Chapter 41: Chapter 36: Four Seasons in a Day

The afternoon hours always seem somewhat short.

After Wang Li left, no other patients came to the clinic.

As it approached mealtime, Lu Jiu closed the clinic.

After having dinner at home, he started reading the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor.

Over the past two days, Lu Jiu’s understanding of the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor has deepened.

This feeling is even more profound when he rereads the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor.

For example, the opening of the “Great Discussion on the Four Seasonal Adjustments of the Spirit” in the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, “The three months of spring are called ’emergence and renewal.’ Heaven and earth both generate, all things flourish, sleep at night and rise early, take long walks in the courtyard, let hair down and loosen the figure, let the will be born, do not kill, give without taking, reward without punishment, this is the response of the spring Qi, it is the way of health preservation; to go against it harms the liver, summer changes to cold, and offerings are few.”

“The three months of summer are called ’luxuriance and blossoming.’ Heaven and earth’s Qi intermingle, all things bloom and bear fruit, sleep at night and rise early, do not tire of the sun, make the will without anger, make the flowers flourish, allow the Qi to discharge, as if your love is outside, this is the response of summer Qi, it is the way of nurturing; to go against it harms the heart, autumn causes ague, offerings are few, and in winter, severe illness arises.”

“The three months of autumn are called ’containment and balance.’ The heavenly Qi is urgent, the earth Qi is clear, sleep early and rise early, rise with the chickens, keep the will at peace, buffer the punishment of autumn, gather the spirit Qi, make the autumn Qi balanced, do not externalize the will, make the lung Qi clear, this is the response of autumn Qi, it is the way of harvest; to go against it harms the lungs, winter leads to chronic diarrhea, and offerings are few.”

“The three months of winter are called ’closing and storing.’ Water freezes and the earth cracks, do not disturb the Yang, sleep early and rise late, wait for the sunlight, make the will as if hidden, as if having personal gain, go from cold to warmth, do not let the skin release the Qi, this is the response of winter Qi, it is the way of storing; to go against it harms the kidneys, spring brings atrophy, and offerings are few.”

What does this mean?

In the three months of spring, it is called emergence and renewal, the season of life’s sprouting. People should sleep at night and wake early, lift their spirits, broaden their hearts, and support the growth Qi. Violating the spring growth Qi will damage the liver, and in summer, cold illnesses will arise.

In the three months of summer, it is the season of the flourishing and blooming of all things in nature. The skies descend and the earth Qi rises, the heaven and earth Qi intermingle, and plants blossom and bear fruit, growing vigorously. People should maintain a smooth Qi flow, comfortably discharge, and keep a lively spirit to nurture the summer growth Qi, thereby maintaining the heart.

In the three months of autumn, all things mature and settle in the natural world. People should rise with the chickens, maintain peacefulness in their spirits, and reduce the impact of the autumn’s killing energy on the body. Violating the autumn harvest Qi will result in a disease of diarrhea in winter, which means indigestion, abdominal rumbling, and loose stools.

In the three months of winter, it is the season of life dormancy and the hibernation of all things. People should sleep early and rise late, keep the mind stored internally, and avoid opening the skin to prevent the loss of Yang Qi. Violating the closing and storing Qi will damage the kidneys, leading to insufficient spring life Qi and symptoms like atrophy, weakness, limited movement, and shortness of breath.

The often-heard health tips like nurturing the liver in spring, nurturing the heart in summer, nurturing the lungs in autumn, nurturing the kidneys in winter, and nurturing the spleen in all seasons, come from the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor.

Previously, Lu Jiu only skimmed through it a few times. Now, upon revisiting it, he not only understands some principles but also deepens his understanding of health preservation.

Why are people nowadays not only more prone to diseases but also having strange and rare ailments?

A part of the reason is not living according to the seasonal changes.

If you’re asked to germinate in spring, and you refuse, choosing instead to stay indoors and sleep late, and in summer, you’re supposed to sweat, but you stay home under the air conditioner avoiding a single drop of sweat, can this way of opposing nature lead to any good outcome?

