I Can Talk to the Internal Organs-Chapter 80 - 71: Are Classical Prescription Dosages Derived from the River Map and Luo Book?
"You think I’m a deity?!"
Lu Jiu was between laughter and tears.
He found that ever since Zhang Yu was treated by him, his trust skyrocketed.
He might know the cause of the illness, but curing it is a different matter.
"Is it impossible? How about giving it a try?" Zhang Yu sounded hopeful.
Lu Jiu said helplessly, "Even if she’s your cousin, you’re still an outsider to her family. Whether or not you can make the decision, her parents must trust me first. And I haven’t encountered this type of patient before, so how can I guarantee anything?"
Zhang Yu replied, "Then how about this, when they return from Hidden Dragon City, if it’s a lifelong medication issue, I’ll suggest they come over. If it doesn’t work out, then forget it."
Lu Jiu smiled wryly, "Alright, it’s a deal."
If I wait a bit longer and my medical skills improve, maybe there will be a way.
Of course, this was just Lu Jiu’s own guess. Only after seeing the patient and diagnosing can the final confirmation be made.
Anything said now is just empty talk.
"Dr. Lu, how about grabbing a meal after work?" Zhang Yu suggested with a smile.
"Nah, I’ve got some things to do. Next time." Lu Jiu replied smiling.
"Alright, then I’ll head off first." Zhang Yu waved and left.
Lu Jiu also locked up the store and took Xiao Tu home for dinner.
After dinner, Lu Jiu strolled over to the old man’s place.
The old man’s residence was simple yet not shabby, and after some tidying, it was much neater than before.
When Lu Jiu arrived, the old man was reading fortunes for a woman in her fifties.
But it seemed to be about her children, as Lu Jiu heard content related to marriage.
These days, finding a partner and getting married is indeed a persistent challenge.
Before the New Year, Lu Jiu’s mom had nudged him once, which he brushed off temporarily.
Love is not something he has time for; he can’t even cure a mental illness, so what right does he have to pursue romance?
"You’re here?"
After the woman left, the old man smiled warmly at Lu Jiu, who had been squatting for quite some time.
"Your business is still booming; it’s so late, and people still come to you for fortune-telling." Lu Jiu chuckled.
The old man laughed, "What about you?"
Lu Jiu quipped, "You have the nerve to ask, nothing’s changed for me these days; your predictions aren’t accurate!"
The old man chuckled, "There are always surprises; if everything were so accurate, life would be less exciting."
Lu Jiu pouted, jokingly, "Maybe you just haven’t mastered your skills?"
The old man laughed heartily, "You could see it that way."
During their chatter, Lu Jiu handed over a bag to the old man, "Here, dumplings my mom made. I knew you didn’t have a fridge, so I brought a smaller amount."
The old man accepted without hesitation, "Seems I need to show some real skill to deserve these dumplings."
Lu Jiu grinned, "Alright, old man, what do you plan to teach me today?"
The old man paused, "Let’s talk about the interaction between heaven and humans." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
Oh?
What does this mean?
Lu Jiu sat on a small stool, placed Xiao Tu on his lap, and listened intently.
"You should know about heavenly phenomena, right? In the south, there’s the Li position, symbolizing fire; in the north, the Kan position, symbolizing water; in the east, the Zhen position, symbolizing wood; in the west, the Dui position, symbolizing metal. Under these heavenly signs, there are corresponding human signs. For example, in the south, it’s hot, so people’s qi tends to be superficial, with insufficient preservation, more consumption, and weaker digestion, resulting in shorter stature and a preference for hot drinks over cold ones."
"In The Book of Changes, the Li Trigram corresponds to the eyes and fire, thus also relates to the heart. Hence, southern people often have beautiful eyes and agile minds, making them good at business."
"In the cold north, people’s qi tends to move inwards, with ample preservation and less consumption, resulting in strong digestion and taller stature. Northern people enjoy cold drinks even in winter."
"According to The Book of Changes, the Kan Trigram corresponds to the ears and water, thus also relates to the kidneys. Northern people generally have thick ears and strong bones and excel in sports."
"Of course, there are exceptions, like southern people with northern traits or vice versa. This doesn’t mean they look like northerners but that their physique, facial features, and temperaments align. These special cases often signal great wealth. If a southern person looks like a northerner but retains a southern disposition, then the auspicious traits aren’t present."
The old man rattled off a bunch of things, and except for the last part, which Lu Jiu found questionable, he thought the rest made sense.
In essence, it’s ’local conditions nurture local people.’
Such detailed analysis also benefits traditional Chinese medicine.
Especially now, with many people from different regions moving to the cities, their internal states adapt with the environment. Initially, there might be imbalances between yin and yang. If they are robust, adaptation is quick; if not, there will undoubtedly be acclimatization issues.
This phenomenon isn’t considered an illness. In traditional Chinese medicine, it’s seen as a symptomatic stage between sickness and health.
The more Lu Jiu understands this knowledge, the more it helps his diagnoses.
It seems ’medicine and The Book of Changes share the same source’ is indeed accurate, no wonder some say the core principles of the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor are from The Book of Changes.
But where does The Book of Changes come from?
"Old man, did you get all this from The Book of Changes?" Lu Jiu asked.
"Not entirely. You could say The Book of Changes is the source of all knowledge. Much of what we learn today is derived from it," replied the old man.
"Then where did The Book of Changes originate?" Lu Jiu inquired.
"Probably the River Map and Luo Book," the old man said.
River Map and Luo Book?
Lu Jiu seemed to recall hearing about this topic.
"If you look closely, you’ll find that traditional Chinese medicine is closely related. Some herbal dosages are derived from the River Map and Luo Book," the old man said.
What?!
Herbal medicine dosages come from the River Map and Luo Book?
"Old man, where did you hear this? Is there any proof?" Lu Jiu asked.
Master Li Huo once said that the secret of prescriptions lies in dosage, meaning dosage is the soul of a formula.
You might know the types of herbs, but without knowing each herb’s dosage, the formula is ineffective.
In Fusang, a group researching traditional prescriptions once experimented with the White Tiger Ginseng Decoction. They induced hyperglycemia in mice with alloxan, suppressed insulin secretion, then gave them the decoction prepared according to its original dosage proportion.
The experiment showed that mice given the decoction experienced a rapid drop in blood sugar.
Yet, in White Tiger Ginseng Decoction according to modern medicine, Japonica Rice is a carbohydrate and licorice is sweet, so why don’t these ingredients increase blood sugar but instead help reduce it?
The research group tested herb by herb and found that only anemarrhena and ginseng have slight hypoglycemic effects but not to a therapeutic level, no matter the dose increase.
At this point, they adjusted the dosage of the White Tiger Ginseng Decoction. They found that increasing or decreasing the dose or removing Japonica Rice and licorice resulted in no blood sugar reduction, sometimes causing antagonistic effects.
When they restored the original dosage proportion of White Tiger Ginseng Decoction, it had the same initial effect again.
This experiment demonstrated that the White Tiger Ginseng Decoction reached perfection in both herbal selection and dosage formulation, and modern medicine’s component analysis can’t yield effective conclusions.
How ancient Huaxia people created this dosage ratio has remained a mystery for decandes by the Fusang Traditional Medicine Research Association without any progress.
To this day, no breakthroughs have been made.
Now, the old man casually told Lu Jiu that the dosage design of prescriptions comes from the River Map and Luo Book?
How could this not astonish him!
