What does the lung govern in traditional Chinese medicine

The lungs are a very important organ in the human body, and I believe many people know this. However, Chinese medicine's understanding of the lungs is different from that of Western medicine, and there are also big differences. Therefore, if you want to understand the condition of the lungs, you need to understand it from multiple angles. Not only should you look at the problem from the perspective of Western medicine, but sometimes Chinese medicine can also play a crucial role in looking at the lungs. So, what does the lung control in traditional Chinese medicine? Let’s take a look below.

The lungs control qi, which was first seen in the "Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor". "Suwen. The Formation of the Five Internal Organs" says: "All kinds of qi belong to the lungs." The lung controls qi, including the qi of breathing and the qi of the whole body.

(1) The lungs control the flow of breath: The lungs control the flow of breath, which means that the lungs are the place for gas exchange. As stated in Suwen Yin Yang Ying Xiang Da Lun, "The weather passes through the lungs." Through the respiratory function of the lungs, fresh air is continuously inhaled and turbid air is expelled, expelling the old and taking in the new, thus achieving gas exchange between the body and the external environment to maintain human life activities.

The lung's function of controlling breathing is actually the specific manifestation of the lung's function of spreading and descending in the gas exchange process: when the lung's qi spreads, turbid air can be exhaled; when the lung's qi descends, fresh air can be inhaled. When the lung qi's spreading and descending functions are coordinated and orderly, breathing will be even and unobstructed. Lung-Qi failure to spread or lung-Qi failure to descend will both result in abnormal breathing clinically, but the clinical manifestations are different. If it is caused by external infection, which triggers internal fluid and blocks the airway, causing the lung qi to fail to circulate, it often causes chest tightness, shortness of breath, or asthma. If it is caused by liver fire ascending, which consumes lung yin and causes the lung to fail to descend, it often causes wheezing, coughing, and breath reversal.

(2) Controlling the Qi of the whole body: The lungs control the Qi of the whole body, which means that the lungs are responsible for the generation and circulation of the Qi of the whole body. Therefore, it is said in Suwen Liujie Zangxiang Lun that "the lungs are the root of qi."

The lungs are responsible for the generation of the body's qi, which is reflected in the generation of zongqi. The qi of the body is mainly composed of innate qi and acquired qi. Zong Qi is an acquired Qi, which is generated by the combination of the fresh air from nature inhaled by the lungs and the grain Qi generated from the essence of water and grain transformed by the spleen and stomach. Zong Qi is generated in the lungs and accumulated in the "Qi Sea" in the chest. It goes up the breath duct and out of the throat to promote the breathing of the lungs. As stated in Lingshu Wuwei, "The great energy that is gathered but not moving is accumulated in the chest and is called Qi Sea. It comes out of the lungs and goes along the throat, so it goes out when you exhale and goes in when you inhale." It can also penetrate the heart meridian to help the heart promote blood circulation, and can also go down along the triple burner to the Dantian below the navel to provide innate vital energy. Therefore, it occupies a very important position in the life activities of the body. Zong Qi is an important component of the body's Qi. The generation of Zong Qi is related to the strength and weakness of the body's Qi. Therefore, whether the lung's respiratory function is sound or not not only affects the generation of Zong Qi, but also affects the strength and weakness of the body's Qi.

The lungs control the circulation of Qi throughout the body, which is reflected in their regulatory effect on the Qi of the whole body. The rhythmic breathing of the lungs plays an important role in regulating the rising, falling, entering and exiting movement of qi throughout the body. When the lungs breathe evenly, smoothly, with a consistent rhythm and gentleness, the movement of qi in the organs and meridians will be smooth and coordinated.

Abnormal lung breathing not only affects the generation of Zong Qi and the generation of Qi in the whole body, resulting in insufficient Qi in the whole body, the so-called "Qi deficiency", which causes symptoms such as insufficient breath, low voice, weak limbs, etc. It also affects the circulation of Qi in the whole body, resulting in disorders in the rising and falling, entering and exiting movements of Qi in various organs and meridians.

The lungs control the body's qi and breathing, which are actually based on the respiratory function of the lungs. Regular breathing of the lungs is the fundamental condition for the generation of Qi and the regulation of Qi flow. If the lung's respiratory function is abnormal, it will inevitably affect the generation and circulation of Qi in the whole body. If the lungs lose their respiratory function, fresh air cannot be inhaled and turbid air cannot be expelled, metabolism stops, and human life activities end. Therefore, the role of the lungs in controlling the body's qi mainly depends on the lungs' respiratory function.

