2. The Seven Emotions

Joy, anger, worry, contemplation, sadness, fear, and fright are collectively known as the "Seven Emotions," which are normal mental activities and usually do not cause illness. However, if these seven emotional states result from prolonged or sudden psychological stimulation that exceeds the body's normal adaptive capacity, they become pathogenic factors that lead to dysfunction of the zang-fu organs, disruption of qi and blood circulation, and imbalance of yin and yang, ultimately resulting in disease.

(1) Joy: Excessive joy harms the heart and disperses qi.

(2) Anger: Extreme anger harms the liver and causes qi to reverse.

(3) Worry: Chronic worry harms the lungs and causes qi to stagnate.

(4) Contemplation: Excessive contemplation harms the spleen and causes qi to stagnate.

(5) Sadness: Sadness harms both the heart and the lungs and causes qi to condense.

(6) Fear: Fear harms the kidneys and leads to qi deficiency.

(7) Fright: Fright harms the heart, kidneys, liver, and gallbladder, and causes qi to become chaotic.

The concept of etiology in TCM is mainly based on the Six Evils and the Seven Emotions, with the former representing external causes and the latter representing internal causes. Together, external and internal causes form the main framework for etiological differentiation in traditional Chinese medicine. In addition, there are also factors such as improper sexual activity, dietary and labor overexertion, and injuries caused by animals or sharp objects, collectively referred to as "neither internal nor external causes," which play a secondary role in etiological differentiation. In recent years, some scholars have proposed new pathogenic factors such as air pollution, chemical toxins, and radioactive dust, which deserve further study and are of great significance for enriching and developing the theory of etiology in TCM.

("Research on Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine," March 1997)

Internal Medicine Formulation System in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Pei Zhengxue

The internal medicine formulation system in TCM is the mainstream of TCM formulations. By "internal medicine formulations," we generally refer to all oral herbal decoctions. These decoctions serve as the primary method for treating internal diseases, having been refined over thousands of years to form the core framework of TCM internal medicine therapy; at the same time, they also play an extremely important role in treating non-internal-system diseases. This fully reflects the holistic view of TCM that treats external diseases internally, internal diseases externally, upper diseases lower, and lower diseases upper, considering the entire body as one chessboard. The internal medicine formulation system in TCM can be broadly divided into the following six major systems: Ma Huang-Gui Zhi system, Chai Hu system, Bai Hu-Cheng Qi system, Si Jun-Si Wu system, Liu Wei Di Huang system, and Sang Ju-Yin Qiao system.

I. Ma Huang-Gui Zhi System

All formulas in this system originate from the "Treatise on Cold Damage" and the "Synopsis of the Golden Cabinet." The main formulas, Ma Huang Tang and Gui Zhi Tang, were originally the primary formulas for treating exogenous wind-cold, but through various modifications and additions, they have evolved into a vast formula system that is not only effective in treating exogenous diseases but also highly effective in treating various internal diseases.