel) and medical practice esp. the application of acupuncture, moxibustion, tuina or Chinese massage, and qigong or breathing exercise, the concepts of Jing-Luo (经络) are actually metaphors formed in the way of observing, taking images of and analogizing the water flow in the rivers under the earth and the longitudinal lines of the textiles, which are embodied in their writing forms. The chapter Water & Earth of Guan Tzu states that “Water is the qi and blood of the earth, running on (under) the earth just like qi and blood flowing in the vessels.”
Another typical example is the treatment principle of “Ti Hu Jie Gai 提壶揭盖 or Carrying a kettle and uncovering its lid to treat dysuria” , which was first raised by a famous TCM doctor of Zhu Danxi (1281-1358), the founder of Yin-Nourishing School of the Jin-Yuan Dynasties (1115-1368). He gained inspiration from a phenomenon in daily life that uncovering the upper lid of a kettle filled with boiling water can make the water be poured out, and then inferred a treating method named after this phenomenon “Ti Hu Jie Gai 提壶揭盖”. He treated the patient with the method of dispersing the lung Qi, then diuresis was successfully induced, and finally the patient was cured of the disease. Zhu Danxi pointed out that the disease is caused by accumulation of phlegm in the lungs, and that the lungs are located in the upper jiao and the urinary bladder is located in the lower jiao, and that when the upper jiao is blocked the lower jiao will surely be obstructed, just like a kettle, only after the lid is uncovered, can water be poured out. This therapeutic method actually refers to the method of dispersing the lung qi to induce diuresis, which is usually used to treat edema, dysuria, or anuria when the patient does not respond to the routine therapeutic methods. In fact, interpreting metaphors in Chinese medicine is one of the keys to understand, reconstruct, inherit and develop Chinese medicine.
Structural metaphor in TCM
With regard to the structural metaphor: Yin-yang, five elements, zang xiang and war metaphors are typical examples in TCM. Structural metaphor is another important form of conceptual metaphor. When orientational metaphor and ontological metaphor are elaborated in much specific terms, or when some aspects of a concept are highlighted, we turn to structural metaphor for help. Structural metaphors allow us to use one highly structured and clearly delineated concept to structure another (Lakeoff & Johnson, 1980). Structural metaphor is the case where one structured domain is metaphorically restructured and redefined in terms of another, that is to say, by virtue of the structure of a more familiar and concrete domain, we understand abstract domains.
For example the struggle between the “Upright and the Evil” – i.e. the fight between the healthy qi and pathogenic agents, which will determine whether a person will catch a disease or not, are named by metaphorizing events of military affairs.
The engendering and restraining relationships among the five phases also come from direct observation and experiences of the phenomena among the five materials. As regards to the formation of the engendering relationship among the five phases, Wu Xing Da Yi · Lun Xiang Sheng or The Great Connotations of the Five Phases· On Engendering states that “Wood engenders fire for wood is warm in nature, fire is latent inside it and makes its way out of it and burns; Fire engenders soil for fire can burn wood, resulting in ashes, ashes can be ［regarded as］ a kind of soil; soil engenders metal, for metal is usually found in a mountain which is composed of soil; metal engenders water for the metal can be melted into fluid, ［which can be regarded as a kind of water］; water engenders wood for water can nourish wood and make it grow.” The restraining relationship among the five phases was established through observing the following natural phenomena among the five materials: water can extinguish fire, fire can melt metal, metal (such as sword and axe) can cut trees (wood), tree (wood) can take its root into soil, and dykes and dams (soil) can prevent flooding (water) from occurring.
In TCM, the five-phase theory is mainly used to explain the physiological functions, pathological changes of the internal organs and their relationships, formulating therapeutic principles according to the engendering and restraining relationships among the internal organs, thus bearing practical significance in the clinical sense. Take spleen as an example, spleen is located in the middle jiao (the center) and below the diaphragm. According to its central position and its yellow color, TCM attributes spleen to soil in the five phases. Soil is sowing and reaping, corresponding to late summer in the seasons and dampness in the climate, representing the features of receiving, generating, transforming, and supporting. Therefore, spleen’s function in TCM is metaphorized as transforming the water and grain into essence, then moving and sending the essence to the whole body; thereby, spleen is regarded as the foundation of postnatal existence, the source of the formation of qi and blood, and is interrelated with the flesh, governs the limbs, opens into the mouth, manifests its brilliance in the lips, etc. Moreover, a spleen system is formed with the common symptoms of spleen diseases such as abdominal pain or distension, poor appetite, loose stool, diarrhea, jaundice, fatigue or weakness of the limbs, edema which can be successfully relieved by treating spleen in TCM. It is clear that spleen in Chinese medicine does not refer to any concrete organ, or not the organ spleen at all (according to its central position and the yellow colour, this organ can be the pancreas, which was not perceived by TCM in the ancient time), but to a functional system by applying the five-phase theory.
