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Harnessing your Inner Qi: Traditional Medicine Theory

Posted by Steve 1 Comment
Jan 28 2012

Now that we’ve introduced traditional forms of) Chinese medicine, it’s time to take a look at the theory behind these timeless practices. Traditional Chinese Medicine (中医) is based on Yinyangism (later absorbed by Daoism).From this follows the belief that all parts of the universe (including the human body) are interconnected by correspondence of “qi”, blood, bodily fluids, zang-fu, and meridians within the body. When all five are in harmony, the body is at balance between yin and yang, leaving the subject in good health. However, if these five are out of sync, according to Chinese medicine, the subject will become ill.

Here’s how the five are related and interact:

Qi (气）

Traditional Chinese medicine covers a number of different kinds of practices, most of which focus on balancing the distribution or movement of the body’s qi (气)–a putative energy that has no real correlate in western medicine according to Daoist philosophical and religious conceptions of yinyang. In general, traditional Chinese medical theory holds that there is a finite amount of qi available in the body, sometimes distinguishing between natal (inborn/innate) qi and developed (harnessed/gained).

Qi is believed to be partially generated from food and drink, and partially from air (by breathing). Another considerable part of it is inherited from the parents and will be consumed in the course of life. Chinese traditional medicine distinguishes not only one but several different kinds of qi (气).Qi is defined by five “cardinal functions”:

1) Actuation (推动, tuīdòng) – of all physical processes in the body, especially the circulation of all body fluids such as blood in their vessels.

2) Warming (温煦, wēnxù) – the body, especially the limbs.

3) Defense (防御, fángyù) – against Exogenous Pathogenic Factors

4) Containment (固摄, gùshè) – of body fluids, i.e. keeping blood, sweat, urine, semen etc. from leakage or excessive emission.

5) Transformation (气化, qìhuà) – of food, drink, and breath into qi and blood.

Blood (血):

In contrast to qi, blood, or 血 (xuě) is a tangible aspect of Chinese medicine. It is, nevertheless, defined by its functions: nourishing all parts and tissues of the body, safeguarding an adequate degree of moisture, and sustaining and soothing both consciousness and sleep. Typical symptoms attributed to a dysfunction of xuě (such as a lack of it) are pale complexion, dry skin and hair, dry stools, numbness of hands and feet, forgetfulness, insomnia, excessive dreaming, and anxiety

Body Fluids (津液):

Closely related to blood are blody fluids or  津液 (jīnyė). Just like blood, body fluids are considered to be yin in nature, and defined first and foremost by the functions of nurturing and moisturizing the different structures of the body. Their other functions are to harmonize yin and yang, and to help with secretion of waste products. Body fluids are ultimately extracted from food and drink, and constitute the raw material for the production of blood; conversely, blood can also be transformed into body fluids.Their phsycial manifestations are:  tears, sputum, saliva, gastric juice, joint fluid, sweat, urine, etc…

Zàng-fǔ (脏腑):

Zàng-fǔ or 脏腑 constitutes the centre piece of Chinese traditional medicine’s systematization of bodily functions. Bearing the names of organs, they are, however, only tied to rudimentary  anatomical assumptions (the fǔ a little more, the zàng much less). Because zang fu is primarily defined by functions, zang fu organs are not equivalent to the anatomical organs.

The term zàng (脏) refers to the five entities considered to be yin in nature - Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung, Kidney , while fǔ (腑) refers to the six yang organs - Small Intestine, Large Intestine, Gallbladder, Urinary Bladder, Stomach and Sānjiaō. The zàng’s essential functions consist in production and storage of qì and blood; in a wider sense they are stipulated to regulate digestion, breathing, water metabolism, the musculoskeletal system, the skin, the sense organs, aging, emotional processes, mental activity etc…The fǔ organs’ main purpose is merely to transmit and digest substances like waste, food, etc…

Since their concept was developed on the basis of Wǔ Xíng philosophy, each zàng is paired with a fǔ, and each zàng-fǔ pair is assigned to one of five elemental qualities (i.e., the Five Elements or Five Phases).These correspondences are stipulated as:

  • Fire (火) = Heart (心) and Small Intestine (小肠) (and, secondarily, Sānjiaō [三焦, ‘’Triple Burner‘’] and Pericardium [心包])
  • Earth (土) = Spleen (脾) and Stomach (胃)
  • Metal (金) = Lung (肺) and Large Intestine (大肠)
  • Water (水) = Kidney (肾) and Bladder (膀胱)
  • Wood (木) = Liver (肝) and Gallbladder (胆)

The zàng-fǔ are also connected to the twelve standard meridians – each yang meridian is attached to a fǔ organ and five of the yin meridians are attached to a zàng. As there are only five zàng but six yin meridians, the sixth is assigned to the Pericardium, a peculiar entity almost similar to the Heart.

