Foundation Terms

Yang – 陽 (yáng) – 양 – よう – Dương

Yang represents activity, warmth, and outward expression, governing movement, transformation, and functional drive, while enabling processes to rise, circulate, and manifest as action, vitality, and dynamic change.

Yin – 陰 (yīn) – 음 – いん – Âm

Yin represents substance, cooling, rest, and inward stability, governing nourishment, moisture, and structural support, while anchoring activity, preserving resources, and allowing function to slow, settle, and regenerate over time.

Fire – 火 (huǒ) – 화 – ひ – Hỏa

Fire represents warmth, activation, and upward movement, supporting transformation, circulation, digestion, and mental clarity, while shaping how energy becomes activity, awareness, and functional heat throughout the body.

Earth – 土 (tǔ) – 토 – つち – Thổ

Earth represents nourishment, stability, and integration, supporting digestion, assimilation, structure, and balance, while governing how substances are transformed into usable energy that anchors and harmonizes bodily function.

Metal – 金 (jīn) – 금 – かね – Kim

Metal represents structure, refinement, and regulation, governing boundaries, respiration, and clarity, while guiding how the body organizes, protects, releases what is no longer needed, and maintains functional order.

Water – 水 (shuǐ) – 수 – みず – Thủy

Water represents storage, depth, and preservation, supporting foundational vitality, fluid balance, and adaptive endurance, while governing how the body conserves resources, anchors stability, and sustains life over time.

Wood – 木 (mù) – 목 – き – Mộc

Wood represents growth, expansion, and flexible movement, supporting planning, circulation, and adaptive change, while guiding how energy initiates action, spreads smoothly, and responds creatively to internal and external conditions.

Qi – 氣 (qì) – 기 – き – Khí

Qi represents functional activity and movement, governing how processes initiate, circulate, transform, and adapt, linking structure and substance with action, coordination, responsiveness, and overall physiological vitality throughout the body.

Blood – 血 (xuè) – 혈 – ち – Huyết

Blood represents nourishment, moistening, and material support, governing how tissues are sustained, sensation is anchored, and mental activity is stabilized through adequate supply, circulation, and integration with functional activity.

Excess / Full – 實 (shí) – 실 – じつ – Thực

Excess, or Full, describes a state where a force, substance, or activity is abundant or obstructive, producing pressure, intensity, or resistance as the body struggles to regulate or disperse what is present.

Deficient / Empty – 虛 (xū) – 허 – きょ – Hư

Deficient, or Empty, describes a state where essential substance, activity, or support is insufficient, leading to weakness, reduced function, and diminished capacity to sustain warmth, movement, or stable physiological processes.

Exterior – 外 (wài) – 외 – がい – Ngoại

Exterior refers to the outer functional layer of the body, governing the surface, skin, and initial interaction with environmental influences, where protective responses activate and early signs of imbalance often first appear.

Interior – 內 (nèi) – 내 – ない – Nội

Interior refers to the deeper functional layers of the body, governing organs, core processes, and sustained patterns of imbalance, where conditions develop over time and reflect internal regulation, reserves, and systemic stability.

Heat Evil – 熱邪 (rè xié) – 열사 – ねつじゃ – Nhiệt tà

Heat Evil describes an intense, warming influence that accelerates activity and consumption, often presenting with fever, thirst, agitation, redness, or inflammation as functional processes become overly active or drying.

Summerheat Evil – 暑邪 (shǔ xié) – 서사 – しょじゃ – Thử tà

Summerheat Evil describes an intense, expansive influence combining strong heat with dispersing force, often presenting with high fever, profuse sweating, thirst, fatigue, and rapid depletion as activity overwhelms regulation and fluids are consumed quickly.

Damp Evil – 濕邪 (shī xié) – 습사 – しつじゃ – Thấp tà – Damp Evil describes a heavy, lingering influence that slows movement and transformation, often presenting with heaviness, swelling, turbidity, fatigue, or sticky sensations as processes become obstructed and difficult to resolve.

Dry Evil – 燥邪 (zào xié) – 조사 – そうじゃ – Táo tà

Dry Evil describes a drying, consuming influence that depletes moisture and lubrication, often presenting with dryness, roughness, tightness, thirst, or irritation as tissues lose softness and functional fluids become insufficient.

Cold Evil – 寒邪 (hán xié) – 한사 – かんじゃ – Hàn tà

Cold Evil describes a contracting, slowing influence that impairs movement and warmth, often presenting with chills, pain, stiffness, pallor, or slowed function as circulation and transformative activity become constrained.

Wind Evil – 風邪 (fēng xié) – 풍사 – ふうじゃ – Phong tà

Wind Evil describes a mobile, rapidly changing influence that initiates movement and dispersal, often presenting with sudden onset, shifting symptoms, twitching, itching, or tremors as instability and variability affect surface and circulation.