These are the kinds of thoughts that connect my gongfu to my medicine – by Ethan Murchie

Recently my taiji teacher, Liang Dehua, made two interesting posts about the Ruist/confucian concept of 中庸 zhōng yōng the doctrine of the mean and how the influence of this idea is so important to Chinese culture that even in an art such as taiji quan, which is usually thought to be Daoist rather than Ruist; the influence can be seen in some of the taiji art’s most important principles.

In Chinese medicine as well, the concept of a stable central equilibrium is very important. So much so that one of the primary disease agents in the Neijing text is 邪氣 xíe qì, which usually translated as perverse or evil qi.

The character 邪 xíe, however, can also mean off kilter or inclined, and I believe putting the emphasis on this nuance of the character opens many doors to understanding disease processes.

To put it succinctly, the circulation patterns of our metabolism require a stable central equilibrium, a 中定 zhōng dìng to use taiji terminology, in order to function. This stability is expressed in much the same way as the Ruist 中庸 zhōng yōng is expressed and creates the conditions of 真氣 zhēn qì the true qi, in our bodies.

邪氣 which is inclined and off kilter creates 橫氣 héng qì transverse or horizontal qi. This transverse qi cuts across the 真氣 zhēn qì disrupting the proper rising and falling, entering and exiting of our metabolism and there after disease arises.

The disruption of circulation always comes first, and the disease always comes second.

On a very practical level, the way in which we can maintain our health is through a 庸 yōng/constant, practice of reinforcing our 中 zhōng/center.

What is also very interesting to me in Liang Laoshi’s commentary is that his final conclusion is that neither zhōng dìng nor dān tián cultivated in taiji quan practice are fixed physical parts of the body, they are rather both processes resulting from proper structure and qualities of circulation in our metabolism. This is exactly the same with the organ systems of Chinese medicine, and is the reason so many people have such a a hard time grasping their true nature, they are not the hardware of the physical organs, they are the ongoing, never ending process of change resulting from life burning in a body. They are not physical; they are pure process, the physical organs are left behind this process like the ashes are left by the fire.

These are the kinds of thoughts that connect my gongfu to my medicine.

You can read Liang Laoshi’s posts here and here.

Ethan