YIN – YANG & 5 ELEMENTS

MARJORIE Y. MANABAT, R.N., M.D.

 YIN & YANG
• Refers to 2 opposing things or aspects
• All objects and phenomena have 2 opposing
aspects
• They’re opposite but unified to form a whole
• They’re opposites but related with one
another
 YIN - YANG
YIN YANG
• Female • Male
• Internal parts • External parts
• Water • Fire
• Lower • Upper
• Anything not exposed to the • Anything exposed to the
sun Sun
• Earth • Heaven
 YIN - YANG
YIN YANG
• Static • Active
• Descending • Ascending
• Dim • Bright
• Degenerate • Progressive
• Hypo-functioning • Hyper-functioning
• Organic • Functional
 YIN – YANG
• This is not absolute, but relative
– Yin may transform to Yang, and vice versa
• Also, within Yin or Yang there still might be
further subdivided Yin and Yang, e.g.
– Day belongs to Yang and Night belongs to Yin
• Morning is Yang within Yang
• Afternoon is Yin within Yang
MAJOR CONCEPTS OF YIN – YANG THEORY

• OPPOSITION OF YIN – YANG

– In nature two opposite aspects exist for all things
and phenomenon
• Heaven and Earth
• Day and Night
• Cold and Heat
• Ascent and Descent
• Exit and Entrance
MAJOR CONCEPTS OF YIN – YANG THEORY

• INTER-DEPENDENCE OF YIN – YANG

– Neither Yin nor Yang can exist by its own without
the other
• Without outside, there is no Inside, and vice versa
• Without heaven, there is no Earth, and vice versa
– If the spleen and stomach is weak, the digestion
and absorption of food will be deficient; if there is
less food, the spleen and stomach function will
decrease.
MAJOR CONCEPTS OF YIN – YANG THEORY

• WAX –WANE OF YIN – YANG

– The Yin and Yang are in a state of constant change
• Yin wanes, Yang wax
• Yang wanes, Yin wax
– Climactic changes of the 4 seasons:
• Winter to Spring to Summer to Autumn to Winter
– Relative balance is maintained
MAJOR CONCEPTS OF YIN – YANG THEORY

• TRANSFORMATION OF YIN – YANG

– Yin may turn into Yang and Yang into Yin
– This is a process of qualitative change
• “wax and wane” of Yin and Yang is a quantitative
change
– Example:
• In the presence of acute infection such as Pneumonia
– Heat-toxin is extremely strong and the Anti-Pathogenic Qi is
very low.  patient’s condition changes where pulses become
weak, temperature becomes cold, pulse is faint
APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG THEORY IN TCM

• YIN – YANG & THE STRUCTURE OF THE BODY

– YANG:
• upper part of the body
• Superficial part of the body
• Back
• Lateral side of the body
• 6 fu organs
– Gallbladder; stomach; small intestine; large intestine; urinary
bladder; San Jiao
APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG THEORY IN TCM

• YIN – YANG & THE STRUCTURE OF THE BODY

– YIN:
• Lower part of the body
• Internal part of the body
• Abdomen part
• Medial aspect of the body
• 5 zang organs
– Heart; lungs; kidney; spleen; liver
APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG THEORY IN TCM

• YIN – YANG & THE PHYSIOLOGICAL

FUNCTIONS OF THE BODY
– TCM believes that normal life activity of the
human body is an outcome of the relation of Yin
and Yang
– In the absence of Yin-Essence, there wouldn’t be
any Yang-Qi.
APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG THEORY IN TCM

• YIN – YANG & PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN

THE BODY
– Onset of disease is the outcome of a relative
imbalance between Yin and Yang with a
consequent excess or deficiency of one or the
other
APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG THEORY IN TCM

• YIN – YANG & PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN

THE BODY
– Anti-Pathogenic Qi consists of:
• Yin-Essence
• Yang-Qi
– If Yang-Evil enters the body  excess Yang 
injure the Yin = HEAT SYNDROME
– If Yin-Evil enters the body  excess Yin  injure
the Yang = COLD SYNDROME
APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG THEORY IN TCM

• YIN – YANG & PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN

THE BODY
– If Yang-Qi declines  Deficient-Cold syndrome
– If Yin-Essence declines  Deficient-Heat
syndrome
APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG THEORY IN TCM

• APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG IN DIAGNOSIS OF

DISEASE
– Root cause of onset and development of a disease
lies in a relative imbalance between Yin and Yang
• Thus all diseases, can be categorized into 2:
– Yin syndrome
– Yang syndrome
– To arrive at the right diagnosis, you should first
distinguish between Yin and Yang
APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG THEORY IN TCM

• APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG IN DIAGNOSIS OF

DISEASE
– Example: on Inspection
• Bright color ~ Yang
• Dark and Gloomy color ~ Yin
– In Auscultation
• Voice with high tone ~ Yin
• Feeble voice ~ Yin
APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG THEORY IN TCM

• APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG IN DIAGNOSIS OF

DISEASE
– In Pulse-taking
• Floating, rapid, large, smooth, or excess pulses ~ Yang
• Deep, slow, small, unsmooth, or deficient pulses ~ Yin
APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG THEORY IN TCM

• YIN – YANG
– Yang
• illnesses of excess
• Illnesses of heat
• Illnesses of the exterior
– Yin
• Illnesses of deficiency
• Illnesses of cold
• Illnesses of the interior
APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG THEORY IN TCM

• APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG IN TREATMENT

OF DISEASE
– Guiding principle in treatment is regulating Yin and
Yang to restore its relative balance
– Example: Exuberant Yang-heat injures Yin-Fluids
• Treatment is COOLING WHAT IS HEAT
– Example: Yin-Cold excess and injures the Yang-Qi
• Treatment is HEATING WHAT IS COLD
APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG THEORY IN TCM

• APPLICATION OF YIN – YANG IN TREATMENT

OF DISEASE
– If a case of Hyper-activity of Yang due to the
failure of Yin-fluids in checking Yang, or, a case of
exuberance of Yin due to a failure of deficient
Yang-Qi checking Yin
• Treatment is REINFORCING THE DEFICIENCY OF YIN OR
YANG
– TREATING YIN FOR A YANG ILLNESS AND TREATING YANG FOR
A YIN ILLNESS
 5 ELEMENTS
• Ancient China believes that these are the 5
indispensable materials in life:
– Wood
– Fire
– Earth
– Metal
– Water
• The 5 elements inter-promote and inter-restrict,
and in constant state of motion and change
 5 ELEMENTS
• This theory was used in TCM to explain
physiological and pathological changes in the
human body, and the relation of the human
body to the external environment
 MAJOR CONCEPTS OF THE 5 ELEMENTS

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 5 ELEMENTS

– TCM doctors used the 5 elements to study and
classify tissue structure, physiology and pathology
of the human body, and nature.
– They categorized things into 5 elements according
to their different natures, actions, shapes or
forms.
MAJOR CONCEPTS OF THE 5 ELEMENTS

• CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 5 ELEMENTS

– WOOD flourishes and grows freely
• Anything that possesses this characteristic is attributed
to Wood
– FIRE is characterized by warmth, heat and flares up
• Anything that possesses this characteristic is attributed
to FIRE
– EARTH is characterized by holding and producing
• Anything that possesses this characteristic is attributed
to EARTH
MAJOR CONCEPTS OF THE 5 ELEMENTS

• CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 5 ELEMENTS

– METAL is characterized by solidity and clarity
• Anything that possesses this characteristic is attributed
to Metal
– WATER is characterized as cold, moist and flowing
in a downward direction
• Anything that possesses this characteristic is attributed
to Water
MAJOR CONCEPTS OF THE 5 ELEMENTS

• PROMOTION, RESTRICTION, SUBJUGATION &

VIOLATION OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
– PROMOTION & RESTRICTION
• PROMOTION indicates promoting and improving the
orderly function among the 5 Elements
– ORDER OF PROMOTION:
» Wood promotes Fire, Fire promotes Earth, Earth
promotes Metal, Metal promotes Water and Water
promotes Wood
MAJOR CONCEPTS OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
• PROMOTION & RESTRICTION
– The promoting element is the “MOTHER”
– The promoted element is the “CHILD”
– Relationship is called “MOTHER-CHILD
RELATIONSHIP”
MAJOR CONCEPTS OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
• PROMOTION & RESTRICTION
– RESTRICTION implies checking and bringing under
control among the 5 elements
– Order of restriction;
• Wood restricts Earth, Earth restricts Water, Water
restricts Fire, Fire restricts Metal and Metal restricts
Wood
– RESTRICTING ELEMENT is the Dominator
– RESTRICTED ELEMENT is the Subordinate
• Metal is the dominator of Wood
MAJOR CONCEPTS OF THE 5 ELEMENTS

• PROMOTION, RESTRICTION, SUBJUGATION &

VIOLATION OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
– Without promotion, there would be no birth and
growth;
– Without restriction, there would be abnormal
changes
– Promotion and restriction oppose each other, yet
also complement each other  relative balance
for normal generation and development
MAJOR CONCEPTS OF THE 5 ELEMENTS

• INVASION BY ANOTHER ELEMENT

– INVASION means encroaching on that which is
weak
• When wood is excessive, Metal fails to check Wood,
then the excessive Wood will invade Earth and make
the latter even more deficient.
MAJOR CONCEPTS OF THE 5 ELEMENTS

