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NAN JING Difficulty 41: The Role of the Gan/Liver
By Z'ev Rosenberg "Only the liver has two lobes. To what does this correspond? The liver is associated with the east and wood (phase). Wood corresponds to springtime. All the things come to life, (but) they are still young and small. They still are not identified with anything (specific). (Spring) is moving away from winter tai-yin, but is still close to it. It is separate from summer tai yang, but is not far away from it. It is as if the liver has two hearts. Therefore, (we say) the liver has two lobes. This also corresponds to the leaves of the trees." Spring is the season between winter and summer. The shoa yang is the small yang, the new growth of springtime when the buds are just breaking through their shells, putting out two young leaf sprouts. It is a delicate and tenuous time, reaching for the summertime season of flourishing growth, associated with tai yang, but still longs for its mother, tai yin, that dwells in the winter time. For this reason, we say that "the liver has two lobes." It reaches in two directions, backwards and forwards. The liver is associated with time and transition. It coordinates the rhythmic flow of qi throughout the body, and is connected with regular movement of blood. A healthy liver insures healthy emotions. So the Nei Jing tells us not to punish ourselves in the springtime. Instead, we should loosen the hair and clothing, wake up early with the dawn, and walk in the courtyard in the early morning to get the qi flowing. Springtime is a tenuous, unstable time. The weather is changeable, there is much wind, as the winter grasps for its last appearance. As the sun warms the air, the qi of summertime begins to predominate. All beings respond to the increase in light and warmth with increased activity, new development and plans. One clears out the old to generate the new. The foods and medicinals of springtime have an abundance of shao yang qi, such as chi hu/rx. bupleurum. Foods associated with the wood phase include sprouted lentils, spring onions, fresh greens from the wild and wheat or rye products. Chai Hu is said to have the qi of shao yang, i.e. raising the clear yang and stabilizing the exterior, while concurrently expelling any evil heat that may have accumulated during the winter. Coordination may be difficult in the springtime, as one is pulled in two directions, concurrently towards the quiet repose of wintertime, and forwards to the full burgeoning of summertime. We are swept up in the shao yang qi, and it can be turbulent. This can lead to a loss of direction, and weakening of our resistance to external contractions of evil qi. It is no accident, then, that our patients seem to be sick more often in springtime, and emotionally volatile. The liver governs the jin/sinews, so gentle stretching is good at this time. Anger, of course, is also associated with the liver, and we should be moderate in expressing our feelings to others. The defense qi is often weakened in springtime. The rising shao yang qi easily opens the pores to emit sweat, and wind-cold can easily enter the pores. This is also the season of chun wen or spring warmth disease, when wind-cold contracted in the wintertime transforms to heat in the shao yin channel, if there is weakness of kidney jing/essence. This fragile, changeable season can lead to shi bing, a seasonal disease. Many colds and flus strike when cold snaps follow warm spells, very common in springtime. Chinese medicine has many prescriptions that are useful for such spring-warmth epidemics depending on the pattern, such as bai hu tang/White Tiger Decoction, zhi zi chi tang/Gardenia and Prepared Soybean Decoction, and huang qin tang/Scutellaria Decoction. We can return to the Nan Jing over and over again and learn new things. The text is not only a guide to medical practice, it is a meditation on life and nature. We learn that the practice of medicine is as much a way of life as a profession.
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