Yin- yang theory, Five element theory and twelve meridians

 Yin-yang is contradictory characteristics of two object under same category and it applies to ten thousand things in the universe. For example, the sun is yang, and the moon is yin.  Light is yang and darkness is yin, and male is yang and female is yin etc.

 So, we can categorize the twelve organs in human body as yin and yang. The heart is yin, and the small intestine is yang. The heart protector (pericardium) is yin and the triple burner[i] is yang. The liver is yin, and the gallbladder is yang. The spleen is yin, and the stomach is yang. The lungs are yin and the large intestine is yang. The kidneys are yin, and the urinary bladder is yin.

 The five elements are Water, Fire, Wood, Metal and Earth. One of the most typical aspects of Chinese Medicine is the common resonance among phenomena in nature and in the human body.  There are many sets of correspondences for each of the 5 elements.  Here let’s see the correspondence between human organs and five elements. Wood corresponds to the liver and the gallbladder, fire to the heart and the small intestine and the heart protector and triple burner, earth to the spleen and the stomach, metal to the lungs and water to the kidneys.

 Human body has 12 main meridians (aka channels). It is unique circulation system of Chinese medicine. Over thousand years of history, Chinese medicine has used it to diagnose and treat numerous health conditions. Many scholars have tried to prove its existence, but no one has proven it, only debated it.  According to Chinese medicine, the meridians are the channels through which qi and blood flow in each organ, and each organ is connected to the others through meridians.

 Taken together, each of the 12 meridians has the attributes of the yin-yang and five elements and is associated with an organ, and each meridian has a different number of points that we use to place acupuncture needles.

[i] The triple burner consists of upper, middle and lower burner. It is a kind of function group. So, the heart and the lungs belong to the upper burner, the spleen and the liver belong to the middle burner, and the kidneys belong to lower burner. I will elaborate it later.