• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.162-167
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• 2005

According to the principle of ascending water and descending fire, water has the property of wetting downward, which is the opposite of fire, which has the property of blazing upward. Thus, they work differently according to their innate properties. Nature and the human body maintain harmony through the interaction of ascending water and descending fire. When applied to the human body, the heart and kidney are the center of this principle. In other words, the heart above is the fire and the kidney downward is water. When the heart-fire harmonizes downward, the kidney becomes warm, enabling genuine vital functions to be active. When the kidney yin moves upward, the heart receives the nourishing yin to harmonize nutrients and blood. Thereby, physiological functions become normal throughout the blood meridians. However, in the ascending kidneywater and descending heart-yang of the heart and the kidney, the liver and lung are the major functional organs. In other words, the liver through the dispersing and raising yang functions moves water, which is the vital essence of the kidney, upward. And the lung, through the astriction?clearing of the lung and descending Qi?dispersing functions, moves the heart-fire downward. These functions are deeply related with changing seasons; thus, these functions can be explained with the ascending kidney-water and descending heart-yang of the five viscera.

• Journal of Korean Medical classics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.109-117
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• 2014

Objectives : He Meng-Yao(何夢瑤), a doctor from Qing Dynasty, wrote Yi Bian(醫碥, Fundamentals of Medicine), in which he described many things related to Medical Medicine of divination (醫易). As the content includes a lot of teachings for the posterity, I have studied it. Methods : I have taken from Yi Bian(醫碥) the selections related to Medicine of divination(醫易) and explained them. Results : While accepting the principle of upholding yang and suppressing yin based on the understanding of the Book of Changes(周易) that takes a superior man for yang and a small man for yin, He Meng-Yao(何夢瑤), who thought of both yin and yang as Qi (energy), criticized the contemporary malpractice of uniformly applying the principle. In matching the five viscera to the Eight Trigrams(八卦), he put Qian and Dui Trigram(乾兌) to lung, Kan Trigram(坎卦) to kidney, Zhen and Xun Trigram(震巽) to liver, Li Trigram(離卦) to heart, and Kun and Gen Trigram(坤艮) to spleen, which is reasonable. He didn't fix the position of the vital gate and called it Fire in water(水中之火), and set great store by the role of Fire from Vital Gate(命門火) by calling it Water begetting tree(水生木) when the fire of the vital gate steams the kidney water and turns it into Qi to send it up to liver. He emphasized Water-ascending and Fire-descending(水升火降), which he said involves all five viscera. He also argued that mind runs on the principle of water-ascending and fire-descending. He thought that Qi and blood both originate from kidney, which I think is a significant suggestion. Conclusions : The criticism on the uniform application of upholding yang and suppressing yin, the combination of the five viscera and the Eight Trigrams(八卦), the belief that the Vital gate(命門) is Fire in water(水中之火), the excellent opinion on water-ascending and fire-descending, and the suggestion that Qi and blood both originate from kidney, as presented by He Meng-Yao(何夢瑤), are all theories that should be reasonably appreciated and further developed by the posterity.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.1111-1116
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• 2006

Medical science is an area of study that focuses on maintaining health and treating disease. However, modern medicine focuses on treating disease and neglects methodology of maintaining health. Although the definition of heal this defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) and as the concept of harmonizing Yin and Yang in Korean medicine, there is no specific details regarding the definition. Thus, the following conclusion was obtained after the concept of health is viewed through Yin-Yang(陰陽), Vital Essence(精), Qi(氣), and Healthy Person(平人). Although Yin and Yang have opposite properties, they work very closely, maintaining the overall balance and harmony. Secondly, Vin and Yang would each function by the effects of one another, and the body could maintain normal physiological activities through this function. Thirdly, it maintains normal physiological state through the ascending Kidney-Water and descending Heart-Yang(水升火降). Fourthly, Vital Essence is divided into the congenital Essence(先天之精) and the acquired Essence(後天之精) in which the former is related with reproduction and the latter, nourishing. Fifthly, Qi is resistant to pathogens and related with the physique so that Qi and physique should be balanced. Sixthly, Healthy Person is the state where the exchange of Qi-Blood is active.