现代科学的阴阳思想

Last course, we talked about the thought of Yin-Yang in traditional Chinese medicine.

Then is Yin-Yang thought only existing in traditional Chinese medicine?

Does Yin-Yang thought exist in other modern science?

This is exactly what we will talk about in this class.

This time, we will mainly mention the Yin-Yang thoughts in modern science.

Then, about the studies upon Yin-Yang thoughts in modern science,

Arthur Li, an British scholar has done some researches

He connected thought of Yin-Yang with genetics, embryology, chemistry and physics.

And he affirmed that these subjects presented thought of Yin-Yang to some degree.

He thinks that what modern science probes to some parts of world structure

has already presented in the thoughts of thinkers in Yin-Yang theories.

Bohr, expert in quantum mechanics thinks that the pattern of yin-yang fish in China

manifests the concept of the complement of Yin and Yang, which coincide with the complementary wave-particle in micro world.

In fact, there indeed many cases show that modern science has many thought of Yin and Yang.

For example,

Banting in 1921 first observed that pancreas extract has effect to regulate blood sugar,

and further proved that insulin is the active substance that works.

Two years later, 1923,

glucagon that has the opposite function of insulin was found.

Human body is able to secrete substances that have the totally opposite function simultaneously.

These two substances are mutually restrained and are in dynamic equilibrium which help to maintain the stability of blood sugar.

If we regard glucagon as positive material, and insulin negative material,

their pharmacological mechanisms is in accord with the Yin-Yang thought.

And it is a very common phenomenon to see the positive and negative regulation similar to modern medicine and biology.

Give another example.

Human body's osteoblasts and osteoclasts are meant to maintain the skeletal system of human body.

Stability and damage are a pair of substances that have different effect.

The skeleton of adults seems to have few changes.

However, it is in the position of a dynamic equilibrium of osteogenesis and bone destruction.

The main function of osteoblast is to compound secreted collagen to form bone matrix,

release calcium and calcify this kind of calcium to finish bone formation.

Therefore, osteoblast is active at the stage of physical growth, that is from kids to teenagers.

Therefore, it will form the skeleton.

And when it comes to adult, osteoblast would create a dynamic equilibrium with osteoclast.

Osteoclast would secrete acid ion and protein, a kind of enzyme.

Protein can degrade bone matrix, dissolve and absorb calcium ion.

Then it will transfer them to the blood and perform destruction.

So, when it comes to old age, bone destruction would strengthen its damage.

Therefore, it will lead to thinning bones and as a result lead to osteoporosis.

Probably, situations like lower height would occur.

In addition, when talks about diseases, like tumor cells,

Growth and apoptosis of this regulative factor can be classified and analysed by similar Yin-Yang attribute.

When people further probe into the material world,

this anti-matter concept contrast to physical attributes,

adopted by Paul Dirac, a British physicist in 1928,

four years later, evidences of anti-electron made waves in scientific community.

NASA put devices of anti-matter and ion in a giant balloon in the North Canada,

in order to search anti-particles in stratosphere 38 thousand meters upper air.

Two years between 1993 and 1994,

scientists found eight anti-protons in hundreds of thousands particles.

With the acquisition and evidence of anti-hydrogen atoms, scientists have unwavering will in studying and making good use of anti-matter.

At present, these studies mainly focus on the exploration of anti-particles.

And anti-matter is formed by anti-particle.

This, with the core concept of Yin-Yang fish, correspondence between anti-matter and matter,

are in line with the Yin-Yang thought illustrated in Yin-Yang fish.

If we define the white part of Yin-Yang fish as matter,

then the black part is anti-matter.

Then, correspondingly, white spots and black spots represent particles and anti-particles.

Now, scientific researches mainly focus on the white part,

in which people have already found a small amount of anti-particles.

And where is the space of anti-matter remains to be an attractive topic to scientists.

Probably in the future, people will go deep to the black part, probe and use it.

Some people worry that the co-existence of anti-matter and matter will lead to the extinction of material world.

However, when we see from the perspective of Yin-Yang thought,

we can find that these two totally opposite things can coexist peacefully.

Therefore, we can explore them bravely, with no necessity of fear.

It is reported that scientists have already found a long and narrow region formed by anti-matter particles,

and these particles are around the air near the earth.

If more evidences are provided to prove this,

then the significance of Yin-Yang thought can be proved.

Additionally, in mathematics and sciences, matter and energy, positive and negative numbers, cations and anions, action and reaction,

positive and negative quadrants, positive and negative toners, all contain the thought of Yin and Yang.

Someone tried to explain the relation of human body's Yin-Yang balance and health care by mathematical model.

For example, Meng Kaitao wrote an article called Mathematics Based on Theory of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. Judging before sickness by after sickness

is a pretty good attempt.

There are people trying to study space, constitution, pathological change, steric effects,

homology of medicine and food, eating habit, medicine property and weighted factor of these aspects' Yin-Yang attributes.

And further provided the mathematical analysis equations and energy balance equations of traditional Chinese medicine and regimen's regulation of Yin and Yang.

For example, in space, the skin is regarded as wind and water.

In vivo is yin while in vitro is yang. Upper body is yin while lower body is yang.

Then from the view of time, the daytime is yang while the night is ying. Just like these above-mentioned examples, a different coefficient is formed.

So, this actually is a beneficial try

which is worth being explored and studied.

This needs more data accumulation and clinical verification to be more reasonable and accurate.

In modern study of traditional Chinese medicine, some interesting results are achieved.

For example, pseudo-ginseng can promote blood circulation and relieve pain

while it has remarkable hemostatic effect. This presents a function of dual-directional regulation.

Studies on chemistry and pharmacology unveiled this pair of mutual contradiction.

Amino acid contained in pseudo-ginseng has hemostatic effects

while saponin in it has the activity of anticoagulant and hemolysis.

It is because the co-existence of these totally opposite matters

the process of pseudo-ginseng is relatively safe.

And the hemorrhage risk caused by simply use anticoagulant drugs is reduced.

and risk of blood coagulation caused by simply use transamin is reduced.

All in all, Yin-Yang thought will have a broader space in scientific study.

And scientific study will further enrich Yin-Yang thought.

OK, content of Yin-Yang thought ends here now.

And this class is over.

Next time, we will talk about the thought and theory of the five elements.

中医药与中华传统文化

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