Meridians (经络):

The meridians or 经络 (jīng-luò) are believed to be channels running from the zàng-fǔ in the interior of the body to the limbs and joints.  Chinese medicine identifies twelve “regular” and eight “extraordinary” meridians–the Chinese terms for which being 十二经脉 (pinyin: shí-èr jīngmài, lit. “the Twelve Vessels”) and 奇经八脉 (pinyin: qí jīng bā mài) respectively. 

Follow Steve on Twitter: @seeitbelieveit

The Chinese Zodiac Calendar

Posted by sasha 1 Comment
Jan 25 2012

One tradition associated with the Spring Festival that almost everyone knows about is the Chinese zodiac (生肖 – shēng xiào), a 12-year mathematical cycle that relates each year to an animal. Of course, there’s an interesting story in Chinese folklore that explains the order of the animals:

The Chinese Zodiac.

As the story goes, the gods decided to have a contest to see which animal could cross a river first. The winner would be first in the cycle, and then the next eleven would go in order. Seeing as how the rat was the smallest of the lot, the other animals figured he was a shoe-in for last place. When the race started, however, the clever rat hopped on the back of the ox. Just as the ox was about to jump onto the riverbank to claim victory, the rat leaped off of his back and stole the race. The tiger and the rabbit finished in third and fourth, respectively. Not surprisingly, the slow and lazy pig finished in dead last. Here’s the official listing of the animals in order:

  • Rat (鼠 – shǔ)
  • Ox (牛 – niú)
  • Tiger (虎 – hǔ)
  • Rabbit (兔 – tù)
  • Dragon (龙 – lóng)
  • Snake (蛇 – shé)
  • Horse (马 – mǎ)
  • Goat/sheep (羊 – yáng)
  • Monkey (猴 – hóu)
  • Rooster (鸡 – jī)
  • Dog (狗 – gǒu)
  • Pig (猪 – zhū)
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A funny animation about the race between the 12 animals (in Chinese with Chinese subtitles).

So, which animal are you? Here’s a chart with the Chinese zodiac and the years for each animal:

I'm an ox, how about you?

Each animal has distinct characteristics, and you will adopt those based on which year you were born in. Here is a short description of some of the traits associated with the 12 symbols of the zodiac.

As China follows a lunar calendar (阴历 – yīn lì), you have to check more specifically to see exactly which animal you are. The zodiac isn’t as simple as a 12-year cycle with 12 different animals, though. You also have to take into account the five elements (五行 – wǔ xíng):

  • Wood (木 – mù)
  • Fire (火 – huǒ)
  • Earth (土 – tǔ)
  • Metal (金 – jīn)
  • Water (水 – shuǐ)

Each of the five elements represents a planet: wood is Jupiter, metal is Venus, water is Mercury, fire is Mars, and earth is Saturn. The five elements are naturally occurring phenomena, and they are thought to have both a generating (生 – shēng) and an overcoming (克 – kè) influence on each other. For example, wood generates fire, while water overcomes fire.

How the five elements interact with each other.

The Yin and the Yang.

The Yin and the Yang.

In addition, you also have to consider the yin and yang (阴阳 – yīn yáng) form of each element. Since the cycle is divisible by two, each animal can only be either a yin or a yang – the rat, tiger, dragon, horse, monkey, and the dog represent yang, while the ox, rabbit, snake, goat, rooster, and the pig represent yin. When you combine the five elements with the yin and yang, you get the ten Heavenly Stems (天干 – tiān gān). These have no English translations, so the Chinese pinyin is usually used:

甲 乙 丙 丁 戊 己 庚 辛 壬 癸
jiǎ yǐ bǐng dīng wù jǐ gēng xīn rén guǐ
Jia Yi Bing Ding Wu Ji Geng Xin Ren Gui

As such, this creates a 60-year cycle – 5 elements times 12 animals. Confused yet? I know I am. Here’s an easy to follow guide that helps you understand the elements and their corresponding yin or yang:

  • If the year ends in 0 it is Yang Metal.
  • If the year ends in 1 it is Yin Metal.
  • If the year ends in 2 it is Yang Water.
  • If the year ends in 3 it is Yin Water.
  • If the year ends in 4 it is Yang Wood.
  • If the year ends in 5 it is Yin Wood.
  • If the year ends in 6 it is Yang Fire.
  • If the year ends in 7 it is Yin Fire.
  • If the year ends in 8 it is Yang Earth.
  • If the year ends in 9 it is Yin Earth.

