The Five Organs and Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine is seen as an important aspect of healthcare in Hong Kong, not only among the local Hong Kong people but also more seasoned expats as well. In this HK-Cityguide, we look at the fundamentals of how TCM relates to the five main organs of the body.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) considers the human body as an intricate and complex system. The crux of TCM is that it believes the human body, even the organs, is capable of interacting with the external environment and self-regulation. 

We touched on how the Five Element can be approached and how it fits in the TCM framework in the previous section. According to TCM theory, the Five Organs (五臟 Wuzang), which are the heart (心), liver (肝), spleen (脾), lungs (肺) and the kidney (腎), all work as a team to maintain the well being of a person. 

They are all functionally defined entities and not equivalent to western medicine’s anatomical organ of the same name. Functions of the organs might overlap with one another and they balance out each other.

The Five Organs obey the principle of the Five Elements and also demonstrate similar characteristics of the elements. Each organ belongs to an element, and organs regulate each other by features that belong to their element. The heart belongs to the Fire Element (心屬火), the liver belongs to the Wood Element (肝屬木), the spleen belongs to the Earth Element (脾屬土), the lungs belong to the Metal Element (肺屬金), and the kidney belongs to the Water Element (腎屬水). 

TCM practitioners believe it is critical to establish a lifestyle that follows the body's rhythm. The body has an internal schedule, which determines organs' regulations and indicates the optimal function period. Therefore, the following will be breath introductions on the functions of the organs and their rhythm. 

Heart

According to the Huangdi Neijing (黃帝內經/ Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor), the heart is the master of all other organs it commands the other parts of the body (心者，五臟之大主). It is associated with the Mind and vein. It is believed to be where our spirit lives within the body.

With regards to the Five Elements theory, the Fire Element is raised by the Wood Element. Hence, the liver provides the blood for the heart (肝藏血以濟心). The heart warms it and pumps them to the spleen since the Fire Element gives rise to the Earth Element. (心之熱以溫脾) .

Finally, the kidney helps to regulate the heart. Since one of the characteristics of the Water Element is “descending” and it counters the Fire Element’s “ascending” to achieve harmony within the body.   

Since the heart is related to the emotion of joy, hence excessive joyfulness will damage the heart. Keeping a calm mind and a moderate amount of joy is vital in maintaining a healthy heart and avoiding high blood pressure.

11 am to 1 pm are the hottest hours of the day. In other words, it is the Fire Element’s most prevalent time. Taking a 30 min nap during this time frame is beneficial to the heart. 

Liver 

“Unclogging & deflation” (疏泄) and “ Storing blood”(藏血) are the main two liver function to the body. The liver is there to ensure the smooth circulation of the body. Aside from the flow of Qi, handling emotions and stress is part of its function. Having a steady flow of Qi includes the free flow of blood and swift digestion.  

The liver belongs to the Wood Element and it is tightly associated with the heart. Like what we have talked about previously about the Five Elements,  the Wood Element gives rise to the Fire Element. 

The liver provides the blood for the heart since it is where the blood is stored in the body. Additionally, it is related to the emotion of anger, excessive rage damages the liver. However, because of such closeness, the heart is subjected to its influence. An ill liver will lead to the emergence of anger and break the calmness of a person.

The Water Element is raised by the Wood Element. Thus, the kidney is there to foster and nurture the liver (腎水的滋潤以養肝木) with fluid. Besides, the Wood Element counters the Earth Element. The liver’s unclogging & deflation function ensures anxiety and negativity, generated from the spleen, does not overwhelm a person.

Sleeping early at night will be the key to maintaining a healthy liver. 1 am to 3 am is the liver’s time to operate. During that period, the liver will decompose toxicities and stress, yet it can only function optimally when the person achieves deep sleep during that frame of time. A well functioning liver will lower the risk of coronary artery disease. Hence, having a regular and early sleeping schedule is highly recommended.  

Spleen 

The spleen is considered as “the root of postnatal” (後天之本) and it is the source of “production and mutual transformation” (生化). Its prime function is “transportation and absorption” (運化) and it is closely related to digestion. It extracts the “essence”(精華) or the nutrients from food and drinks. After the extraction of the essence, it transports them, through veins, to other parts of the body especially for the lungs that regulate the Qi in the body. 

Earth is characterised as the element of nurturing and acceptance while the spleen operates similarly. It supports and provides others by extracting essences from food and drinks. The Earth Element gives rise to the Metal element, leading to the spleen aiding the lungs by providing it with the nutrients it needs. 

The Fire Element gives rise to the Earth Element, and the heart warms the spleen by providing it with warm blood. Since the spleen related emotion is anxiety, if the person is subjected to a prolonged state of anxiety it will be detrimental to the spleen. 

As mentioned above, the energy level of one is connected to one's state of mind.  Therefore, Joy, from the heart, can lead to positivity and decrease one’s anxious thoughts. While the Wood Element counters the Earth Element. The liver also balances the anxiety level of a person by deflating it.

A well functioning spleen is vital to speedy transportation and absorption of energy. Food in brown and yellow, such as carrot, pumpkin or melon, will nourish the spleen. From 9 am to 11 am, the spleen operates. Another tip will be massaging the inner thigh will provide an extra boost to the spleen. 

Lungs

The lungs significantly influence one’s energy level. It controls the Qi of the body and regulates the Qi through breathing in and out. Qi is the energy that exists within every object in the world. Pores and the nose are the pathways for the lungs to interact with the external world. 

Qi passes through both of them and is processed by the lungs. Well, functioning lungs will stabilize one’s energy level and ensure smooth and fast circulation. It echoes with the Metal Element’s traits of renewal, collection and consolidation.

The lungs belong to the Metal Element that gives rise to the Water Element,  it cooperates with the kidney intimately. The lung collects Qi from the environment then the kidney stores it for the body. It breathes in the clean ones and expels the unwanted ones. It keeps the body refreshing by expelling anxious concerns that are generated by the spleen.

As described above, the spleen’s nutrient is mainly transported to the lungs to ensure it functions at its best. To prevent it from exhaling too excessively as a result breaking the balance within the body. The heat from the heart, the Fire Element, works like the counter for the lungs.

As mentioned above, the lung is related to the skin and pores of the body. A healthy and functioning lung comes with better skin conditions, energy levels, and a strong immune system. Consuming food that shares the colour of the Metal Element, white, will facilitate the lung’s operation. Food such as tofu, white mushroom, almond or pear will be excellent choices for a strong lung.  

Kidney 

Kidney’s function as the storage the body's essence (藏精), collector of Qi (納氣), processor of body fluid and controller the metabolism of the body. Due to its significance, it is considered as the "the root of the congenital" (先天之本).  It is considered the source of our vitality.

One of the features of the Water Element is “closeness” and it manifests as the storage for the essence and energy of the body. Due to the close relationship between the lung and the kidney, a healthy kidney is another half of the ensures one’s vitality and energy level. 

The kidney belongs to the Water Element it gives rise to the Wood Element, hence the kidney provides for the liver.  The kidney generates blood and stores it within the liver. “Unclogging & deflation” is one of the roles the liver plays in maintaining the balance of the body. However, the feature of “ascending”, from the Wood Element, needs to be stabilized by the feature of “descending”, from the Water Element, to achieve harmony within the body. 
Drinking more water will help decrease the workload of the kidney. The kidney and the liver work like a filter of our body, drinking sufficient water and avoiding excessive absorption of alcohol and caffeine will surely ease the burden of our kidneys and keep us away from kidney failure.