Metaphorical discourse in traditional Chinese medicine based on the theory of the five elements

Chen' Ko ORCID: 0009-0004-6334-8351 Postgraduate student; Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Philology; RUDN University 119361, Russia, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 10-2a kuo.chen@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

The TCM theoretical system is a set of theoretical systems containing a unique language and concepts, and a proper understanding of the TCM language and concepts is the most important first step towards the development and improvement of the TCM theoretical system. In order to understand the language and concepts of TCM, it is necessary to clearly understand the formation of the language and concepts of TCM, and only on the basis of metaphorical cognition can one understand what TCM theories "say" and "why they say so."

A metaphor is a way of thinking in which one thing is used to understand another, and it is an important means of understanding the world and gaining knowledge for a person. J. Lakoff and M. Johnson believed that metaphor is embodied not only in language, but also in thinking and behavior. Metaphors are ubiquitous, present in everyday life and at the same time influence cognition. Metaphors do not arise out of thin air, but are systematic and similar in nature and based on human experience.^[3] The TCM language can be understood as a language based on metaphorical cognition, and based on the analysis of a large number of metaphorical discourses in TCM, the TCM language can be interpreted more intuitively.

The theoretical system of TCM has a long history and contains many philosophical ideas and practical experience, the most important cornerstone of which is the theory of the five elements. The theory of the five elements, which is based on the five basic elements - metal, wood, water, fire and earth, builds a complex and orderly network of relationships. This theory is not limited to a simple classification of natural substances, but is finely integrated into all aspects of TCM, from the interpretation of human physiological functions, the analysis of pathological mechanisms of diseases to the formulation of diagnostic and therapeutic methods that bear a deep imprint of the theory of the five elements.

In the world of TCM, the human body is considered as an organic whole, closely connected with the natural world. The theory of the five elements is exactly the bridge that connects the human body with nature and connects microphysiology with the macrouniverse. It is worth noting that the application of the theory of the five elements in TCM is mainly presented in the form of metaphors. Metaphor, as an important cognitive tool and linguistic expression, plays an indispensable role in the inheritance and development of TCM theories. The metaphor transforms the abstract language and concepts of TCM into vivid, concrete and easily perceived images, which allows the theory of TCM to be widely disseminated and accepted, overcoming the limitations of time and space. This article specifically examines how the theory of the Five Elements metaphorically correlates with the theory of TCM.

The main materials of this work are classical works on TCM: such as "The Yellow Emperor's Treatise on the Interior", "A treatise on various feverish conditions caused by cold", etc., which contain a large number of metaphorical discussions. The correspondence between the theory of the Five Elements and the theory of TCM is explored mainly through the interpretation of metaphorical discourses in the aforementioned Chinese medical texts.

The result and their discussion

1. Metaphorical discourse in TCM with the element of "Wood-木(Mu)"

According to the deep observation and understanding of the "Tree" from ancient times to the present day, the "Tree" is characterized by upward growth, outward expansion and abundance of branches and dense foliage. In this regard, such metaphorical characteristics of a "Tree" appear as growth, expansion, vitality, the ability to bend and stretch. A similar application can be found in the theory of TCM, where "Tree" is often used as an arbitrary component of a metaphor to interpret the concept of the human body, and the displayed systematic component of the metaphor represents a person with the characteristics of a tree, as well as a liver and gall bladder in the organ system.

In the system built in the "Axis of the Spirit - Twenty-five types of people, Yin and Yang," the five elements are not only related to nature, but also subtly classify the human body. "Between heaven and earth, within the six compounds, everything does not go beyond the five categories, and people also correspond to this," it is clearly stated that the human body is closely related to the five elements. In practical application, it is very convenient to classify the five elements by their five colors. In this section, they are further subdivided according to their five sounds, thus defining 25 morphological characteristics, i.e. "first you need to identify 5 types of people by 5 movements - Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth. Then divide them into 5 colors, distinguish between 5 types of body shape, and thus get 25 categories." The deep logic of this theory is that the amount of qi and blood inherent in humans in the body is the main reason for the existence of various body shapes. When the doctor has mastered the concept of these 25 forms, he will have a key to the state of internal organs based on the external image of the human body, as the book says, that twenty-five categories are obtained as a result of the fact that blood and Qi have their own characteristics, and through separate observations from the outside to know the inside.^{[7, pp.247-248]}

