Zangfu

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The zangfu (simplified Chinese: 脏腑; traditional Chinese: 臟腑; pinyin: zàngfǔ) are functional relationships stipulated by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This concept did not primarily develop out of anatomical biological considerations, but from cosmological patterns and influences.

Each zang is paired with a fu, and each pair is assigned to one of the Wuxing (Five Elements). The zangfu are also connected to the twelve standard meridians – each zang organ is attached to a yin meridian, and each fu organ, to a yang meridian. They are five systems of Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung, Kidney.^[1][2][3]

To highlight the fact that the zangfu are not equivalent to the anatomical organs, their names are often capitalized.

The zangfu were originally considered to represent physical organs in Suwen. A few rare waves of human dissection throughout Chinese history have contributed some refinements to the rough anatomical assumptions in traditional Chinese medicine, though no fundamental errors were corrected (blood vessels remain mistaken as "thin meridians").^[4] In this context, the influx of western anatomical knowledge lead to a crisis for TCM. This was resolved by Yun tieqiao [zh]'s introduction of Zangxiang (藏象/脏象) theory in the 1920s, which decoupled the zangfu from anatomical organs.^[5]

Each zangfu organ has a yin and a yang aspect, but overall, the zang organs are considered to be yin, and the fu organs, yang.^[6]

Since the concept of the zangfu was developed on the basis of wuxing philosophy, they are incorporated into a system of allocation to one of five elemental qualities (i.e., the Five goings or Five Phases). The zangfu share their respective element's allocations (e.g., diagnostics of colour, sound, odour and emotion etc.) and interact with each other cyclically in the same way the Five Elements do: each zang organ has one corresponding zang organ that it disperses, and one that it reinforces or tonifying and sedative.^[7]

The correspondence between zangfu and Five Elements are stipulated as:

• Fire (火) = Heart (心) and Small Intestine (小肠) (and, secondarily, Sanjiao [三焦, ‘’Triple Burner‘’] and Pericardium [心包])
• Earth (土) = Spleen (脾) and Stomach (胃)
• Metal (金) = Lung (肺) and Large Intestine (大肠)
• Water (水) = Kidney (肾) and Bladder (膀胱)
• Wood (木) = Liver (肝) and Gallbladder (胆)

The zang organs' essential functions consist in manufacturing and storing qi and blood (and, in the case of the Kidney, jing or essence). The hollow fu organs' main purpose is to transmit and digest (传化, pinyin: chuánhuà) substances (like waste, food, etc.).^[8]

Each zang has a corresponding "orifice" it "opens" into. This means the functional entity of a given zang includes the corresponding orifice's functions (e.g. blurry vision is primarily seen as a dysfunction of the Liver zang because the Liver channel "opens" into the eyes).

In listing the functions of the zang organs, TCM regularly uses the term "governing" (主; zhǔ) – indicating that the main responsibility of regulating something (e.g. blood, qi, water metabolism etc.) lies with a certain zang.

Although the zang are primarily functional entities, TCM gives vague locations for them – namely, the general area where the anatomical organ of the same name would be found. One could argue that this (or any) positioning of the zang is irrelevant for the TCM system; there is some relevance, however, in whether a certain zang would be attributed to the upper, middle or lower jiao.

• "Stores" (藏, pinyin: cáng)^[9] the shen ("mind"), paired with Small Intestine
• Governs xuě (blood) and its vessels/meridians
• Opens into the tongue
• Reflected in facial complexion

• Stores the shen, paired with San Jiao ("Triple Burner")
• Governs blood

Since there are only five zang organs but six fu channels, the remaining meridian is assigned to the Pericardium. Its concept is closely related to the Heart, and its stipulated main function is to protect the Heart from attacks by exterior pathogenic factors.

• "Stores" (统; tǒng)^[10] the blood inside the vessels, houses the yi (意, 'intent'), paired with Stomach
• Governs "transportation and transformation" (运化; yùnhuà), i.e. the extraction of jing wei (Chinese: 精微; pinyin: jīng weī; lit. 'essence bits', usually translated with food essence, sometimes also called jing qi [精气; jīng qì, essence qi])^[11] – and water – from food and drink, and the successive distribution of it to the other zang organs.
• Is the source of "production and mutual transformation" (生化; shēnghuà)^[10] of qi and xue (blood)
• Opens into the lips (and mouth)
• Governs muscles and limbs

• "Stores" (藏; cáng)^[12] blood, houses the hun (魂, Ethereal Soul), paired with Gall Bladder
• Governs "unclogging and deflation" (疏泄; shūxiè)^[13] primarily of qì. The free flow and harmony of qì in turn will ensure the free flow of emotions, blood, and water.
• Governs the tendons
• Opens into the eyes^[14]
• Reflected in the nails

• Houses the po (魄, Corporeal Soul), paired with Large Intestine
• Governs the skin (closing of the pores), hair and the exterior (one part of immunity)
• Opens into the nose

The function of the Lung is to disperse and descend qi throughout the body. It receives qi through the breath, and exhales the waste, and aids the peristaltic action of the gastrointestinal tract. A properly functioning Lung organ will ensure the skin and hair are of good quality, and that the immune system is strong and able to fight disease. The normal direction of the Lung is descending, but when Lung qi "rebels", it goes upwards, causing coughing and wheezing. When the Lung is weak, there can be skin conditions such as eczema, thin or brittle hair, and a propensity to catching colds and flu. The Lung is weakened by dryness and the emotion of grief or sadness.

• Houses the zhi (志, Will), paired with Bladder
• Governs birth, growth, reproduction and development
• Opens into the ears

The Kidneys store jing Essence. They also produce the Marrow which fills the spinal cord, brain and control the bones. The Kidneys are often referred to as the "Root of Life" or the "Root of the Pre-Heaven Qi".

The concept of the zangfu is not identified by evidence based medicine – the underlying assumptions and theory have not been verified or falsified by controlled experiments. As the study and practice of Traditional Chinese medicine's mechanisms are comparatively new in the west it has been criticized as pseudoscientific.^[15]

• Traditional Chinese medicine
• Wuxing

• The Zang Fu – Information on the functions of the Zang Fu Organs.
• Syndrome differentiation according to zang-fu – Chinese medicine diagnosis on organ diseases.