Not just the four seasons of the year, but even the four seasons of a day follow this principle.

Throughout the twenty-four hours of a day, 3 AM to 9 AM is spring, 9 AM to 1 PM is summer, 1 PM to 9 PM is autumn, and 9 PM to 3 AM is winter.

Simultaneously, the twenty-four hours correspond to the twenty-four solar terms, which is the theory of Meridian Flow, so the ancients followed the principle of working at sunrise and resting at sunset, often rising at 3 AM and sleeping at 9 PM.

Of course, those who enjoy sleeping in might sleep until four or five o’clock.

But beyond six or seven o’clock, it would generally mean staying in bed.

However, in the current time, this schedule would absolutely be considered waking up early.

Yet, as times develop, modern people find it difficult to live like the ancients did, so there’s no need to insist on following the ancient lifestyle.

If you can ideally sleep before eleven o’clock at night and wake up around six or seven in the morning, it’s already a very good way to maintain health.

If even this is rejected, believing that as long as enough sleep is obtained, any sleep schedule is fine, then it becomes a matter of individual perspective.

After reading the Four Seasonal Adjustments of the Spirit, Lu Jiu turned to the next Chapter. In fact, as long as one reads the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor carefully, it is not difficult to discover that it covers simple and easy-to-understand knowledge.

Its text is not adorned with any flourishes, but simply describes established facts.

As for the research on the five viscera and six bowels, and the evolution of diseases, as well as the impact of heavenly Qi on people, it speaks in absolute terms.

As if there’s no need for further questioning!

In fact, this is indeed the case. Over thousands of years, now traditional Chinese medicine is still studying the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor. Its status is somewhat similar to the three laws of physics, on which all subsequent medicine is derived.

This is quite remarkable.

Thousands of years ago, how did the ancients research the color, shape, function, and even meridians and acupoints of the five viscera and six bowels?

Some say it was through dissection and study of numerous bodies, and others say it was through internal observation by Daoist practitioners, who recorded what they saw.

The former seems very much in line with today’s scientific understanding, but those who have studied traditional Chinese medicine know that life sustains on a breath; when a person dies, the Qi dissipates, and without Qi, how can the meridians and acupoints be located?

The latter has a somewhat mystical flavor. How could a person possibly observe their own viscera internally? Isn’t that akin to cultivation?

Therefore, to this day, although the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor is highly esteemed in traditional Chinese medicine, the origin of its theories remains an unsolved mystery.

Of course, some in the medical community lean toward internal observation, suggesting that through personal cultivation, one can reach the level of “internal viewing.”

Lu Jiu has always been skeptical of this because such assumptions are too subjective.

Even if someone could perform internal viewing, what they claim is solely their statement, untestable, and thus unable to produce a scientific result.

Unless, perhaps, Lu Jiu himself could achieve it one day!

For now, however, he hasn’t found the so-called method of cultivation. If there was one, he would be willing to try, since for him, truth or falsity bears no loss.

After an hour, Lu Jiu put down the book to rest for a while, then started practicing the Longevity Skill from the Eight Vajra Skills.

Another hour passed with this practice.

After a brief rest and washing up, Lu Jiu went straight to bed.

The time was 9:41 PM.

Such is the life of a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine. It might appear somewhat dull and monotonous to others, but to Lu Jiu, it’s as sweet as honey.

No pressures of life, no workplace strife, no mental burdens; this lifestyle is what he yearned for after working in a hospital for two years.

Of course, to maintain such a lifestyle, earning two hundred thousand is a must.

In two days, he’s made over five hundred. As for the goal of two hundred thousand in a year, it’s safe to say the journey is long and arduous!

[Patient Qiao Ling, vital energy and blood deficiency recovery progress 10%, cold syndrome recovery progress 55%, symptom recovery progress exceeds ten percent, activate normal reward, claim? Symptom recovery progress exceeds fifty percent, activate skill reward, claim?]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep