Traditional Chinese Medicine: What is the Relationship between the Five Movements and Six Qi and Physical Illnesses?

We often say "having good luck" or "having bad luck". But what exactly is luck? It is estimated that few people can answer this question. The theory of luck first originated from the seven chapters on luck in the *Huangdi Neijing* (which are respectively: the Great Treatise on the Origin of the Celestial Sphere, the Great Treatise on the Five Elements, the Great Treatise on the Subtle Significance of Qi, the Great Treatise on the Variation of Qi Interaction, the Great Treatise on the Regularity of the Five Elements, the Great Treatise on the Six Cycles of Qi, and the Great Treatise on the Supreme Truth and Key Points).

The *Great Treatise on the Variation of Qi Interaction* states: "When the annual movement is excessive, the movement star will move northward; when the movement and qi are in harmony, each will follow its own path." Also, the *Great Treatise on the Six Cycles of Qi* says: "First, nourish the source of transformation, restrain the movement and qi, support what is insufficient, and prevent excessive occurrence from causing diseases." Luck, also known as the Five Movements and Six Qi, is an important theory in traditional Chinese medicine for predicting and treating diseases.

What are the Five Movements? What are the Six Qi?

The Five Movements use the heavenly stems of the chronological cycle as a tool for deduction to calculate the annual movement, the main movement, and the guest movement of that year.

Each year is divided into five seasons, and each of the five seasons is governed by the Five Movements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. It has a cycle of ten years. The Six Qi use the twelve earthly branches of the chronological cycle as a tool for deduction to calculate the main qi and the guest qi of that year. Each year is divided into six seasons, and each is governed by the Six Qi of Wind-Wood, Monarch Fire, Minister Fire, Damp-Earth, Dryness-Metal, and Cold-Water. It has a cycle of twelve years.

When the movements and qi above and below interact, there will be changes in moralization, transformation, government orders in cycles of thirty years and sixty years. (Qu Limin, *Traditional Chinese Medicine and Traditional Culture*)

The Five Movements are deduced according to the heavenly stems. The heavenly stems are Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, and Gui. According to the inherent attributes of the heavenly stems, Jia and Yi represent Wood in the East, Bing and Ding represent Fire in the South, Wu and Ji represent Earth in the Center, Geng and Xin represent Metal in the West, and Ren and Gui represent Water in the North.

According to the records in *On the Mysteries of the Theory of Qi and Movement in Suwen* by Liu Wenshu in the Northern Song Dynasty, the deduction of the Five Movements is based on the combination and transformation of the ten heavenly stems. The combinations and transformations of the ten heavenly stems into the Five Movements are as follows: Jia and Ji transform into Earth, Yi and Geng transform into Metal, Bing and Xin transform into Water, Ding and Ren transform into Wood, and Wu and Gui transform into Fire.

Therefore, in the deduction of the Five Movements, in a year with the heavenly stem of Jia, it is not the Wood qi that is in control, but the Earth qi. Among them, there are also distinctions between yin and yang. Jia, Bing, Wu, Geng, and Ren are yang; Yi, Ding, Ji, Xin, and Gui are yin. Yang represents excess, and yin represents deficiency. For example, Jia and Ji transform into Earth. In a year with the heavenly stem of Jia, the Earth qi is excessive, and in a year with the heavenly stem of Ji, the Earth qi is insufficient.

The Six Movements are deduced according to the earthly branches. There are twelve earthly branches, namely: Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai. According to the inherent attributes of the earthly branches, Hai and Zi represent Water, Yin and Mao represent Wood, Si and Wu represent Fire, Shen and You represent Metal, and Chen, Xu, Chou, and Wei represent Earth. However, the deduction of the Six Qi in traditional Chinese medicine is not like this.

