Zang Fu

Zang Fu refers to the mind, body and spirit connections of our organ systems. The word “zang” refers to organs that are yin in nature, and “fu” to organs that are yang. These organs are functional entities, and are the general concept of Traditional Chinese Medicine as to how the human body works.

The “zang” organs are the heart, liver, spleen, kidney and lung, while the “fu” organs are the gall bladder, stomach, urinary bladder, large intestines and small intestines. Each “zang” is paired with a “fu”, and they are also connected to twelve (12) standard meridians. Each yang meridian is attached to a “fu” organ, and each yin meridian is attached to a “zang” organ.

Each pair of “zang” and “fu” are also connected to one of the “Wu Xing” or five (5) elements. These are fire, wood, earth, metal and water. For more in depth information on this system, please check out this site on Oriental Medicine.

There are major differences between this system and the anatomical organs. The Zang Fu are more functional entities, and are not strongly tied to rudimental or anatomical premises and assumptions.

The correspondence between Zang Fu the and Five Elements are: • Fire = Heart and Small Intestine • Earth = Spleen and Stomach • Metal = Lung and Large Intestine• Water = Kidney and Bladder • Wood = Liver and Gall Bladder

The basic philosophy is that the yin and yang must be balanced to maintain health. Disease is merely a physical expression of imbalance within the body. Symptoms indicate disharmony. So it’s important for each organ system to be balanced within itself, as well as with other organ system within the body. Acupuncture, Chinese herbology, and other forms of energy healing all contribute greatly to restoring and maintaining this balance.

Zang Fu represents a roadmap to natural health care, and shows how all parts of the body are interdependent. We learn that heart diseases can be based on blocked love and failure to accept self, how worry and too much thinking can deplete our immune system, and how lung diseases could reflect repressed grief.

Also our bodies are affected by the weather, which was a topic much more talked about in the days of our great-grandparents and their folk medicine. We are truly receivers and transmitters of energy, and thus greatly affected by the emotional climate of others as well. We are all unique beings reflecting the very consciousness of the universe.

Click here for the Transforming Child Behavior Home Page.

When done reviewing Zang Fu, click here to return to the Child Health page.