Using the 'Zang-Fu body clock' as an inquiry tool

Dear Tutor, et al.

I refer to the 'Zang-Fu body clock' as a source from a US publication titled [b:d013e083c1]Archetypal Accupuncture- Healing with the 5 elements[/b:d013e083c1] by Gary Dolowich M.D. and published by Jade Mountain Publishing, ISBN 0-9728339-0-0...

in which the "chinese clock" is recommended by the author as a diagnostic aid during the TCM inquiry process.

Briefly, I have noticed one obvious correlation between
- the bladder being most active (on said clock) between 3-5pm
and
- the severity of Yangming Tidal Fever during the same hours
([b:d013e083c1]Course notes[/b:d013e083c1] -5.3. Insufficiency of the kidney yin)
([b:d013e083c1]Diagnostics of Traditional Chinese Medicine[/b:d013e083c1] Shanghai University of TCM Publishing House, ISBN 7-81010-652-X/R.618, p.78 )

My question being,
is the "chinese clock" an accurate inquiry tool?

or is it misleading in some instances?


my thanks for your learned advice,
Mark.

Dear Mark,
You are welcome to log in this forum and paste your posts!

As to your question of the Zang-Fu body clock, it is only one way to figure the flow of Qi and the domination of Qi in the body by different organs in different time of a day (24 hours).

In fact the Yangming tidal fever is not based on this clock, it's based on the six-meridian differentiation. That's another story.
As to our knowledge, Bladder meridian is not call Yangming, it's Taiyang.

I cannot confirm you this body clock is accurate or not, and it's also out of the range of this course.
What I could say is: it's a kind of experience, or a way of technique in diagnosing diseases. To study traditional Chinese medicine, one should have the sense of time, the correlation between the organs and a certain period of time!

The diagnostics in traditional Chinese medicine for quite sure is not as accurate as that of western medicine, but why do we still use it? Does it work or not?

My answer: for quite sure it works well.

Again, I cannot tell you whether it is misleading to some instances.

It's all up to your own experience.

I think of the time, but I also think of the general condition of the patients, all the information obtained from the four diagnostic methods.
That's what our course tells us. And I do think the course is right.

Tutor

thanks for your prompt reply, Tutor

I certainly value your advice as more informative than any extra reading and I apologise if I'm flogging a dead horse by continuing this line of personal interest ...
(but I'm sure that you will agree that it's better to be inquisitive than reticent-minded in any form of education??)

... given the 5 elements seasonal model,
is it wiser to assume that peak Qi flow throughout the Zang organs should resemble;
- Heart (midday)
- Lung (afternoon)
- Spleen (evening)
- Kidney (early morning)
- Liver (morning) ?

as opposed to the earlier pasted model?
- Heart (midday)
- Kidney (afternoon)
- Liver (evening)
- Lung (early morning)
- Spleen (morning)

*At this early stage of my TCM education, I need to confess to you that I have no inclination towards Western medicine and the evil antibiotic regime- rather, a personal interest in TCM as an holistic muscular and skeletal rehabilitation therapy.
I have personally experienced remarkable recoveries from 2 debilitating sporting accidents through needles, cups and herbs after both injuries were xrayed and diagnosed by western doctors as requiring significant pill taking, rest and expensive additional services.

Your guidance in keeping me on the right study track is always warmly received,
Mark.

Dear Mark,
In fact, if a day is divided into five parts in terms of the five elements, I think, it should be: wood (liver) - morning, fire (heart) - Noon and early afternoon, earth (spleen) - late afternoon, metal (lung) -evening, and water (kidney) - night.

But in fact, it is not described in the textbooks of traditional Chinese medicine in China nowadays!!!

In my personal opinion, this is also one of the shortcomings of the five-element theory, you cannot divide the four season into five in terms of the five elements, the same for a day, the four phases must be divided into five ones.

But the five elements theory is still well used to explain the human body, as you read from the text of Medboo TCM courses.

Tutor

Dear Tutor

I take your point- it's time for me to put away some of the peripheral reference books and concentrate on Medboo course notes, work on getting the basics right instead of learning from my mistakes ...

thanks for your learned patience,
Mark.

Dear Mark,
I don't say you cannot read some other reference materials, I jsut mean the knowledge in the Medboo text is well accepted by the TCM circle in China, so there's not much wrong information in it.

Tutor