Understanding the Four Qi and Five Tastes in Traditional Chinese Medicine

[Four Qi and Five Tastes]

Four Qi refers to the properties of food and medicine, which can be either cold, cool, hot, or warm. Cold and cool belong to the same property, while warm and hot belong to the same property. Food and medicine with warm and hot properties generally have the functions of warming the meridians, strengthening yang, promoting blood circulation, and dispelling cold. On the other hand, food and medicine with cold and cool properties have the functions of clearing heat, purging fire, cooling blood, and nourishing yin. According to the principle of using cold to treat heat and using hot to treat cold, using cold and cool food and medicine to clear heat and nourish yin can generally achieve good results for patients with heat-related yin deficiency. For patients with deficiency or cold patterns, using warm and hot food and medicine for tonifying can also be effective. In addition to the four properties of cold, cool, warm, and hot, there is also a category of food and medicine with neutral properties, known as neutral.

Five Tastes refers to the different tastes of food and medicine, including sour, bitter, sweet, spicy, and salty. Strictly speaking, the tastes of food and medicine are not limited to these five, as there are also bland and astringent tastes. However, people commonly associate bland taste with sweet taste and astringent taste with sour taste. Generally, spicy, sweet, and bland tastes are considered yang, while bitter, sour, and salty tastes are considered yin. Different tastes of food and medicine have different effects. Sour (astringent) taste has the functions of astringing and consolidating, and is often used to treat sweating, deficiency wheezing, and enuresis, as well as deficiency patterns, spasms, acute pain, and constipation. Sweet taste has the functions of nourishing, moistening, harmonizing, and regulating, and is used for lung dryness and other patterns. Bland taste has the function of resolving dampness and promoting diuresis, and can be used for weight loss, etc. Spicy taste can dispel and promote, and is used for external pathogenic factors and Qi and blood stagnation. Bitter taste can dry and purge, and can be used for lowering Qi and relieving asthma, clearing the mind, and eliminating vexation. Salty taste can soften and firm, and can be used for phlegm nodules, goiter, etc. It is important to grasp the properties of each taste of medicine and food correctly in order to use them effectively and achieve the desired effects. This is an important principle in tonifying.

[Classification by Channels]

"Classification by Channels" refers to the special or main therapeutic effects of food and medicine on certain organs and channels in the human body. For example, lily and sand ginseng have the effect of relieving cough and moisturizing the lungs, belonging to the lung channel. Cynomorium, sesame, and walnut belong to the kidney channel. Lotus seed and sour jujube kernel belong to the heart channel. Red dates, Chinese yam, and white atractylodes belong to the spleen channel, and so on. Some food and medicine have various tastes, and they also belong to multiple channels. For example, white peony belongs to both the liver and spleen channels, while donkey-hide gelatin belongs to the lung, liver, and kidney channels. Classification by channels is closely related to the tastes and properties of food and medicine, with sour taste belonging to the liver, bitter taste belonging to the heart, spicy taste belonging to the lungs, sweet taste belonging to the spleen, and salty taste belonging to the kidneys. When using food and medicine for tonifying, it is necessary to grasp the properties, tastes, and channels comprehensively and consider multiple channels, as diseases can affect and transform between organs. Therefore, when tonifying or treating deficiency patterns, it is not sufficient to use food and medicine that only target a specific channel, but a comprehensive approach is needed.

[Ascending, Descending, Floating, and Sinking]

Ascending, descending, floating, and sinking are the four tendencies of the effects of food and medicine on the human body. Under normal conditions, the functions of the human body have both ascending and descending tendencies, as well as sinking and floating tendencies, which coordinate with each other to maintain the body in a normal state. The effects of food and medicine on the ascending, descending, floating, and sinking tendencies are closely related to their tastes and properties. Generally, warm, hot, spicy, and sweet food and medicine tend to be floating, belonging to yang. Cold, cool, bitter, and sour food and medicine tend to be sinking, belonging to yin. The properties of ascending, descending, floating, and sinking can be applied in the process of tonifying according to the disease location and condition, which is beneficial for tonifying and achieving therapeutic effects on various deficiency patterns.

[Supplementing Organs with Organs]

Supplementing organs with organs refers to the method of nourishing the corresponding organs in the human body by using certain organs of animals to treat diseases of the organs. This method is relatively easy to grasp, and in the process of tonifying, the properties, tastes, and channels of various animal organs can be comprehensively considered and correctly used. Consultation with relevant medical professionals may be necessary when needed.

[Compatibility and Application]

According to the basic theories of traditional Chinese medicine, selecting and combining two or more types of food and medicine can improve the tonifying effects and reduce side effects. For example, when tonifying Qi, herbs for promoting Qi circulation may be added. Although herbs for promoting Qi circulation do not have direct tonifying effects on the body, they can prevent the stagnation that may occur when tonifying Qi, promote the absorption of food and medicine, and improve the tonifying effects. This is the principle of tonifying Qi requires promoting Qi. When tonifying blood, it is also important to pay attention to the use of herbs that tonify Qi, especially for patients with more severe conditions. Qi and blood are both basic substances that make up and maintain the human body's life activities. The main source of blood is the essence formed by the spleen and stomach. In the process of blood formation, Qi plays a very important and indispensable role. Blood cannot be generated without Qi, and blood cannot circulate without Qi. It is said that "Qi can generate blood, and steam can move blood" in traditional Chinese medicine. At the same time, blood can also generate Qi, providing nourishment for the activity of Qi, ensuring its continuous supplementation. Blood is also the carrier of Qi. Qi's movement follows the blood, so blood is also known as the mother of Qi. This interdependence and mutual generation between Qi and blood must be considered when using food and medicine to tonify and treat patients with blood deficiency.