A Study On The Classification Thinking And Formation Of Huang Di Nei Jing

"Categorization" is the footstone that different thinking styles in different cultures are based on. The way of categorization is also the basis or premise of the special thinking style of TCM, which was generated in the Chinese traditional culture. The study of the thinking style in categories of TCM is a key step to discover the special way that TCM views the natural universe and life phenomena and search the meaning and characteristics of the system or pattern of nature and life TCM constructs. The subject of this paper is to study the thinking style of categorization in the Inner Canon of Huangdi, which is the most classical theoretical writing of TCM. The paper will divide four main parts to discuss and analyze this subject.Part One:It includes two chapters to comb and summarize the contents concerned with categorization in the Inner Canon of Huangdi as whole as possible.Chapter Two:In the Inner Canon of Huangdi almost everything involves in categorizing. The main contents refer to divide the space, time and qi of the heaven and earth, the same aspects of human body, the abnormal changes in these aspects of human body and the ways to diagnose and remedy these abnormal states of human body. The research finds that there are the same rules and logic structures in the divisions of human body and that of nature phenomena.Chapter Three:It abstracts six methods that the divisions mentioned above mainly uses. The six methods can divide into two groups. One group includes three methods, namely "yinyang", "wuxing", "sancai", which divide the whole into parts and subdivide them into smaller parts. Every part relates with each other. These parts show the order, structure and relation of the universe and creature, which all depend on the same space-time coordinate. The other group includes three methods, that is "xiezheng", "shunni", "biaoben", which make a value judgment according to the effect and meaning of things or phenomena. This group of methods is based on the former, and it also depends on the space-time coordinate.Part Two:It chooses three representative methods of categorization to trace their source and course in chapter four. The trace follows two roads and crosses three periods.(1) The word "yinyang" was related with sun at its very start. It first got the nature of dichotomy in dividing the orientation of landform according to the direction of sun. It became the inner power and reason of the change and generation of all natural phenomena after combination with the concept of "qi". This important meaning was gotten in explaining the ups and downs of the rhythmic change of qi in the circulatory time and space. The space of heaven and earth and the time of four seasons are the two important dimensions of the connotation of "yinyang". "Yinyang" subdivides this rhythmic change more accurately. The method of categorization by yinyang is derived from the objective phenomena, namely the interaction between heaven and earth, and the change of four seasons.(2)The word "wuxing" refers to five requisite things the ancients needed in their life originally, that is wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The change of the name from "fu" to "xing" shows the acquisition of the nature and function of these things. The change of the number from "six" to "five" shows the influence of the worship for the number five, which was derived from the reinforcement of five-direction consciousness to the base number five. The five-direction consciousness was the space-time structure of the universe ancient people experienced. The structure of five di rect ions was formalized by matching five colors, five numbers, five gods and so on. The time at which "wuxing" joined in this system may be later than these things, after that it got the important role to divide everything into five parts. The structure of five directions of space is the heart of this kind of categorization. The reason used the names of these five things is to use the mode of their mutual promotion and restraint to explain the harmonious relationship among every part of the whole system of the universe. The Inner Canon of Huangdi uses this method to divide the human body into five parts and construct a mul tifaceted system dominated by "five zang". The mode of relationship is also used to explain the interaction between each part of the human body.(3)The conception of "xiezheng" is derived from the long term observation and experiences to the phenomena of natural disasters phenomena by Chinese ancient people. They found that if the climate in four seasons changed corresponding to some order, it would be fine; if the change did not correspond to the order, disasters would happen. Besides of natural factors, the order from the sovereign to follow the order of nature also influenced the occurrence of disasters. The Inner Canon of Huangdi absorbed the notion of "xiezheng" due to disorder or excess by these natural or human factors. The mechanism of "xiezheng" was also used to explain how the disease of human body happened. The factors of nature and human himself were also considered as main factors to influence the "xiezheng" of human body.The research made above implies that these three methods of categorization had much close relationship with ancients’practice in the areas of astronomy, agriculture, meteorology and so on. The practice in these areas made solid foundation for different categorizations by locating space and time accurately and measuring the change of the climate objectively.Part Three:It analyzes three important images involved in the thinking style of categorization in Inner Canon of Huangdi to find the basic assumption, metaphors and patterns they imply.