In the treatise "The Axes of the Spirit - Twenty-five types of Yin and Yang people," the main characteristics of a person with the shape of a Tree are described as follows: "People who correspond to the movement of a tree belong to the upper Yixue category by sound. They are similar to the azure lord. Therefore, these people have a predominant azure color, they have a small head, a long face, large shoulders and back, a straight body, small arms and legs, they have a good mind, they like to set their consciousness in motion. But they have little body strength, and they get very tired of doing things. People belonging to this group tolerate spring and summer well and feel unwell in autumn and winter. If there is an impact of pathogenic factors and a disease is born, then the insufficient yin meridian on the leg is affected first of all."^{[7, p.248]} The character of such people is usually peaceful, calm and graceful. This happens through knowledge of the tree and analogy with it.

In the 64th section of the Treatise "The Axis of the Spirit - Twenty-five types of Yin and Yang people", through observation of a natural tree, the physical characteristics of a person are described by analogy, which are similar to the shape of a tree, and it is clear that the analogy of ancient people with the image did not burden the theory of TCM, but allowed them to show the theoretical knowledge they experienced. in a simple manner.

The ancients used the natural characteristics of the "Tree" to describe the physiological characteristics of the liver and gallbladder, and this theory is the fruit of intertwining the knowledge and experience of the ancients with the cognitive system. A "tree" consists mainly of roots, trunk, branches, and leaves, and the process of tree growth and development requires the cooperation of many necessary factors, such as the right amount of nutrients in the ground and irrigation with water. The description of the physiological properties of the liver and gall bladder (the object of the metaphor) in the theory of TCM can be understood against the background of the content of the natural properties of the Tree (an arbitrary component of the metaphor). In the 5th section of the Treatise "Questions about the simplest": "The East gives birth to the wind, the wind gives birth to the Tree...... Of the storage organs is the liver..."^{[6, p.24]} This indicates that the physiological properties of the liver are dynamic, like a living tree. In the 19th section of the Treatise "Questions about the simplest" it is said that the spring pulse corresponds to the liver, and the liver from the cardinal directions corresponds to the east, from the elements to the Tree. And since everything starts to grow at this time, the pulse should be soft and slippery, straight and long, and is called a stretched bowstring, and if the pulse contradicts the properties described above, then it is a sick pulse.^{[6, p.86]}

2. Metaphorical discourse in TCM with the element of "Fire-火(Huo)"

"Fire" is one of the most widespread phenomena in nature and an important element in the process of the origin of life. "Fire" is one of the five elements of ancient Chinese philosophy: wood, fire, earth, metal and water, as well as one of the so-called "four great elements" of Buddhist culture (the four main elements that make up the material world: earth, water, fire and wind), which have pronounced symbolic features as in in both Eastern and Western civilizations and cultural systems. "Fire" is also an important concept in TCM.

The perception of "Fire" in the human body in TCM is based on the experience of perceiving "fire" in nature. The concept of "Fire" in TCM is, in fact, a metaphorical cognitive process of mapping from the image of "natural fire" to the object of the metaphor of "fire in the human body."

The ancient physicians' understanding of the "light (spirit) of the Power of the consciousness of the heart" originates from the "light of fire." The 8th section of the Treatise "Questions about the simplest" says: "The heart in the body performs the function of a ruler. The light of the Power of Consciousness comes from the heart."^{[6, p.39]} It is also stated In the 81st section of the Treatise that the subtle Force of breathing (vital forces) of Fire is the Spirit.^{[6, p.489]} The light of Fire illuminates four directions, the heart is the ruler of the world, and therefore the spirit establishes a direct metaphorical connection with the light.

