Implications of Children's Pure-Yang Characters

After the author of 'Luxinjing' explained the children's characters using the concept of Pure-Yang, the term has been widely exploited in the literature of Oriental pediatrics, Its meaning could be summed up in three general categories, namely: Shengyang(盛陽), Zhiyinzhiyang(稚陰稚陽) and Shaoyang(少陽). The implications of Pure-Yang were different in each dynasties of China. By the early Qing(淸) period, it meant mostly Shengyang(盛陽), but its meaning moved in the direction of Zhiyinzhiyang(稚陰稚陽) after Wu Jutong(吳鞠通). And this movement in the interpretation of this term was largely triggered by the pharmaceutical concerns of doctors as too much medicine of cooling and gastrointestinal effect was used to 'cool off' the over-charged Yang characters(盛陽) of children, causing considerable detrimental side effects to the children's body. The concept of Zhiyinzhiyang(稚陰稚陽) which emphasizes the fragility of children's body thus came in action. The meaning of physiological terms in Oriental Medicine is essentially linked to its clinical applications as we have seen in the case of Pure Yang. In that respect, the recent interpretation of Pure-Yang as Shaoyang(少陽) among physicians in China seems lacking in its crucial counterpart, which is its clinical applications. No theory can prove fruitful in the absence of its practice.

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