How much do you know?

Wu xing - Five elements: Refer to wood, fire, earth, metal and water as well as their movements and changes.

Mu - Wood: One of the five elements, with which the season spring, the colors blue or green, the taste sourness and the liver and gallbladder are associated.

Huo - Fire: One of the five elements, with which the season summer, the color red, the taste bitterness and the heart and small intestine are associated.

Tu - Earth: One of the five elements, with which late summer, the color yellow, the taste sweetness and the spleen and stomach are associated.

Jin - Metal: One of the five elements, with which the season autumn, the color white, the taste acridity-pungent and the lung and large intestine are associated.

Shui - Water: One of the five elements, with which winter, the color black, the taste saltiness and the kidney and bladder are associated.

Qi - Energy

Xian tian zhi qi - Innate qi: Refers to qi acquired after birth, formed from the qi that exists from birth and stored in the kidney.

Hou tian zhi qi - Acquired qi: Refers to qi transformed from food in combination with fresh air inhaled into the lungs.

Zheng qi - Healthy qi: Refers to the human body and the ability to maintain health, including the ability of self-regulation, adaptation to the environment, resistance to pathogens and self-recovery from illness.

Yuan qi - Source qi: Refers to the combination of the essential qi derived from food with the air inhaled, stored in the chest, and serving as the dynamic force of blood circulation, respiration, voice and bodily movement.

Zang qi - Visceral qi: Refers to the physical substrata and dynamic force of the functional activities of the viscera. It includes heart qi, liver qi, spleen qi, lung qi, kidney qi, gallbladder qi and stomach qi.

Zhong qi - Middle qi: Refers to the physical substrata and dynamic force of the functional activities of the spleen, stomach and small intestine, including digestion, absorption, transportation, upbearing of the clear and down bearing of the turbid.

Xie - Pathogenic factor

Liu yin - Six excesses: A collective term for the six excessive or untimely climatic influences as external pathogenic factors - wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness and fire

Feng xie - Wind/pathogenic wind: Characterized by its rapid movement, swift changes and ascending and opening actions.

Han xie - Cold/pathogenic cold: Characterized by the damage to yang (hot) qi, deceleration of activity, congealing and contracting actions.

Shu xie - Summer heat/pathogenic summer heat: Only occurs in summer and is characterized by hotness and evaporation.

Shi xie - Dampness/pathogenic dampness: Characterized by its impediment to qi movement and its turbidity, heaviness, stickiness and downward flowing properties.

Zao xie - Dryness/pathogenic dryness: Characterized by dryness and is apt to injure the lung and consume fluid.

Huo xie - Fire/pathogenic fire: Characterized by intense heat that is apt to injure fluid, consume qi, engender wind, inducing bleeding, and disturb the mental activities.

Re xie - Heat/pathogenic heat: Causes heat syndrome.

(Shanghai Daily November 11, 2008)