What is the triple energizer?

Many people may have heard of the term Sanjiao, which is a very important concept in traditional Chinese medicine and is still controversial. There are two main opinions on the Sanjiao: one is named and visible, the other is named but invisible, and each has its own historical records. It is difficult for ordinary people to understand the theory of traditional Chinese medicine. Even though the triple burner is very important in traditional Chinese medicine, many people do not know much about it. So, what is the triple burner? Let’s take a look at the details of the triple burner.

The triple energizer is one of the six internal organs and is the collective name for the upper, middle and lower energizers. Medical practitioners throughout the ages have different understandings of the meaning of the word "焦". Some people think that "焦" should be "膲", which refers to the internal organs and tangible objects; some people think that "焦" is derived from "火", which is an invisible gas that can decompose water and grain; some people think that "焦" should be "樵", which means hammer and joint, referring to the upper, middle and lower segments or three areas of the human body. Sanjiao is a unique term in the theory of Zang-Fu organs in traditional Chinese medicine. It is one of the six bowels and is located in the cavity between the torso and the internal organs, including the chest and abdominal cavities. All the other internal organs of the human body are in it. It is the collective name for the upper, middle and lower burners, which divides the torso into three parts. The internal organs above the diaphragm are the upper burner, including the heart and lungs; the internal organs below the diaphragm to the navel are the middle burner, including the spleen, stomach, liver, gallbladder and other internal organs; the internal organs below the navel are the lower burner, including the kidneys, large intestine, small intestine, and bladder.

Features

1. The Sanjiao has a name and is visible, and the Sanjiao has a name and is invisible.

Since the argument that "the heart and the triple burner are the exterior and interior, both have names but no form" was put forward in the "Nanjing·Difficulty 25", it has aroused controversy among many medical practitioners in later generations. In summary, it is a dispute between what is named and tangible and what is named and no form.

(1) On the theory that the triple burner has a name and a shape The Lingshu was the first to believe that the triple burner has a name and a shape. For example, the Lingshu On Courage says: "A brave man... has a horizontal triple burner, while a cowardly man... has a vertical triple burner." The Lingshu The Original Organs says: "Those with dense texture and thick skin have thick triple burners and bladder; those with coarse texture and thin skin have thin triple burners and bladder." The Suwen The True Discourse on the Golden Chamber says: "The gallbladder, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, bladder and the triple burner are all yang." The Lingshu The Original Transport says: "The triple burner is the palace of the central ditch, where the water channel comes out and belongs to the bladder. It is the palace of the solitary." Based on the discussion of the triple burner in the Neijing, some doctors in later generations believed that the triple burner should have an exterior-interior relationship like other internal organs, and must have a name and a shape, and thus explored the shape and quality of the triple burner. The main terms include cavity, lipid membrane, oil film, and network oil. For example, Yu Tuan of the Ming Dynasty said in "Medical Biography·Medical Questions": "The triple burner refers to the cavity, which includes the intestines and stomach. The part above the pericardium in the chest is called the upper burner, the part below the pericardium and above the navel is called the middle burner, and the part below the navel is called the lower burner. The general name is the triple burner." Zhang Huang said in "Book Compilation·Research on the Tangible Triple Burner": "The triple burner has a shape like the bladder, so it can store and connect. If it is invisible, can it still store and connect?... There is a fat membrane as big as a hand under the right kidney, which is opposite to the bladder. There are two white veins coming out of it, which go along the spine and go up to the brain. This is what the Taoists call the double connection between the spine. They do not realize that the fat membrane as big as a hand is the triple burner." Zhang Jiebin believed that the triple burner is a large organ inside the body that includes all the internal organs. He said in the "Classic of Zang-Xiang" that "Among the twelve zang-organs, only the triple burner is the largest, and no other zang-organ can match it, so it is called the solitary viscera. ... It is outside the zang-fu organs, inside the body, and includes all the zang-fu organs, a large viscera in the cavity." Tang Zonghai of the Qing Dynasty said in "Blood Symptoms and Zang-Fu Pathogenesis Theory" that "the triple burner, which was written as 膲 in ancient times, is the oil film connecting the upper and lower parts of the human body, inside and outside."

Modern scholars who hold the view that the triple energizer is a name and a shape have also made many useful explorations into its form and quality, believing that the triple energizer is the lymphatic system, reticulum reticularis, pancreas, nervous system, etc. For example, Lu Yuanlei, Zhang Taiyan, Zhu Weiju and others, influenced by Western anatomical medicine, believed that the triple energizer is the lymphatic trunks and ducts in the human chest and abdominal cavity, which can communicate body fluids and thus develop into the systemic lymphatic system based on the theory that "the triple energizer is the organ that decides the drainage and where water channels come out". Zhang Xichun believed that the triple burner was the net oil. Based on the fact that there was no word for "pancreas" in ancient anatomy, Zhao Lihua and others believed that the triple energizer might be the pancreas, based on the statement in "Nanjing·Forty-second Difficulty" that "the spleen has half a pound of loose ointment" and Chen Wuzhe's statement that "there is a fat membrane as big as the palm under the navel". According to the modern anatomical position of the pancreas and its shape which is just like loose ointment and about the size of the palm, combined with its physiology, biochemistry and pathology. Some people also advocate that the triple burner is the "spinal nerves", "sympathetic nerves", "autonomic nerves", etc. based on the theory that "the triple burner and the life gate are the exterior and interior of each other".

The above-mentioned form and quality cannot fully explain the functions of the triple burner in circulating vital energy, food, and fluids, so it is difficult to justify the theory.

(2) The theory that the triple energizer has a name but no form The theory that the triple energizer has a name but no form originated from the Difficult Classic. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : The above-mentioned theories all follow the theory of "having a name but not a form" in the "Nanjing".

The theories that the triple energizer is tangible or intangible are both reasonable and have their own basis, and are helpful for the research on the essence of the triple energizer. However, the name and shape of the triple burner has been debated for thousands of years, and there is still no consensus on which is right and which is wrong. Both the famous and tangible and the famous and intangible have their own biases, and it is difficult to be comprehensive. As Zhang Zhicong said in "Lüshantang Leibian·Bian Sanjiao": "It is both tangible and intangible, but each has its own biased views and cannot be integrated!" Tang Dynasty's Liu Yuxi said: "The so-called intangible in ancient times meant that it has no fixed shape." Some people also think that the Sanjiao "is not like the five internal organs, which each have their own shape, so its image cannot be determined." Qing Dynasty's Yu Chang also said in "Yimen Falu·On Sanjiao": "The so-called shape does not mean that there is something outside the internal organs, but it is just a shape that points to its location." Therefore, some people have proposed that the Sanjiao is invisible, which does not mean that it has no shape as people usually understand. The triple energizer has the function of passing vital energy, food and fluids, and the performance of this function is based on a certain form and quality. However, this form is not a specific and definite organ tissue, but a summary of some organ tissues and their functions. That is to say, it means "no permanent shape", "cannot determine its image", "takes shape by pointing to its place", and "Tao is formless but actually has shape".