Huang Di

The Yellow Emperor
& his contribution to Herbal Medicine

    Huang Di, the Yellow Emperor, is said to have ruled China from 2697-2597 BCE [Wertz, 1998]. He is the first of the legendary Five August Emperors [Yang, An & Turner, 2005]; and is regarded as the foremost Taoist deity [Allan & Phillips, 1999].

    Whether he was a tribal leader mythologised to become a god, or a mythical figure historicised and rationalised to an Emperor, is uncertain. Both were prevalent in ancient China [Yang, An & Turner, 2005]. A story of Confucius rationalises the legend that Huang Di had four faces by explaining that he sent four officials in the four directions (‘mian’ in Chinese has the meaning of both ‘face’ and ‘direction’) [ibid].

    He is regarded as the ancestor of the Chinese Han people (the ethnic majority of the Chinese population), and is credited with the invention of the compass, and the earliest form of the Chinese calendar [Wertz, R, 1998]. He is also said to have introduced archery and the use of coins [Khor, 2004]. Some say he developed the art of Feng Shui, but this may or may not be the case [Khor, 2000].

    Huang Di’s historian Cang Jie created the first written Chinese characters and his wife Luo Zu taught the art of cultivating silkworms for their thread and weaving it into cloth [Wertz, 1998]. Linglun was Huang Di’s governor of music, inventing music and musical instruments [Yang, An & Turner, 2005].

    His most important contributions are in the fields of health and medicine. He developed the art of Qigong and is attributed authorship of the “Huang Di Nei Jing”, or “The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine” [Khor, 2004], which covers everything from nutrition to herbal medicine to acupuncture [Ni, 1995].

    Qigong exercises are a way of working the body and the breath in harmony to enhance the flow of qi in the body; ‘qi’ meaning ‘breath’, and ‘gong’ meaning ‘work’ [Khor, 2004]. Any exercise can become a Qigong if it involves use of the body’s physical energy, without unnecessary stress or tension, in harmony with deep diaphragmatic breathing, and also includes the focus of the intellectual mind and a calm and relaxed emotional mind [ibid].

    Qigong may take an internal form (known as Nei Dan Qigong), working on the development of internal power within the body, using techniques such as Tai Chi, Hsing I or Ba Kua to remove stress and tension and to develop internal health; or external forms (known as Wei Dan Qigong), where the focus is outside the body, and includes health arts such as nutrition, Feng Shui, acupressure, and moxibustion [ibid].

    There is a legend that Huang Di’s government initiated the first public health program, with the introduction of a series of exercises, or ‘health dances’, designed to maintain the health and wellbeing of the people [ibid].

    The Emperor noticed that after flooding, as the water stagnated it became contaminated and that disease followed [ibid]. Mankind was seen as a smaller reflection of the environment he moved in; and so the Emperor then concluded that human illnesses were also the result of stagnation, or ‘non-movement’ [ibid]. This ‘non-movement’ applies not only to the external body, but also to the internal energy system; the movement of ‘chi’ through the body.

    Through the movement of both the external body, strengthening muscles, improving stamina, and developing breathing and blood circulation, and also through the movement of the ‘internal flow’, or energy system, these ‘health dances’ prevented disease and maintained health, and became the first Qigong exercise sets [ibid]. The practice of “Dao-in” exercises “combining stretching, massaging and breathing to promote energy flow” are mentioned in the “Huang Di Nei-jing” as contributing to the long lives of the ancients [Ni, 1995, p1].

    It was not until the renaissance of the ‘Classical Era’ between the Chou and Qin dynasties that the practice of health arts and Qigong again came to prominence [Khor, 2004, Indiana University, nd]. The Daoyin Qigong we practice today originated from this period, forming the foundation for all future Qigongs [Khor, 2004].

    Written at least two thousand years ago, “Huang Di Nei-jing” or “The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine” is still in print today, in many languages, and is the current Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) textbook of universities and colleges in China [mentcm, n. d.]. If indeed it was written in the time of the Yellow Emperor it has been edited and added to throughout the years [Rose, 2002]. The most accurate dating scholars can give is about 1000 BC, or between the Chou (1045-771 BC) and Han (206 BC – 220 AD) dynasties [ibid, University of Indiana, n.d.]. The surviving edition was definitely written before the time of Lao-Tse (600 BC) [ibid].

   “The Classic of Internal Medicine” consists of two sections; the “Suwen” (or “Questions of Organic and Fundamental Nature”) and the “Lingshu” or “Zhen Jing” (or “Spiritual Pivot”, known as the “Classic of Acupuncture”) [Ni, 1995]. “Neijing” often refers to the “Suwen” alone [ibid].

   “The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine” is rooted in the belief systems of the Tao; dependant on theories of qi, the balance of yin and yang, and the Five Elements theory [ibid]. Disease is the result of an imbalance of these forces, and of unseasonal weather; health and harmony result from the balance between Heaven, Earth and Man [Wu, 1996].

    Not only are the “etiology, physiology, diagnosis, therapy and prevention of disease” discussed [Ni, 1995, pxiii], but “ethics, psychology, astronomy, meteorology and chronobiology” [ibid] are also investigated. “During his reign, Huang Di discoursed on medicine, health, lifestyle, nutrition, and Taoist cosmology with his ministers Qi Bo, Lei Gong, and others” [ibid, p1]; the “Neijing” is set out as a written record of questions and answers on the treatment of disease through acupuncture with thick and fine needles, herbal medicine, moxibustion, exercise and massage [ibid].

    However, emphasis is also put on prevention of disease through Qigong exercises, meditation, a balanced diet, proper rest and relaxation of mind and body and the practice of moderation; this is how the ancients “lived over one hundred years” [ibid, p1], through following the Tao, and being in harmony with all things.

    Huang Di can be seen as the father of Traditional Chinese Medicine, recording the theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of disease, developing the practices of both internal healing arts (such as Qigong exercises) and external healing arts (including nutrition, herbal medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion), and laying the foundation for all TCM practitioners up to the present day.

 

References

Allan, T. & Phillips, C., (1999). Land of the Dragon: Chinese Myth, Duncan Baird Publishers, London.

Indiana University, (nd). Timeline for China to 1700. Accessed 24/05/09.http://www.indiana.edu/~e232/Time1.html

 Khor, G., (2000). Feng Shui for Personal Harmony, Simon & Schuster (Australia) Pty Ltd, Sydney.

 Khor, G., (2004). Reflections on Qi: Tuning Your Life to the World’s Hidden Energy, New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd, Sydney

 Ni, M., (1995). The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine: A New Translation of the Neijing Suwen with Commentary, Shambhala Publications, Inc, Boston

 Rose, K., (2002). Introduction: Analysis of the Huang Ti Nei Ching Su Wen in Veith, I., (2002). The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, University of California Press

 TCM Healing Centre for Men’s Diseases (mentcm), (nd). Medical Classic of the Yellow Emperor (Huang Di Nei Jing). Accessed 24/05/09. http://www.mentcm.com/neijinge.htm

 Wertz, R., (1998, last updated 08/08/2008). Huang Di, The Yellow Emperor. Accessed 22/05/09. http://ibiblio.org/chinesehistory/contents/06dat/bio.1imp.html#H

 Wu, J. (1996). A Short History of Acupuncture The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 1996, 2(1); 19-21

 Yang, L., An, D. & Turner, J., (2005). Handbook of Chinese Mythology, ABC-CLIO.

 AATC Senior Instructor Naomi Ogle