(1) The image of "sheng" The notions and experiences about the vitality of plants, the typical style of life in ancients’view, influence the comprehension of the vitality of human life. Human and plants are all the parts of nature created by the interaction between heaven and earth. Human life grows ups and downs then just like plants. They all need the sunshine and heat energy from sun and the food and water from earth. They grow ups and downs by themselves. The typical style of vital activity of plants gives a model to understand the mechanism of human life. The frame of space and time, the roles of heaven and earth and the limit of human himself are also important acquisitions in this metaphor.(2) The image of "wind" Wind" and "wind divination" is very important in the Inner Canon of Huangdi. The connections between wind and other phenomena were concerned by ancient people in early time. They found it come in sequence from different directions in a year, and thus it was involved in the synchro system of space and time, which was the base on which the wind divination could work and systemize. The ground-breaking notion of wind, as an appearance of the interaction between qi from heaven and that from earth, made it become a crucial medium to measure the change of qi. These notions were absorbed in the theory of the Inner Canon of Huangdi to explain the mechanism of life and the causes of disease. Wind as a messenger of the change of the seasons gave a regular and rhythmical model of the change of space-time synchro system. The change of qi in space and time was connected with the generation of organic life by this model, which implied the causation and order involved in the course of the whole development.(3) The image of "water" The construction of the theory of Xueqi through meridians in human body in TCM is closely connected with the image of water as a metaphor. It will be harmful to farm if the water is too much or too little. The internal power of water and soil to make plants grow is attributed to qi. Qi need be induced by valley and river unimpededly, which promises water inexhaustible and productive. The motion and change of water is influenced by the rhythm of seasons and climates. These experiences were achieved in the practice of ancients’agriculture and water conservancy, which had some important effects on the thinking style of TCM about blood in human body. Meridians and collaterals supply ways for Xueqi just like the flow of water in rivers or channels. "Sanjiao" mastered the way of water make the generation of Xueqi endless just like the circumfluence of water by valley and river. "Yinqi" and "Weiqi" moves and changes in according to the same rhythm as water influenced by time. The diseases made by Xueqi can be treated by supplying the lack, reducing the excess or making it unobstructed just like the ways by which people cope with the disaster of water. The image of water gives a visual model of the transformation of the state of qi from invisible to visible, which help to describe the process of the conversion of life materials.These three images above have a close relationship between each other. The later two images illustrate of the image of "sheng" concretely. The order of change characterized by space time synchro system is induced into the understanding of the activity of life by the image of "wind". The image of "water" builds a bridge between the invisible qi and visible things. These images give us a systemic model of the generation and evolution of all the life styles. The basic assumption is that everything follows the same lawPart Four:It analyzes the basic characteristics of the thinking style of the categorization in the Inner Canon of Huangdi, compares with that in the western culture and finds the reason.(1) The major object the Inner Canon of Huangdi divides is the change of qi in nature and human body in space-time synchro coordinate. The methods of division, like "yinyang" and "wuxing", divide a circle into many parts equally and define the meaning and relation between each parts. It constructs a system of the activity of qi with multiple dimensions and internal structure in which heaven, earth and human being all live. From a view of Chinese ancients, the world becomes meaningful because of its connection with the activity of human body. We can get the reliable knowledge about the change of natural and human phenomena by our sensory feeling and give them meanings. The world they view is a sensuous, associated and meaningful world. By contrast, the object western people divide is the nature or property of different species they belong to. They get such knowledge independent of their sense organs, and without reference to space-time coordinate either. The system of categorizations they build is static, stepped and included between class and subclass. The classes in the same level have clear boundaries and no correlations between each other.(2) There are many factors to shape such a special thinking style of classifications in western culture. They are the condition of the geography and climate in ancient Greek, the special political form of city-state characterized by equal law, the emphasis on the logic rules in public debates and the theory of the composition of matter with denial of feeling and change. These factors are contrasted sharply with that in ancient China, which can help us to understand the differences in thinking styles of categorizations in western and Chinese culture.At the end of the paper, the problems about worth and meaning of the thinking style of categorizations in the Inner Canon of Huangdi, the relation between thought and reality, the promising areas and questions we can research further are discussed briefly.