Understanding of normal tongue process of traditional Chinese medicine

Time: 2016-01-21

Source: China's traditional Chinese medicine

Author: Liang Rong

For the understanding of the normal tongue has experienced two stages. The first stage to typhoid patients as observation object. The earliest debater for Jin Daicheng without own "typhoid Ming theory" (1156). The phase of the study there is a red tongue is normal tongue color, is also the contradiction of abnormal tongue color. The second phase in normal human observation object. Open the first person to the qing dynasty 高世栻 "medical chuan" (1699). To the end of the qing dynasty, completed the understanding of normal tongue.

Tongue diagnosis is born in the diagnosis of typhoid fever in the intensive it, therefore, to discuss about the normal tongue, tongue diagnosis is really began to apply for over three hundred years later. Discuss the understanding of the normal tongue like process, can reproduce the tongue diagnosis practice and thinking of the elders, to deepen our understanding of the connotation of tongue diagnosis.

The ancients understanding of normal tongue, can be roughly divided into two stages, and for the points mentioned below.

【 typhoid patients as objects of normal tongue know 】

This is known as the first phase of the normal tongue. At this stage, the observation object is of patients with typhoid fever, that is to say, at this point is abnormal by observing the change of the tongue to cognitively normal tongue.

Plain question of in the Canon of the yellow emperor, "hot" article "thorn hot piece of" and "fever" in miraculous pivot ", have "fever when the tongue dry, yellow tongue, tongue this bad". Treatise on febrile disease records the typhoid fever occurs when the "tongue" of "tongue white child" "tongue, such as tire" "white tire slip on the tongue", etc.

The first analysis of typhoid disease changes of tongue coating for jin to form a f. In his theory of typhoid fever and Ming (1156), from the Angle of symptoms, differential diagnosis, put forward 50 primary symptom and the volume on the 22nd for the "tongue".

To form a f to differential diagnosis of symptoms of writing format is: "typhoid XX, what of?" , then to explain the disease, such as before the "tongue" of a disease is 21 "ao 憹", to form a f yue: "typhoid ao 憹, how of? Ao, ao annoyed; 憹, depressed the appearance, namely ao annoyed heart troubles, irritated irritated 憹 憹, but not happy, that offers but helpless, and than boredom and worse." Such as "tongue" again after the 23rd is "nosebleed", to form a f yue: "why typhoid nosebleed, Ming? Nasal bleeding is also." But in the interpretation of the "tongue", to form a f is written like this: "typhoid tongue, how of? Heart the officer of the tongue, law should be the fire, the red jersey." Writing format is different from other entries, it is a new symptoms.

Chinese medicine in understanding new things, the most commonly used methods are based on the known knowledge, to explore the unknown, this needs from the inherent zang-fu theory to find the basis. To have said "law of officer of heart, to the tongue should be south fire", its basis is the pivot of the five "five make the article" reading "the officer of the tongue, heart"; Plain question "and" the theory of Yin and Yang should be like a big piece of "of" southern hot, hot fire. Fire bitter, bitter heart, heart 's-blood, blood and spleen, heart main tongue. Its in the day is hot, the ground for the fire, in the body as the vein, in Tibetan as the heart, in the color to red...... in the opening for the tongue ".

"The zang-fu" is the core of the basic theory of TCM. For the purpose of zang-fu theory, is to set up four key words, namely, tongue, heart, the south, the relationship between the fire. Because of the tongue is associated with heart, heart is associated with the south, the south is related to the fire, so that the tongue associated with fire. Based on this deduction, to form a has put forward the normal tongue like two elements, namely "the red" and "ze". "The red", refers to the tongue body is red; "Ze", refers to the tongue body (including tongue coating) wetting fluid.

Proved the derivation of the meaning is: when the tongue of the "red" and "ze" related to hot, can we explain why of typhoid fever in the heat of the tongue coating is dry, dry, yellow, black. , therefore, to form a has described the elements of normal tongue, tongue color is red, its significance does not lie in it, which allow doctors to use visual to experience a red tongue body, but in the clear of typhoid fever in the heat of the tongue embryo "associated with heat syndromes and pathogenesis.

The yuan dynasty, the existing first tongue diagnosis of typhoid monograph "AoShi typhoid Jin Jinglu" (1334), the description of the normal tongue: "the tongue, is the opening of the heart. Heart belongs to the fire, like Ming. People get sick, in the table at the beginning of the tongue colors such as red without white child." Through a "self", lead the pathogens in the table, the tongue is normal and is characterized by "red and white moss".

Ming dynasty, shelly lent found himself for years of tongue diagnosis book "AoShi typhoid Jin Jinglu", so in YiChou jiajing of Ming Chen (1556) and c (1565) organizing the book twice. His second in gujin suanxue congshu said: "the tongue is the seed of the heart. Heart, officer of the monarch, should be the south, red." More specifically emphasized the normal tongue tongue is the most important symbol of the color red.

Explained above, to the Ming dynasty, for normal tongue to form a as described in this i.e. Because at this stage to observe objects were the patient, so, the tongue color red has two meanings, one is said normal tongue color, but it is more focus on reasoning conclusion; 2 it is said the tongue color of typhoid fever heat syndromes, have heat syndrome diagnosis of practical value.

To form a f on normal tongue, a far influence on later generations, until the end of the qing dynasty, there is still a doctor refer to his opinion. Also there are some acknowledgement of tongue "the red and ze" revising, such as li Ting "introduction to medicine" (1575) written as "red tongue and lip"; Hui-ming zhu's "heart pox record" (1594), Feng Zhao zhang's "von trick secret record" (1694) written as "red tongue"; Li Zhongzi's "medical home really" (1667) writing "tongue color bright red moist" and so on. Is consistent, but the doctor make a point of Angle is based on the patient's tongue like change, deduce normal tongue, so, is there is a red tongue is not only the tongue color, normal and abnormal tongue color of contradictions.