The ancients believed that the color of the heart was red. In the 44th section of the Treatise "The Axis of the Spirit": "The heart is a Yang organ, and its color is red."^{[7, p.189]} In the 4th section of the Treatise "Questions about the simplest": "The red color corresponds to the South, penetrating into the body, it communicates with the heart...of the 5 elements, Fire corresponds."^{[6, p.19]} All the above points out that the heart is like Fire, and its color is red. Red complexion is a healthy color that represents the normal physiological state of Fire in the body. The red color is a reflection of the normal functioning of blood and qi in the body.

The phenomenon of water consumption and reduction of the amount of water due to the energy of fire was used metaphorically in the theory of TCM to explain the role of fire in the depletion of qi and injury to body fluids. In the 39th section of the Treatise "Questions about the simplest" it says: "Exposure to heat leads to the opening of skin openings, as a result of which the protective and nourishing Forces of respiration move unhindered, and this leads to excessive perspiration... there is an outflow of qi (the Power of breathing) with sweat."^{[6, p.182]} Thus, fire-heat in the body leads to the depletion of fluids and qi (the Power of breathing).

3. Metaphorical discourse in TCM with the element of "Earth-土(Tu)"

The earth is a place where people settle, an environment in which terrestrial plants, animals and microorganisms live, providing nutrients necessary for plants and plant organisms accessible to animals, microorganisms and humans.

The function of the Earth to carry and nourish all beings is used metaphorically to explain the function of the spleen to transport and transform water and grains in the stomach to produce the five flavors and thus nourish the body. As it is noted in the 8th section of the Treatise "Questions about the simplest", the spleen and stomach perform the function of a barn, a storehouse - five tastes originate from them, which highly summarizes the physiological functions of the spleen and stomach for storing water and grains and producing nutrients. And this understanding is very similar to the function of the Earth - to nourish all beings. In a significant part of the literature, in this case, the spleen and stomach are metaphorically used as a storage for grain, which indicates that the spleen and stomach have the function of receiving water and grain, and in the minds of the ancients, the stomach is also the main substance that carries all beings. According to the principle of analogy, the Earth can be compared with the spleen and stomach, and plants and other things - with liquid and grain. ^[9]

Fertile Land is favorable for the growth and development of crops, while infertile Land is unfavorable for the growth of crops and other plants, leading to thinning and wilting of branches and leaves. In the 19th section of the Treatise "Questions about the simplest" it is written that the pulse of the spleen correlates with the element of the Earth, and this separate storage organ irrigates the 4 remaining storage organs... In case of insufficient pulse of the spleen, the patency of nine openings of the body is disrupted.^[9] Through metaphorical thinking, the Earth provides nutrients, the spleen spreads the quintessence. The nutrients and quintessence scatter, and then the plant grows strongly, and for the human body, yinwei qi, blood and fluid are transported to the limbs and muscles to nourish them. In a barren land, the plant wilts and does not grow, in the human body, due to a deficiency of the spleen, water and grains cannot be delivered to the organs, which will lead to dizziness due to a lack of nutrients in the organs. The lack of qi in the spleen leads to unfavorable essence production, the inability to transfer essence and provide nutrients to the five organs, which leads to disruption of the five organs and disharmony between yin and yang. Therefore, in the 18th section of the Treatise "Questions about the simplest" it says that food and water are the root-the basis of human life, and if a person stops drinking water and taking food, he dies.^{[6, p.84]} That is, the understanding that the human body cannot feed without water and food produced by the spleen and stomach was based on the observation that plants need the Earth to produce the nutrients necessary for their growth. Similarly, it can be argued that the metaphorical basis of the therapeutic principle of Qi nutrition of the spleen and stomach comes from the method of land reclamation and cultivation by applying fertilizers and water to it.

4. Metaphorical discourse in TCM with the element of "Metal (Jin)"

Metal is one of the main substances widely used in everyday life not only in our time, but also in ancient societies. From agricultural production (for example, agricultural implements), which is closest to life and death, to the security of the nation (for example, weapons), metal is necessary, and therefore the ancients accumulated a lot of their own ideas and knowledge in the process of making and using metal.