Both of the Engendering and restraining cycles have two aspects: engendering and being engendered (like that between mother and child); restraining and being restrained. The relationships of each organ to the other four of the five zang organs can be explained by these aspects. Take liver as an example, Liver (wood) engenders heart (fire), and is engendered by kidneys (water); Liver (wood) restrains spleen (soil), and is restrained by lungs (metal). Liver relies on kidney water for nourishment, which is known as “water moistening wood”; if kidneys fail to fulfil this function, this condition is known as “water failing to moisten wood”. The five-phase theory can also be used in disease prognosis. Generally speaking, if a condition spreads in the order of engendering cycle, i.e. the condition of disease of the mother organ involving the child organ, the prospects for a good recovery are favourable and the disease can be considered minor; If, on the contrary, a condition spreads in the opposite order of engendering cycle, i.e. the condition of disease of the child organ affecting the mother organ, the prospects are unfavourable and the disease is serious. If a condition spreads in the order of restraining cycle, the condition is more serious when over-restraining than counter-restraining.
Author information:
Dr. Amily Guenier，Languages and Cultures of Lancaster University U.K [email protected]
Changyu Guo 中國山東大學外國語學院 School of Foreign Languages, Shandong University，China [email protected]
中醫隱喻在英國傳播的生態
Dr. Amily Guenier
摘要：本研究介紹了英國背景下中醫隱喻的可翻譯性。在本文中，我們首先從認知和實踐的角度檢視現代隱喻理論，然後討論了隱喻在中西方健康傳播和醫療體系建設中的作用。以下對英語和漢語中健康感表達中所使用的隱喻進行了探究，然後本文重點討論了英國中醫跨文化傳播和翻譯的生態，跨文化共享醫學隱喻對於更深入地理解人類健康經驗可能具有廣泛的影響。這項研究還表明，任何跨文化的人用中醫治療西方人，或用西方心理學/生物醫學治療中國人，都可以透過更多地了解每個體系（中國和西方）中概念隱喻的結構而受益。儘管人體是表達抽象概念隱喻的潛在普遍來源領域，但從特定角度建立的文化模式，在這些文化模式中，身體經驗的某些方面或身體的某些部位在理解這些抽象概念時被視為特別突出和有意義。“木、火、土、金、水五行”、“氣滯與行”、“陰陽平衡”等概念的分類有助於更積極地構想康復，提高對患者的敏感性，實現靈活的治療策略，並促進醫療服務提供者的有效溝通。
關鍵詞:跨文化溝通；隱喻；傳統中醫藥
簡介