There is a "Formula for the Control of Heaven by the Twelve Earthly Branches" in *On the Mysteries of the Theory of Qi and Movement in Suwen*. According to this formula, in the years of Si and Hai, Jueyin Wind-Wood controls Heaven; in the years of Zi and Wu, Shaoyin Monarch Fire controls Heaven; in the years of Chou and Wei, Taiyin Damp-Earth controls Heaven; in the years of Yin and Shen, Shaoyang Minister Fire controls Heaven; in the years of Mao and You, Yangming Dryness-Metal controls Heaven; in the years of Chen and Xu, Taiyang Cold-Water controls Heaven.

The Six Qi are divided into the main qi and the guest qi.

The Six Qi are further divided into the main qi and the guest qi. As introduced in Qu Limin's *Traditional Chinese Medicine and Traditional Culture*: "The changes of the main qi are the regular orders of climate change. A year is divided into six stages. In sequence, they are Jueyin Wind-Wood, Shaoyin Monarch Fire, Shaoyang Minister Fire, Taiyin Damp-Earth, Yangming Dryness-Metal, and Taiyang Cold-Water. This is the case every year and does not change with the different earthly branches of the year. It is a manifestation of the relatively static characteristics of the qi of the Earth."

One qi governs for two months, but these two months are not the first and second months of the lunar calendar, but the solar calendar. That is to say, the first qi, Jueyin Wind-Wood, governs the four solar terms of Great Cold, Beginning of Spring, Rain Water, and Awakening of Insects; the second qi, Shaoyin Monarch Fire, governs the solar terms of Spring Equinox, Pure Brightness, Grain Rain, and Beginning of Summer; the third qi, Shaoyang Minister Fire, governs the solar terms of Grain Full, Grain in Ear, Summer Solstice, and Slight Heat; the fourth qi, Taiyin Damp-Earth, governs the solar terms of Great Heat, Beginning of Autumn, Limit of Heat, and White Dew; the fifth qi, Yangming Dryness-Metal, governs the solar terms of Autumn Equinox, Cold Dew, Frost's Descent, and Beginning of Winter; the sixth qi, Taiyang Cold-Water, governs the solar terms of Slight Snow, Heavy Snow, Winter Solstice, and Minor Cold.

As for the so-called guest qi, Qu Limin said: "It is the change of the rise and fall of the qi of the Heavenly Yang itself, that is, the qi of the Three Yin and Three Yang. The guest qi is also divided into six steps, but the order is different from that of the main qi. It is first Yin and then Yang, namely, the first Yin, Jueyin Wind-Wood, the second Yin, Shaoyin Monarch Fire, the third Yin, Taiyin Damp-Earth, the first Yang, Shaoyang Minister Fire, the second Yang, Yangming Dryness-Metal, and the third Yang, Taiyang Cold-Water. Among them, the third qi and the sixth qi are the most important. The third step of the guest qi is called the Control of Heaven, which governs the overall climate in the first half of the year; the sixth step of the guest qi is called the Anchoring in the Spring, which governs the overall climate in the second half of the year."

For example, in the years of Si and Hai, Jueyin Wind-Wood controls Heaven. That is to say, the first step of qi in this year should be Yangming Dryness-Metal, the second step of qi is Taiyang Cold-Water, the third step of qi is Jueyin Wind-Wood, the fourth step of qi is Shaoyin Monarch Fire, the fifth step of qi is Taiyin Damp-Earth, and the sixth step of qi is Shaoyang Minister Fire. We can also say that in this year, Jueyin Wind-Wood controls Heaven and Shaoyin Minister Fire anchors in the Spring. For example, this year is the Jiachen year. In the year of Wu, Shaoyin Monarch Fire controls Heaven. The first step of qi should be Taiyang Cold-Water, the second step of qi is Jueyin Wind-Wood, the third step of qi is Shaoyin Monarch Fire, the fourth step of qi is Taiyin Damp-Earth, the fifth step of qi is Shaoyang Minister Fire, and the sixth step of qi is Yangming Dryness-Metal. We can say that this year, Shaoyin Monarch Fire controls Heaven and Yangming Dryness-Metal anchors in the Spring.

