Substances for Qi and Blood

Andrew Miles: Certain herbs enter the qi or blood levels.  Aside from identification based on colour and taste, how can one know if the herbs will enter the qi or blood?

Grandmaster Shyun: What is from water will transform into qi and what is from fire turns into blood.  This is because yin and yang create each other. Qi is from heaven and is yang.  Taste is from Earth and is yin. Strong scented herbs enter the qi level, strong tasting (rich or thick) substances enter the blood level.  Strong smell goes to the qi , strong taste goes to the blood  garlic has a strong smell and enters the qi while pepper has a strong taste and descends qi and enters the blood.  Those of strong fragrance go to the upper body, while those of strong flavour enter the lower body.

spicy tastes go to the upper body, strong tastes go to the lower jiao.  Ren shen, huang qi are light tasting that go to the upper area,

Andrew Miles: How about food?

Spicy chili peppers first cause sweating and then causes foul urine and burning anus, so we know it goes to qi level first and then blood.  By observing its colour, taste, and effect on the body we may know how to properly use this herb.

When we eat fish, which has a stronger smell than taste, we add chili peppers to balance it.

When we eat animal liver, the food it too rich and may go to the blood and cause stagnation so we must add garlic and ginger.

Andrew Miles:  When a patient lacks qi and blood, which should we boost first?  In TCM schools they say to start with qi.

Qi and blood can not be randomly boosted.  We must consciously decide on whether the body creates qi first of blood first.  In women the tendency will be to create blood, but in men it is often to create qi.  You can increase both by shifting qi into blood and back again.  For men, the TCM idea of boosting qi first is generally acceptable, but not always.  For women, you almost always boost blood first.  Even common people know that women should use dang gui and men should use ren shen.  Rules of thumb are the tools of the student, but the master abandons them.  You can use si jun zi to tonify blood and use si wu tang to tonify qi, it is a matter of timing.


Andrew Miles:  How can we see deeper into the patients relative levels of qi and blood.


The relationship between qi, blood and body fluids is more than a theory, it is a vital diagnostic concept, which is all, but lost.  Everyone knows yin deficiency or "qi and blood deficiency", but we must consider which one is predominant and which one we must address first as we form our treatment strategy.  Generally the pulse on the left should be stronger if the blood holds power and the right pulse should be dominant if the qi is more than blood.  Then we must ask why.  Did the blood deficiency cause qi deficiency or vice versa?  What happened first?  Without the causative factor we are just guessing and a warrior doesn't guess, he prepares and executes with success in mind.  Medicine and war are both grave matters and one should take the time to know yourself and know others.