隱喻在跨文化健康傳播中發揮關鍵作用，透過將抽象概念與現有的認知框架中的思想進行比較，以闡明和解釋這些概念，使它們更容易理解（Casarett等人，2010；Kirklin， 2007）。創造一個共同的語言可以增強治療關係，作為共享臨床現實的基礎，有助於共同理解（Reisfield和Wilson，2004，第4024頁）。它提供了一種理解健康體驗的方式，跨情感和概念意義，可能對人們的健康行為和決策產生影響。然而，理解隱喻可能存在獨特的挑戰，解釋或誤解取決於每個個體的先前經驗，並且具體於環境。由於生物醫學的限制和其變革的隱喻邏輯承諾整體性、平衡和福祉，傳統中醫學（TCM）已在英國廣泛應用。TCM中的基本概念是隱喻的，例如，疾病是由於“氣血不通”或“陰陽失衡”、“風”或“火”過多造成的。然而，這些關鍵概念作為隱喻的可翻譯性在實踐中是一個問題。可翻譯性被定義為從源語言到目標語言翻譯文化生態中的元素的詞彙和功能意義的能力。它也可以被定義為“一些意義在不經過根本變化的情況下從一種語言轉移到另一種語言的能力”（Pym＆Turk，2001：第273頁）。中醫學和西方生物醫學科學面臨幾乎無法調和的差異，因此，本研究旨在探討隱喻是否能夠將中醫學與西醫學（WM）聯繫在一起，以幫助將中醫學傳達給西方人，並在英國 找到其適當的生態環境？
英國的傳統中醫學
在英國，目前有超過3000家中醫診所，提供從針灸到中藥方劑、專利中藥、太極、中醫推拿、艾灸、耳穴療法、拔罐、藥理學、氣功和骨傷治療等多種治療，服務超過 2500萬英國居民。臨床治療結果顯示，中醫在醫療方案中可以改善病患的治療結果（Maizes, Rakel, & Niemiec, 2009）。例如，中醫可以為患有慢性和退化性疾病的患者提供良好的支持，例如腸躁症（Bi, Yuan, & Bian, 2017）和腰痛（Yuan, Guo, Liu, Sun, & Zhang, 2015） 。已經有文件證明了中西醫結合治療大流行性病毒性疾病的有效性，例如嚴重急性呼吸綜合症（Liu, Zhang, He, & Li, 2012）、甲型流感病毒（J.-H. Li, Wang, Guo, & Li, 2016）、HIV和愛滋病（Wang & Zou, 2011）以及手足口病（X.-h. Li等，2017）。當屬於中醫的草本青蒿素被用於治療瘧疾時，吸引了全球關注，故藥學教授屠呦呦榮獲2015年諾貝爾生理學或醫學獎。此外，王振義和陳竺因將西醫的全反式維甲酸與中醫的三氧化二砷結合治療急性早幼粒白血病而榮獲第七屆Szent-Gyorgyi癌症研究進展獎（國務院報告，2016年）。
中醫是中國文化的重要組成部分，具有獨特的診斷和治療方法，並有大量歷史文獻支持其理論。《黃帝內經》被用作中國醫學理論的主要來源，編纂於公元前300年至100年之間，被視為中醫的聖經（Keji & Hao, 2003; Xu & Yang, 2009）。特別是，張錫純（1860年-1933年）在他的著作《中西醫結合論》中強調了中西醫結合的重要性。中醫的患者評估和治療是基於一系列診斷工具，包括脈搏診斷、臉部和舌頭診斷以及與五行（水、木、金、土、火）的對應關係。在中國大陸，診斷通常與現代醫療技術結合使用，如X光、MRI掃描等。而在英國，中醫診所更傾向於依賴傳統的診斷方法。
中醫在世界各地的應用越來越廣泛。世界衛生組織的《全球傳統、補充和替代醫學地圖》顯示，世界大多數人口定期使用某種形式的中醫，最常見的是中草藥（Bodeker等，2005年）。目前，中醫在全球183個國家和地區中使用。根據世界衛生組織的數據，有103個會員國批准了針灸和艾灸的實踐，29個國家頒布了有關傳統醫學的特殊法規，18個國家將針灸和艾灸治療納入了其醫療保險規定。2022年，中藥的出口價值達到了40.19億美元（Xiang, Chen, Wei, & Zhou, 2022）。中醫在全球範圍內已經證明了其有效性，特別是在面對Covid-19 等全球健康危機時（Ren, Zhang, & Wang, 2020; W.-Y. Wang, Xie, Zhou, & Liu, 2021 ; Jia Xu & Zhang, 2020）。中醫也是全球許多中國移民的選擇，有效地向英國居民傳播和翻譯中醫將對公眾福祉產生巨大價值。
中醫中的本體隱喻
在本體隱喻方面，中醫與西方容器隱喻有一些共同點。由於人類的主要存在方式是實質的，我們對物理物體和物質的體驗使我們能夠超越單純的定向來理解世界和我們自己。由於這些經驗，我們可以選擇這些經驗的一部分，並將它們視為離散的實體或統一種類的物質。正如人類對空間方向的基本經驗促進了方向性隱喻一樣，我們對物理物體（尤其是我們自己的身體）的經驗為一種非常廣泛的本體隱喻提供了基礎，即以實體和物質的方式來看待事件、活動、情感、思想等。當我們對物理物體和物質的經驗使我們能夠將抽象的無形概念，如情緒、思想、心理活動和狀態，構想為具體的有形實體和物質時，本體隱喻就會產生。
例如，中醫中的“藏府”，本意為“庫房、宮殿”，是取自生活和官制的一對意象，用來稱呼人體的器官；人體的經絡以大地的河流來命名，取自大自然的意象；用秤的重量和刻度臂以及圓規和木尺來描述四個季節的脈象圖像，這些圖像取自日常生活。“關門以留入侵者”—例如外感熱病患者服用補充品，可將外邪留在體內。