The relationship between the Five Movements and Six Qi and diseases

The Five Movements can be said to correspond to the five zang-organs, and they are closely related to the theory of the visceral manifestations in traditional Chinese medicine. For example, when the Earth qi is excessive, it will damage the Water qi, and it is likely to cause diseases related to the kidneys or the spleen and stomach.

When the Earth movement is insufficient, it will be克制 by the Wood qi, and it is likely to cause diseases of the liver or the spleen and stomach. The Six Qi correspond to the external "Six Evils" qi, that is, Wind, Cold, Summer Heat, Dampness, Dryness, and Fire as described in traditional Chinese medicine.

For example, when Shaoyang Minister Fire causes diseases, it will lead to symptoms such as bitter taste in the mouth, dry throat, dizziness, poor sleep, and easy excitement. Modern diseases such as gallbladder inflammation and pain on the side of the leg may occur. When Shaoyin Monarch Fire causes diseases, it is a problem related to the heart, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are likely to occur. When Jueyin Wind qi causes diseases, diseases such as liver problems and strokes are likely to occur.

The theory of luck and the deduction of diseases

The theory of luck also includes the deduction of the recovery of certain diseases, that is, some diseases are likely to recover in a certain step of qi and movement. This is the same as the time when diseases are expected to be relieved as described in the *Treatise on Febrile Diseases*. For example, for diseases of Taiyang, the expected time of relief is from 9 am to 3 pm; for diseases of Shaoyang, the expected time of relief is from 3 am to 9 am. This is also deduced based on the changes in the yang qi on the earth caused by the movement of the sun and the influence of these changes on the body's own functions. It can also be regarded as an aspect of the theory of luck.

The above picture: The Diagram of One Qi Divided into Six Qi in *The Compendium of Medical Laws* by Zheng Qin'an

The theory of luck is relatively complex, and there are also interactions between the main qi and the guest qi, resulting in some generation, restriction, transformation, and control. We will not expand too much on this here. Later generations of medical scholars have also made many supplements and elaborations on the theory of luck in the *Huangdi Neijing*. These are all precious laws obtained by the ancient people in our country based on long-term observations. They reveal the laws of nature's operation and the influence of natural climate changes on human health. They have certain reference value for the prediction and treatment of diseases.

For example, *On the Mysteries of the Theory of Qi and Movement in Suwen* mentions that in the years of Chou and Wei, Shaoyin Monarch Fire is in a dominant position, so there will be plagues spreading in the world. The SARS epidemic occurred in 2003, which was the Guiwei year in the lunar calendar. The H1N7 flu epidemic occurred in 2009, which was the Jichou year in the lunar calendar. In the Guiwei year of 1643, according to the records in the *History of the Ming Dynasty*: "From February to September, there was a major epidemic in the capital city, and the spread was very severe." Qu Limin pointed out in *Traditional Chinese Medicine and Traditional Culture* that the relationship between the spread of the world influenza pandemic and the activities of sunspots has been confirmed and explained. The spread of cholera is related to the absolute humidity of the atmosphere. The theory of the Five Movements and Six Qi can be said to be the earliest knowledge that realizes the influence of celestial movements, climate, and natural phenomena on human health. Therefore, it has received increasing attention from the scientific community in recent years.

Do not be rigid in the theory of luck

However, in the actual treatment process, we should not be rigid in the theory of luck. For example, "In 1956, it was the Bingchen year in the lunar calendar. In this year, the qi and movement were that Shaoyang Minister Fire controlled Heaven, and the main qi and the guest qi of the third qi were also Shaoyang Minister Fire, which led to the epidemic of Japanese B encephalitis. The famous doctor Pu Fuzhou, based on the characteristics of the relatively humid climate in Beijing that year, added dampness-removing drugs to Baihu Decoction, and the curative effect reached 90%." Here, Mr. Pu Fuzhou formulated the prescription by referring not only to the theory of the Five Movements and Six Qi but also to the actual climate conditions in the Beijing area at that time.