Enlightenment of the Yang-Qi Theory in the Canon of Medicine on Disease Treatment

Abstract

As the foundational work of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory, The Canon of Medicine attaches great importance to the significance of Yang-qi in human physiological activities. It elaborates on the crucial role of Yang-qi in human life activities from multiple dimensions including etiology and pathogenesis, and analyzes the impact of Yang-qi on the human body under pathological conditions. Thus, it provides a novel perspective from the Yang-qi perspective for analyzing the etiology, pathogenesis, evolution, and prognosis of diseases, as well as health preservation and care. Subsequent physicians, based on the Yang-qi theory expounded in The Canon of Medicine and the summary of clinical practical experience, gradually formed a comprehensive and systematic exposition of disease treatment from the Yang-qi perspective, and applied this to guide clinical practice and daily health preservation. By analyzing and studying the discussions in The Canon of Medicine on the role of Yang-qi deficiency or dysfunction in disease onset and evolution, this paper systematically summarizes the guiding effect of the Yang-qi theory on disease treatment and prognosis, and further generalizes the enlightenment of the Yang-qi theory on contemporary TCM disease treatment and the modern clinical application of Yang-warming methods.