“經絡系統”有多種譯名：“Meridian System”是世界衛生組織認可的標準譯名，但“Meridian”一詞僅表示二維網格，而經絡系統則被認為是承載氣血的系統，因此必須是一個三維繫統；Channel System是中醫英文文獻中最受歡迎的翻譯，但Channel一詞是多義的；如果我們考慮到脈和經絡概念的起源和發展，Paul U. Unschuld 2003年翻譯的《黃帝內經素問》中的“Vessel System”是最好的翻譯。基於脈和醫療實踐的一些解剖學知識，針灸、推拿或推拿、氣功或呼吸練習的應用，經絡的概念實際上是透過觀察、成像、類比河流中的水流而形成的隱喻。大地和紡織品的縱向線條，體現在它們的書寫形式中。《管子》水土章雲：“水者大地氣血，行於大地之上，如氣血流於脈中”。
另一個典型的例子是“提壺揭蓋治療小便不利”的治療原則，它是由創始人朱丹溪（1281-1358）名醫首次提出的。金元養陰學派（1115-1368），他從日常生活中的一個現像中得到啟發，打開裝滿開水的水壺的上蓋，水就會倒出來，並由此推斷出一種處理方法，命名為“提壺揭蓋”。他用宣肺氣的方法治療，成功利尿，最終治癒了疾病。朱丹溪指出，此病是痰蘊於肺所致，肺位於上焦，膀胱位於下焦，当上焦受阻时，下焦必然会受到阻碍，就像一个水壶，只有在盖子打开后，水才能流出。這種治療方法其實是指宣肺利尿的方法，通常用於治療常規治療方法無效時的水腫、小便困難或無尿。事實上，闡釋中醫隱喻是理解中醫、重構中醫、繼承中醫、發展中醫的關鍵之一。
中醫結構隱喻
在結構隱喻方面：陰陽、五行、藏象、戰爭隱喻是中醫的典型例子。 結構隱喻是概念隱喻的另一種重要形式。當方向隱喻和本體隱喻以非常具體的術語進行闡述時，或當概念的某些方面被強調時，我們轉向結構隱喻尋求幫助。結構隱喻使我們能夠使用一個高度結構化且清晰描述的概念來建構另一個概念（Lakeoff & Johnson，1980）。結構隱喻是指一個結構化領域用另一個結構化領域進行隱喻性的重組和重新定義。也就是說，我們藉助一個更熟悉、更具體的領域的結構來理解抽象領域。
例如“正邪之爭”，即正氣與邪氣之爭，決定一個人是否得病，就是藉喻軍事事件來命名的。
五相之間的生剋關係，也來自於對五種物質現象的直接觀察與經驗。關於五相生化關係的形成，《五行大義·論相生·五相大義·生論》指出：“木生火，木性溫，火潛於內”。它從裡面鑽出來並燃燒；火生土，火能燒木，生成灰燼，灰燼可以是土的一種；土生金，金多見於土所成之山；金屬產生水，因為金屬可以熔化成液體（可以看作是水的一種）；水生木，水能滋養木，使其生長。”五相之間的限制關係是透過觀察五種物質之間的以下自然現象而建立的：水能滅火，火能熔化金，金（如劍、斧）能砍樹（木），樹（木）能根植於土壤，堤防（土壤）可以防止洪水（水）的發生。
中醫五相學說主要用來解釋臟腑的生理功能、病理變化及其相互關係，根據臟腑之間的生剋關係制定治療原則，具有臨床意義。以脾臟為例，脾臟位於中焦（中央），膈肌下方。中醫依脾的中心位置和黃色，將脾臟歸為土，分為五個階段。土有播種、有收穫，對應季節的夏末和氣候的潮濕，代表受、生、化、養的特徵。因此，中醫把脾的功能比喻為化水穀為精，運化精氣，輸送至全身；因此，脾被認為是後天之本，氣血生成之源，與肉相通，主四肢，開竅於口，顯明於唇等。脾系形成，脾病的常見症狀如腹痛或腹脹、納差、便溏、腹瀉、黃疸、四肢疲倦、水腫等，中醫治脾臟即可成功緩解。顯然，中醫中的脾臟並不是指任何特定的器官，或根本不是脾臟（根據它的中心位置和黃色，這個器官可能是胰腺，這是古代中醫所沒有認識到的），而是透過應用五階段理論來研究功能係統。
五行中的生剋關係都有兩個面向：生和被生（如母親和孩子之間的關係）；克和被克。每個臟腑器官與其他五臟器官之間的關係可以透過這些方面來解釋。以肝臟為例，肝臟（木）生心臟（火），並受腎臟（水）生養；肝臟（木）克脾臟（土），並受肺臟（金）制約。肝臟依賴腎臟的水來滋養，這被稱為“水潤木”；如果腎臟無法履行這一功能，這種情況被稱為“水潤不了木”。
五行理論也可以用於疾病預後一般來說，如果疾病的傳播順序是按照生剋週期的順序進行的，即涉及到母臟器官的疾病狀況涉及到子臟器官，康復前景有利，疾病可以被認為是輕微的；相反，如果疾病的傳播是按照相反的生剋週期順序進行的，即子臟器官的疾病狀況影響到母臟器官，前景是不利的，疾病是嚴重的。如果疾病的傳播是按照克制週期的順序進行的，那麼當過度克制時，疾病更加嚴重，而逆克制時則相對較輕。
未完待續……
作者簡介：
Dr. Amily Guenier ， Languages and Cultures of Lancaster University U.K [email protected]
Changyu Guo 中國山東大學外國語學院 School of Foreign Languages, Shandong University，China [email protected]
