Ian DelaneySurvey of Classical Medical Texts3/20/15

Midterm: Liver and the Ethereal Soul

The liver, having many functions within the traditions of Chinese Medicine, holds an interesting function not normally discussed within TCM, namely the housing of the Hun. As with all the zang, the various five shen are said to be housed within these organs. Among the 5 shen, the ethereal soul, or hun, is housed by and pertains to the liver. As is described in the Nei Jing Su Wen, the hun is stored in the liver and is held by the liver blood. Furthermore, the Ling Shu de-scribes: “That which faithfully follows the shen going and coming indicates hun.” thus indicating a relationship between the Heart Shen and the Hun. The hun is said to be the source of our dreams and and the production of fear and fright. Easily affected by emotions, the hun can de-velop pathologies in which it is unable to perform it’s functions in an appropriate fashion. Some of these pathologies are:The inability to focus, inability to comprehend or apply meaning to one’s surroundings, insom-nia, lack of productive sleep, nightmares, and lethargy.

These pathologies can occur through lack of liver blood to house the hun, external emotions im-pacting the hun, irritability or pathogenic heat can also disturb the Hun. As dysfunction arises, the hun’s connection to the shen impairs the ability for the shen to carry out its tasks such as ob-serving and attributing meaning to the surrounding environment. Other issues such a the process-ing of the previous day’s tasks during dreaming are due to the inability of the hun to carry out its functions of conveying to the emperor the meaning of the external goings-on.

Treatment of these issues are done by nourishing the liver blood (LV 8, BL 17, BL 18, BL 19 SP 4 and PC 6) to better house the hun, smoothing liver qi (LV 3, SP 6, GB 14) to allow the hun to function smoothly , clearing heat (LV 2, GB 44, 43) to allow the shen and hun to remain in a more peaceful, less erratic state, calming the shen (HT 7, Yin Tang, PC 6, KD 1, CV 17, 14) and nourishing the kidney yin (KD 3,6, BL 23, GV 4, CV 4) . Among these treatment principles, it is important to have enough kidney yin to be able to draw on for the creation of new blood, have adequate blood to hold the hun, freedom from heat within the liver to keep the hun calm and fo-cused, and a strong spleen to transform ying into xue.

Manifestations of hun pathology are: a blank stare, inability to give sense to what one perceives through the eyes, depression as an expression of inability to connect to the external environment, and insomnia or poor sleep due to a restless hun from heat or excess emotions affecting the hun. These are all intricately related to the heart shen. As opposed to liver blood deficiency giving dry eyes, poor and blurry vision or floaters, the lack of blood impacting the hun is more psycho-spiri-tual in nature. This could easily be confused with normal physical functions of the liver zang.

In conclusion, the hun its ability to function correctly is intimately related to heat, emotions, full-ness of liver blood, and the free flow of qi. The hun takes a pivotal role in the psychological functioning of the individual in being able to relate to one’s external environment and greatly im-pacts one’s ability to sleep and dream peacefully, as well as process the enviromental occurances

through the dreamtime. Less intimately related though intrinsic to the full function of the hun is the availability of kidney jing and yin, and the spleen’s ability to make new blood. There are many available options for the treatment of the hun, among which acupuncture points there are many.

Resources

Fruehauf, Heiner. "Excerpts from Zhang Xichun’s Materia Medica, in Chinese at Heart But Western Where Appropriate: Essays Investigating an Integrated Form of Medicine (Yixue Zhong Zhong Can Xi Lu, 1933)." Classicalchinesemedicine.org. Heiner Fruehauf, 1 Jan. 2005. Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <http://www.ranherbs.com/forum/uploads/2011-12-14_130509_

מערבי-סיני_צמחים _Fruehaufאנרגטיקה.pdf>.

Lifang, Qi, and Mary Garvey. "Shen-Zhi Theory: Analysis of the Signs and Symptoms of Mental Disorder." European Journal of Oriental Medicine. European Journal of Oriental Medicine, 1 Jan. 2006. Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <http://www.ejom.co.uk/vol-5-no-2/featured-article/shen-zhi-theory-analysis-of-the-signs-and-symptoms-of-mental-disorder.html>.

Unschuld, Paul U. Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen Nature, Knowledge, Imagery in an Ancient Chi-nese Medical Text, with an Appendix, the Doctrine of the Five Periods and Six Qi in the Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen. Berkeley: U of California, 2003. Print.

Wu, Jing. Ling Shu, Or, The Spiritual Pivot = Ling Shu. Washington, D.C.: Taoist Center ;, 1993. Print.

"Towards a Spirit at Peace." Towards a Spirit at Peace. Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <http://www.itmonline.org/shen/chap1.htm>.