Once again, you have to be careful when matching up dates on the Chinese calendar. This is basically only if you have a January or February birthday, as the actual Chinese New Year always falls during one of those months. As I was born on August 6, 1985, I’m an ox, and my birth year was Yin Wood. As 1985 was a year of Yin Wood Ox, that means the next year with such a description will happen in 2045 – 60 years later. Got it yet?

So what do you do with all of this information? Well, there is the Birth Chart (生辰八字 – shēng chén bā zì – lit. “the eight characters of birth time”), which are also commonly called the Four Pillars of Life (四柱命理学 – sì zhù mìng lǐ xué). The four pillars are the year, month, day, and hour of one’s birth. If you thought you only have a Chinese zodiac for the year you were born in, think again; there’s also one for the month, day, and hour of your birth. Each of these pillars is represented by both a Heavenly Stem and an Earthly Branch (the zodiac signs). All together, these can tell a person’s destiny or fate. While that may seem overwhelming, thankfully there are an abundance of online calculators to help you figure out all of your signs, such as this one. If you want to know what this all means, well then you’re just going to have to find a Chinese fortune teller to assist you in your quest to learn your fortune with the ancient Chinese method of Zi Wei Dou Shu (紫微斗数 – zǐ wēi dòu shù).

This year, when you celebrate the beginning of another Year of the Dragon, just remember that there’s a lot more to it than just one animal for one year.

The Year of the Dragon is almost upon us.

Spring Festival Superstitions and Traditions

Posted by sasha 1 Comment
Jan 21 2012

Don't cry, 小朋友, you need this haircut now so your uncle doesn't die.

When the Spring Festival rolls around, there’s a lot to be done. As this festival lasts for 15 days, there’s something different for each day, and preparations for the celebration begin weeks before the actual festival. Leading up to the New Year, there are plenty of superstitions (迷信 – mí xìn) about what should and shouldn’t be done. For example, you shouldn’t get a haircut (剪头发 – jiǎn tóu fǎ) or buy shoes (买鞋 – mǎi xié) during the first month of the New Year, so these things should be taken care of before the holiday rolls around. It’s said that if you get a haircut, your maternal uncle will die, and that if you buy new shoes, you will have bad things happen to you. This is because the word for shoes (鞋 – xié) sounds exactly like the word for evil (邪 – xié). Other superstitions include paying off all debts before the New Year (otherwise you’ll remain in debt), avoiding references to death or the past, and wearing red (good luck) but not black or white (bad luck).

Similarly, you should clean the house (打扫房子 – dǎ sǎo fáng zi) inside and out leading up to the New Year. When you clean before the New Year, you sweep out all of the bad luck from the previous year; however, when you clean during the New Year celebration, you risk sweeping out the good luck. So just leave that pile of dust in the corner, kick back, and watch some TV. There’s also an old story behind the necessity of cleaning the house for the New Year:

"Is your kitchen clean? It had better be!"

In Chinese mythology, there is a Kitchen God (灶君 – Zào Jūn – lit. “stove master”) who protects the home and the family. As the story goes, on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, just before the Spring Festival, Zao Jun returns to heaven to report back to the Jade Emperor (玉皇 – yù huáng) about the activities of every household. After seeing Zao’s report, the Emperor will either reward or punish a family, based on what he has heard. In order to have a positive report passed on to the Jade Emperor, families will do many things. A clean house will mean a happy Kitchen God, which will in turn bring good luck to the family.

Hanging couplets outside of the front door.

Not only should the house be clean before the holiday, but it should also be decorated. Hang some couplets (春聯 – chūn lián) outside of your front door, and make sure that they are red. Many of these will feature the character for good fortune (福 – fú) hung upside-down. This is a play on words, as the saying “fu is upside-down” (福倒了 – fú dào le) sounds the same as “good fortune has arrived” (福到了 – fú dào le).