【 by the normal tongue flat man-made objects like know 】

This is known as the second phase of the normal tongue, which focus on human in huangdi neijing (referred to as a "flat") and not of a man's tongue like features.

In 高世栻 "medical chuan" (1699) have such a words: "the tongue, heart. Heart, fire. Red tongue, positive color of fire. Also on micro tyre and be latent and of fire, this is a flat of tongue color." Half of this passage is discussed on the old knowledge, but also half was very new ideas. 高世栻 self assessment of new viewpoint is: "discrimination over the tongue, sense, not the viewer may not believe it."

What is "are not necessarily the letter"? 高世栻 think, is to the understanding of the formation of coating on the tongue. According to the mentioned in the book, was popular with thicker coating on the tongue is about the food, hot body, so the treatment use cold more drugs. Therefore, 高世栻 carefully observed the people after the meal, food, medication after acid content changes of tongue coating, various conditions such as found flat tongue coating is characterized by "micro with tyres, however faint, slightly pale white, and yellow between the ears." On this basis, put forward the formation of the normal tongue coating be latent of "fire" point of view.

高世栻 is to verify the relationship between tongue coating and food and hot, to observe the normal tongue coating, only then opens the door to the flat tongue like research, especially the coating on the tongue and the tongue body combined observation method, to promote the understanding of normal tongue like process.

Chapter XuGu in "medical door bang" (1825), also on normal tongue is discussed. Known coating on the tongue, "he said, now, by the angry in the stomach and the stomach gas by the glove, so of person, very thin, is angry about in the stomach, the small grass of the earth... moss also like the grass of the field, from laying." It is described the 高世栻 "micro tyre is further observation. He on the relationship between the coating on the tongue and the tongue body, coating on the tongue have "roots" point of view is presented.

Chapter XuGu also observed: "therefore, whitish, and the tip of the tongue, tongue, or what... white moss also withdrew from red, but this is not the red tongue. Without invaded, but in the stomach disease, its tongue this also as usual color stays the same. Also" Chapter XuGu, first put forward the concept of "color" of the tongue, while often color, red has not previously said. Fell ill, his tongue will be "red"; Health retirement, the tongue is back to the "red". Color is not red, it is often. So, chapter XuGu based on observations, and began to try to break free normal heat syndromes in patients with tongue color were defined as the fetters of red.

After Shi Shoutang in "medical original" (1861), the chapter XuGu metaphor "moss as the grass of the earth" to "the tongue of the moss, like to have moss", think "of moss, moisture on the pan. Tongue moss, spleen and stomach fluid on the tide." In this way, the moss into moss with a tongue of moss, for later tongue qualitative concept is put forward, namely mucosa (tongue) to distinguish the tongue body and tongue coating (mainly exfoliated cells of tongue mucosa) laid the foundation.

FeiBoXiong in "medical alcohol from righteousness" (1863) proposed that flat tongue coating is also not "" don't be bored with, from the Angle of the moist degree (fluid) on the characteristics of the normal tongue coating.

Fu Songyuan "tongue coating series" (1874) pointed out: the normal tongue color is pink. Yue: "the tongue color reddish, flat people often syndrome". "Pink, as the tongue color of the zang-fu organs is not evil", for the first time pink tongue, rather than as the basis of comparison of tongue color red tongue, but before that, reddish or used to diagnose heat syndromes, deficiency and cold syndrome, or used to diagnosis is divided.

After decades of the accumulation of flat tongue observation xue-hai zhou in the shape color outside clinical JianMa (1894) wrote "tongue coating bian". He said: "the predecessors' theory of tongue diagnosis accurately, but only on the tongue coating, regardless of tongue. Not regardless of tongue, also mix moss and mass, and both also... its top red in corn grains, a better mousetrap and summon up the clip" Ming really fire. The front white soft if harm, lung and gives birth to the gas holder "Ming really fire. As for moss, is the the fumigation of stomach qi".

Xue-hai zhou's tongue? "Ground" is said. Xue-hai zhou on the "ground", and discovered the two structures. According to xue-hai zhou, it is not difficult to see the description of tongue mucosa is on the largest number of two kinds of tongue nipples. Located at the tip of the tongue of the small red spots such as millet, mushroom nipples, xue-hai zhou think by "better mousetrap clip" Ming true fire and summon up "; Located on the tongue back if the harm of white soft spines on mucous membrane is filiform papillae, xue-hai zhou think by "lung gas holder" Ming true fire and give birth to ". XuGu found in chapter "moss grass of the earth", on the basis of xue-hai zhou respectively on the "ground" (tongue) and the "grass" (in) coating on the tongue, and finally realize the tongue and the tongue coating form difference.

Early years of the republic of China in the late qing dynasty, is the age of traditional Chinese and western huitong, at this point, in the study of normal tongue began to introduce the content of the western medicine. Such as Cao Bingzhang the color map tongue differentiation guide is the characteristics of the normal tongue summed up as: "as people without the disease often moss, appropriate pink tongue, tongue coating micro Bai Yin red, need filling ruddy, white moss is not thick, or slightly thick bottom. However, in the wet to for of moss." Cao Bingzhang also summarizes the tongue characteristics of different physical condition, character, content involves cheerful brave man, melancholy man, strong, weak, medium quality, consumption quality, quality of stroke, neuroticism, and so on.