With the rich experience of using metals, the understanding of Metals has been metaphorically transferred to other areas, such as the system of metals within the theory of the Five Elements and the system of lungs and metal in the theory of diagnosis of internal diseases of TCM, where knowledge of the clear concept of "Metal" is used to understand the relatively obscure concepts of lung internal organs.

Changes in the way humans process metal to produce the necessities of life can be compared to changes in the lungs when they "exhale the old and inhale the new." Ancient peoples modified and transformed metallic substances in various ways into objects they needed in their daily lives: agricultural implements, hunting implements, tools and other everyday utensils and tools. In the 66th section of the Treatise "Questions about the simplest" there is such a metaphor: "Heaven and Earth are the top and bottom for many subjects... Metal and Wood are the end and the beginning of generation and completion."^{[6, p.294]} The intake of fine substances necessary for survival, growth and health into the human body depends on the work of the lungs. As in the 9th section of the Treatise "Questions about the simplest," it says that Heaven sends 5 Breathing Forces to man, and the Earth feeds man with 5 tastes. The 5 Forces of breathing enter the body through the nose and are stored in the heart and lungs. Breathing rises to the upper part of the body, and as a result, a person can distinguish colors and shades, and can clearly listen to sounds.^{[6, p.45]} Back in the 18th section of the Treatise "The Axis of the Spirit" indicate that in the process of circulation of nourishing Qi (the Power of breathing) and protective Qi (the Power of breathing), in addition to the fact that the spleen and stomach transport and transform water and grains for the production of qi, blood and It is also necessary to go through the function of "changing" the lungs in order to release nutritional Qi and protective Qi, spread them throughout the body and perform their functions. Therefore, the ancients believed that it is necessary to maintain human life with the help of the lungs, which perform the function of breathing, so that the natural five qi are converted into substances necessary for the body and waste is released after metabolism. ^[9]

Metals, as a rule, are malleable, and in the process of hardening they can exhibit stretching and thinning phenomena. In the 21st section of the Treatise "Questions about the simplest", it was explained that the path of nutrients from the stomach to the whole body passes through the lung function of dispersion and transportation in order to complete the physiological balance of qi, blood, yin and yang throughout the body.^[9]

Metals are heavy and always naturally settle down. The 40th section of the Treatise "The Axis of the Spirit" describes the difference between pure and turbid qi: pure qi enters the lungs, and the turbid qi in the lungs goes down into the meridians, thanks to the purification and descent of the lungs and accumulates in the chest, turning into seas of qi. This process is a phenomenon of downward and inward movement. In the 21st section of the Treatise "Questions about protozoa" it is indicated that during the metabolism of water in the human body, the fine substances contained in water first enter the spleen, then the lungs. Then the Qi (Breathing Force) of the lungs regulates and regulates the path of movement of the water through purification and descent of the lungs and enters the bladder below and collects in it. All of the above physiological phenomena are realized through the cleansing and descent of the lungs.^[9]

When a pathogenic factor invades the body and affects the function of lung dispersion, it is necessary to open the pores of the body and cause perspiration. When the disease acts at the skin level, sweat should be induced and stimulated. When a person's body shape is characterized by insufficiency, it should be warmed by qi (the Power of breathing). Therefore, through the promotion of lung qi, the opening of skin pores, and the regulation of qi and blood, the evil pathogenic qi will release sweat. Sweating is often used to restore the ability of the lungs to disperse. Decoction with cinnamon branches and decoction of Chinese ephedra in the "Treatise on diseases caused by cold" are mainly used to restore lung function by dispersion by sweating. Cinnamon twig and ephedra are representatives of pungent and warm herbs. The method by which hot and warm medicines help the lungs perform their dispersion function comes from the metaphor of tempering metals to increase their strength and malleability.