The lungs are responsible for the circulation of water, which means that the lung's function of dispersing and descending qi promotes and regulates the distribution and excretion of water throughout the body. "Suwen·Discussion on the Meridians" calls it "regulating the water channels." The connotation of the lung's function of transporting water has two main aspects: First, through the function of the lung Qi, the spleen Qi is transferred to the lung's water and the lighter and clearer parts of the essence of water and grain, which are dispersed upward and outward to the orifices of the head and face, and to the skin, fur, and muscles of the whole body to moisten them; the water transported to the skin, fur, and muscles is transformed into sweat under the promotion of the Wei Qi, and is excreted from the body in a controlled manner under the regulation of the Wei Qi. Secondly, through the descending function of the lung qi, the spleen qi is transferred to the thicker parts of the water and essence of water and grain in the lung, and transported inward and downward to other internal organs to moisten them, and the turbid liquid (waste water) produced by the metabolism of the internal organs is transported downward to the kidney (or bladder), which becomes the source of urine production.

The lungs distribute water through their function of dispersing and descending qi, so it is said that "the lungs govern the circulation of water". Also, because the lungs are the canopy and have the highest position among the five internal organs, and are involved in regulating the body's water metabolism, Wang Ang's "Collected Explanations of Medical Prescriptions" in the Qing Dynasty stated that "the lungs are the upper source of water."

When exogenous pathogens attack the lungs, the lungs fail to function properly and this can lead to abnormal distribution of fluids upward and outward, resulting in symptoms such as anorexia and general edema. Internal injuries to the lungs may cause the lungs to fail to descend, which can result in water being unable to be transported to other organs, and turbid fluid being unable to flow down to the kidneys or bladder, causing coughing, shortness of breath, difficulty urinating, or edema. The lung's function of transporting water is abnormal, which results in the water transferred to the lungs by the spleen not being able to be distributed normally, and it gathers into phlegm, water and dampness. The water and dampness accumulate in the lungs, blocking the airways, which affects gas exchange. Symptoms generally include coughing, wheezing, and excessive sputum, and even the inability to lie flat. If the disease progresses further, it can cause edema all over the body and affect the functions of other organs. In clinical practice, diseases and symptoms such as phlegm and edema caused by abnormal water distribution can be treated by the methods of "promoting lung function and promoting diuresis" and "descending qi and promoting diuresis". Since the obstruction of fluid distribution is mainly caused by the invasion of external evil, which leads to the abnormal function of lung qi, the method of promoting lung qi and benefiting water is often used for clinical treatment, which is the so-called "opening the ghost gate" in "The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine". The ancients likened it to "lifting the lid of the pot". Xu Dachun of the Qing Dynasty called it "opening the upper source to facilitate the downstream flow" in "On the Origin and Development of Medicine".

The lungs are connected to all the meridians, which means that all the blood in the body flows through the lungs through all the meridians. Through the lungs' breathing, the clear and turbid air inside and outside the body are exchanged, and then the blood rich in clear air is transported to the whole body through all the meridians through the lungs' function of ascending and descending qi.

All the blood vessels in the body belong to the heart, and heart qi is the basic driving force of blood circulation. The circulation of blood depends on the promotion and regulation of lung qi, that is, lung qi has the function of helping the heart to circulate blood. The lungs regulate the body's qi through breathing movements, thereby promoting blood circulation. Therefore, "Suwen·On the Normal Person's Qi and Weather" says: "When a person exhales, the pulse moves again, and when he inhales, the pulse also moves again." "Nanjing·Yin Nan" says: "When a person exhales, the pulse moves three inches, and when he inhales, the pulse moves three inches." At the same time, the natural fresh air inhaled by the lungs combines with the grain qi transformed from the essence of water and grain transported by the spleen and stomach to generate Zong Qi, which has the function of "penetrating the heart meridian" to promote blood circulation. When the lung qi is abundant, the zong qi is vigorous, and the qi flow is smooth, the blood circulation will be normal. If the lung qi is weak or congested and cannot help the heart circulate blood, it can lead to poor circulation of heart blood and even blood stasis, resulting in symptoms such as palpitations, chest tightness, blue lips and purple tongue. Conversely, if the heart qi is weak or the heart yang is weak, poor circulation of heart blood can also affect the circulation of lung qi, resulting in symptoms such as coughing and asthma.

The lungs govern the body, which means that the lung qi has the function of governing and regulating the lung's breathing as well as the qi, blood, and water of the whole body. "Suwen Linglan Secret Classic" said: "The lungs are the official of the prime minister, and the regulation comes from it." The physiological function of the lungs in regulating is mainly manifested in four aspects: First, regulating respiratory movements: the dispersion and descent of lung qi are coordinated to maintain smooth and even breathing, so that the gas inside and outside the body can be exchanged normally. The second is to regulate the whole body's Qi: through breathing exercises, regulate the rise and fall of Qi in the whole body, and keep the whole body's Qi flowing smoothly. The third is to regulate the circulation of blood: through the lungs' upward and downward movement of qi in all meridians, the heart is assisted to promote and regulate the circulation of blood. The fourth is to govern and regulate the metabolism of body fluids: through the promotion and descent of lung qi, it governs and regulates the distribution and excretion of body fluids. It can be seen from this that the lung's main function is to regulate the body, which is a high-level summary of the lung's main physiological functions.