"Fu is upside-down!" "That's right, good fortune has arrived!"

 

Have leftovers every year.

So many dumplings!

On New Year’s Eve (除夕 – chú xì), families will gather together to have a huge dinner (年夜饭 – nián yè fàn). Many families will eat fish (鱼 – yú) for this meal, as it is believed that this will help your wishes for the new year come true. There is even a Chinese idiom that goes, “Every year there are leftovers” (年年有餘 – nián nián yǒu yú). This is a play on words, as 餘 (extra, leftover) and 鱼 (fish) have the same pronuncation.  In the northern part of China, most people will eat dumplings (饺子 – jiǎo zi), which are symbols of wealth as the represent ancient Chinese currency. Some will even put a coin into one of the dumplings, and whoever ends up eating that one will enjoy great luck and prosperity in the new year. Down south, people will cook up a special New Year cake (年糕 – nián gāo), made of gluttinous rice flour. This is another play on words, as it can also mean “a more prosperous year.”

A Chinese New Year cake.

Another famous tradition for Chinese New Year is the lighting off of firecrackers (放鞭炮 – fàng biān pào). As I mentioned in the History of the Spring Festival, it is believed that doing so helps keep the evil Nian beast away, as well as other evil spirits in general. Around Spring Festival, it is not uncommon to hear firecrackers going off all day long, and on New Year’s Eve, it seems as if they never stop.

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Learn some Chinese words and expressions related to the Spring Festival.

China sounds like a warzone during Spring Festival.

Finally, a more modern day New Year’s Eve tradition is gathering with family to watch the CCTV New Year’s Gala (中 国中央电视台春节联欢晚会 – Zhōng guó zhōng yāng diàn shì tái chūn jié lián huān wǎn huì). The program is an elaborate production, and it features many different parts. There are skits (小品 – xiǎo pǐn), which focus on comedy. Then, there is crosstalk (相声 – xiàng sheng), which is sort of like stand-up comedy. Rounding out the event are song and dance (歌舞 – gē wǔ), acrobatics (杂技 – zá jì), and magic tricks (魔术 – mó shù).

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The opening of the 2011 New Year’s Gala on CCTV.

No matter how you spend your holiday, all of us here at Transparent Chinese wish you a Happy Spring Festival (春节快乐 – chūn jié kuài lè)! Cruise over to our website for more resources to help you learn Chinese in the Year of the Dragon.

Introduce Myself (自我介绍)

Posted by sasha No Comments
Jan 6 2012

When learning a language, one of the first things you need to learn how to do is how to introduce yourself (自我介绍 – zì wǒ jiè shào). Whether you are making friends, chatting with co-workers, or looking for love, you’ll obviously have to be comfortable talking about yourself and sharing basic personal information. As a way to help you in your Chinese studies, here’s a short personal introduction about myself:

大家好，我叫Sasha。我姓Savinov。今年我二十六岁。我来自美国。我的老家是底特律。我家有九个人：爸爸，妈妈，四个弟弟，两个妹妹，和我。我们也有一只狗。现在我住在北京。我在这儿工作。我是英语老师。我也是视频制作老师。我有漂亮的女朋友。她也是美国人。我们在一起住。我的爱好是：旅行，看书，听音乐，做运动，什么的。周末的时候我们喜欢去玩儿。比如：爬山，看音乐会，去饭馆吃饭，去酒吧喝啤酒。我很高兴认识你！

明白了吗? (míng bái le ma?) – Got it?

OK, I know that’s a lot to digest, so let’s break down my introduction a little bit:

大家好 – dà jiā hǎo – Hello everyone!

我叫Sasha – wǒ jiào Sasha – My (first) name is Sasha.

我姓Savinov – wǒ xìng Savinov – My (last) name is Savinov.

今年我二十六岁 – jīn nián wǒ èr shí liù suì – This year I’m 26 years old.

美国! F*** yeah!

我来自美国 – wǒ lái zì měi guó – I’m from the United States.

老虎加油！(Go Tigers!)

我的老家是底特律 – wǒ de lǎo jiā shì dǐ tè lǜ – My hometown is Detroit.

我家很大 (My family is really big.)