5. Metaphorical discourse in TCM with the element "water-水(Shui)"

Water is the source of life, plants must feed on rain, humans and animals need water. Plants can break down and the serous fluid will spill out, people and animals can get hurt, and the fluid will leak out or even leak out of the blood. These phenomena are very easily observed in everyday life. Therefore, it was easy for the ancients to form the following understanding: that is, water is everywhere, water is in everything, water nourishes everything, so everything is full of vitality. The 32nd section of the Treatise "The Axis of the Spirit" states that when a person is unable to eat and drink, he dies within 7 days, this is due to the depletion of cereals and fluids in his intestines and stomach.^{[7, p.159]} Ancient physicians used the objective properties of water in nature to metaphorically illustrate the generation, metabolism, and transportation of water in the human body, thereby defining how TCM theories were formed, as well as facilitating understanding.

Water is a liquid that has fluidity due to the gravitational force of water, due to which the flow of water has a downward movement. Ancient doctors associated the kidneys with the element of water, because The waters in the body follow the path of fluid movement, and most importantly, the kidneys are controlled by body fluids. Water on earth is usually represented by rivers, streams, lakes and seas, and according to the theory of TCM, 12 meridians are divided in the body, which externally correlate with 12 waters (rivers), and internally connect with all organs. Among the 12 river waters, there are large and small, deep and shallow, wide and narrow, distant and close, and they all differ. All organs can also be located high or low, be small or large, can take in large or small amounts of food, they are all unequal. Therefore, 12 river waters and human organs are closely connected to each other based on the yin and yang of Heaven and Earth, for example, the small yin meridian on the leg connects externally with the water of Zhu Shui (the name of the river), inside it connects with the kidneys. The ancients understood the state of water in the human body through the state of water in nature, which followed from the metaphor "meridians are rivers," and whatever the state of the water in the river, the state of the water in the meridians should also be the same. The process of water circulation in the human body is described in detail as water and cereals enter the mouth, then they are classified into 5 flavors, and each flows into its own organ. And the nutrient fluids go their own way. When it's hot and people get dressed a lot, then the pores of the skin open and sweat comes out. And when it's cold, the pores close, the water sinks down and remains in the bladder, finally urine is formed.

In the pathology of TCM, stagnation of water in the human body due to loss of its transmission and distribution is based on the natural phenomenon that water in nature loses its fluidity and is prone to rotting and spoilage. For example, the kidneys are an outpost for the stomach, if the outpost is closed and there is no patency, then water accumulates in the skin, so dropsy and swelling form.

According to the above research results, the correspondence between the five elements and the five human organs is shown in the table below.:

Conclusion

Metaphor is an important means of understanding the world and gaining knowledge by a person, and it is of great importance for studying the theories of TCM. The theory of TCM is a theory that is based on one's own experience of the human body, and its truth can be confirmed by the experience that the human body feels. In the context of "human-nature interaction," the ancients used the knowledge of "wood," "fire," "earth," "metal," and "water" in the natural environment as a metaphor for understanding the five dense and six hollow internal organs in TCM. The characteristics of "Wood", "Fire", "Earth", "Metal" and "Water" in the five elements metaphorically serve to understand the physiological characteristics of the five viscera, pathological changes and appropriate treatment rules, and the liver, heart, spleen, lungs and kidneys are considered as the main viscera that are generated by the qi of Heaven and Earth in human beings. The human body is a small microcosm, and many theories of TCM are based on such metaphors as "the liver is a tree, the heart is fire, the spleen is earth, the lungs are metal, and the kidneys are water," etc. These metaphorical discourses not only give the language of TCM vivid vitality and deep meaning, but also make obscure and hard-to-understand medical knowledge vivid and colorful, as well as bring the public closer to TCM.

In conclusion, it should be noted that an in-depth study of metaphorical discourse in TCM based on the theory of the five elements will not only help the world to review the scientific and cultural values of TCM theories, reveal the hidden cognitive logic and way of thinking underlying them, but also provide new perspectives and methods for the modernization and international dissemination of TCM.