• INVASION BY ANOTHER ELEMENT

– VIOLATION in relation to the elements is “using
one’s strength to bully another one”
• One of the elements becomes too excessive
– Thus the element that originally restricts it can not restrict it
anymore and is restricted by it
– Called “COUNTER-RESTRICTION”
• If wood becomes excessive or Metal becomes deficient,
then Wood will reverse and violate Metal
• Order of violation is the opposite of the Order of
Restriction
APPLICATION OF THE 5 ELEMENTS IN TCM

• PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF THE 5 ZANG

VISCERA AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP
– KIDNEY (WATER) essence nourishes LIVER(WOOD)
 water promotes wood
– LIVER (wood) stores blood to assist the HEART
(FIRE)  wood promotes fire
APPLICATION OF THE 5 ELEMENTS IN TCM

• PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF THE 5 ZANG

VISCERA AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP
– SPLEEN (EARTH) transforms food and water into
essence and nourishes the LUNGS (METAL) 
earth promotes metal
– LUNGS (METAL) regulates the water passage to
support the KIDNEY (WATER)  metal promotes
water
APPLICATION OF THE 5 ELEMENTS IN TCM

• PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF THE 5 ZANG

VISCERA AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP
– Restriction in the 5 elements may be used to
expound the inter-restriction relationships among
the 5 zang viscera.
• Purifying and descending function of LUNG-QI can
check the hyper-activity of LIVER-YANG (Wood), so
metal restricts wood.
APPLICATION OF THE 5 ELEMENTS IN TCM

• PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF THE 5 ZANG

VISCERA AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP
– The flow of LIVER-QI (WOOD) CAN smooth and
resolve the stasis of the SPLEEN-QI (Earth) and so
wood restricts earth
– The transformation and transportation of the
SPLEEN (Earth), can prevent edema caused by
failure of the KIDNEY (WATER) so fire promotes
EARTH
APPLICATION OF THE 5 ELEMENTS IN TCM

• PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF THE 5 ZANG

VISCERA AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP
– In dominating water metabolism the earth
restricts Water and kidney-yin (water) can prevent
the raging of heart fire, thus water restricts fire.
APPLICATION OF THE 5 ELEMENTS IN TCM

• INTER-AFFECTION DISORDERS OF THE 5 ZANG

VISCERA
– 5 elements is used to explain the relationships
among the viscera physiologically, but it may also
be used to explain inter-affection of the viscera
pathologically
• Liver disease may affect the spleen~ wood is
subjugating earth
• Spleen disease may involve the Liver ~ Earth violating
wood
APPLICATION OF THE 5 ELEMENTS IN TCM

• INTER-AFFECTION DISORDERS OF THE 5 ZANG

VISCERA
– When the liver and the spleen are both in
disharmony, both are affected.
– Wood stagnation can lead to Earth deficiency
– Earth stagnation can lead to Wood stagnation
– Liver disease may also affect the heart ~ child
disease involving the mother
APPLICATION OF THE 5 ELEMENTS IN TCM

• DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT APPLICATION

– Abnormal changes in functional activities of the
viscera and their relationships can all be reflected
in the complexion, voice, taste and pulse
– State of illness may be deduced through
information gained by using the 4 diagnostic
methods in relation to the 5 element and the 5
element laws on promotion, restriction,
subjugation and violation
APPLICATION OF THE 5 ELEMENTS IN TCM

• DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT APPLICATION

– Example:
• A patient whose complexion is greenish with
preference for sour food and a wiry pulse may be
diagnosed as having a liver disease
• A patient with reddish complexion, bitter taste in the
mouth, and a surging pulse may be diagnosed as having
a heart disease.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF 5 ELEMENTS
ELEMENT ZANG VISCERA FLAVORS COLORS
WOOD LIVER SOUR GREEN
FIRE HEART BITTER RED
EARTH SPLEEN SWEET YELLOW
METAL LUNG PUNGENT WHITE
WATER KIDNEY SALTY BLACK
 CHARACTERISTICS OF 5 ELEMENTS
ELEMENT CLIMATES SEASONS SENSE ORGANS
WOOD WIND SPRING EYE
FIRE SUMMER-HEAT SUMMER TONGUE
EARTH DAMPNESS LATE SUMMER MOUTH
METAL DRYNESS AUTUMN NOSE
WATER COLD WINTER EAR
CHARACTERISTICS OF 5 ELEMENTS
ELEMENT BODY EMOTIONS SECRETIONS
CONSTITUENTS
WOOD TENDON ANGER TEAR
FIRE VESSEL JOY SWEAT
EARTH MUSCLE THINKING SLOBBER
METAL SKIN SORROW SNIVEL
WATER BONE FEAR SPITTLE
 CHARACTERISTICS OF 5 ELEMENTS
ELEMENT DIRECTIONS MINDS FU VISCERA
WOOD EAST SOULS GALL BLADDER
FIRE SOUTH SPIRIT SMALL INTESTINE
EARTH MIDDLE THOUGHT STOMACH
METAL WEST VIGOUR LARGE INTESTINE
WATER NORTH WILL URINARY BLADDER