我家有九个人：爸爸，妈妈，四个弟弟，两个妹妹，和我 – wǒ jiā yǒu jiǔ gè rén: bà ba, mā mā, sì gè dì dì, liǎng gè mèi mei, hé wǒ – My family has nine members: dad, mom, four little brothers, two little sisters, and me.

我的狗有点胖 (My dog is a little fat.)

我们也有一只狗 – wǒ men yě yǒu yī zhǐ gǒu – We also have a dog.

现在我住在北京 – xiàn zài wǒ zhù zài běijīng – Now, I live in Beijing.

我在这儿工作 – wǒ zài zhè’er gōng zuò – I work here.

我是英语老师。我也是视频制作老师 – wǒ shì yīng yǔ lǎo shī. wǒ yě shì shì pín zhì zuò lǎo shī – I’m an English teacher. I’m also a video production teacher.

我们在景山公园 (We're at Jingshan Park.)

我有漂亮的女朋友. 她也是美国人 – wǒ yǒu piào liang de nǚ péng yǒu. tā yě shì měi guó rén – I have a beautiful girlfriend. She’s also American.

我们在一起住 – wǒ men zài yī qǐ zhù – We live together.

我的爱好是：旅行，看书，听音乐，做运动，什么的 – wǒ de ài hào shì: lǚ xíng, kàn shū, tīng yīn yuè, zuò yùn dòng, shén me de – My hobbies are: traveling, reading books, listening to music, playing sports, and so on.

周末的时候我们喜欢去玩儿 – zhōu mò de shí hou wǒ men xǐ huan qù wán er – On the weekend, we like to go out and play.

延庆县 (Yanqing County - outside of Beijing city.)

比如：爬山，看音乐会，去饭馆吃饭，去酒吧喝啤酒 – bǐ rú: pá shān, kàn yīn yuè huì, qù fàn guǎn chī fàn, qù jiǔ bā hē pí jiǔ – For example: climb a mountain, see a concert, eat out in a restaurant, or go to a bar to drink beer.

我很高兴认识你 – wǒ hěn gāo xìng rèn shi nǐ! – I’m pleased to meet you!

Well there you go. Now you know how to introduce yourself in Chinese, so find a new 朋友 and get practicing!

2011 Year in Review

Posted by sasha 1 Comment
Dec 30 2011

2011 - The Year of Transparent Chinese.

It’s been an amazing year for Transparent Chinese. Our Facebook page passed the 50,000 fans mark, our YouTube and Twitter pages have had great success, and our blog looks better than ever. Of course, we couldn’t have done it without YOU! We’d like to thank all of our readers for supporting us and making 2011 the best year yet, and we look forward to bringing you an even better year in 2012. For those of you who may be newcomers, here’s a list of our personal favorite posts from this year:

Chinese Idioms: Explained, Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four

Musical Instruments: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Pipa, Bianzhong (bells), Drumming, Bamboo Flute, Erhu (Chinese violin), Guqin (Chinese harp)

Chinese Love: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven

Saying Yes and No in Chinese: Written Post

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How to say Yes and No in Chinese.

School: Vocabulary, Chinese Universities

The Web: Internet Slang, Chinese Websites, Social Media

Chinese Food: Breakfast, Wanfgujing Snack Street, Fast Food, Restaurant Lingo, Table Manners, Chuan’er (kebabs), Making Dumplings Video, Beijing Roast Duck

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Jian Bing – Beijing breakfast.

History: From the Last Emperor to Chairman Mao

Sports: Shaolin Kung Fu, Shaolin Photos, Wushu, Enter Kung Fu, Basketball, CBA

Chinglish and Funny Stuff: Chinglish, More Chinglish Fun, Cultural Quirks

Chinese Medicine: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven

Travel: Riding that Train (Steve’s, Sasha’s), Hangzhou, Suzhou, Thousand Island Lake, Shidu, Shang Fang Mountain, Qingdao Beer Festival, Xi’an

As far as travel goes, here are a few of my personal favorite travel videos from 2011:

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Impression Liu San Jie in Yangshuo.

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The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival.

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Pingyao Ancient City in Shanxi Province.

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The best, and most fun video of them all – the Qingdao Beer Festival.

Well, there you go, that should keep you busy for a while! If that isn’t enough for you, cruise by our website for even more resources to help you in your quest to study Chinese. See you in 2012… until then, Happy New Year (新年快乐 – xīn nián kuài lè)!

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