Chapter 714: Easy to Understand

Chapter 714: Chapter 714: Easy to Understand

"Chinese medicine uses the four diagnostic methods—observation, listening and smelling, inquiry, and palpation—to detect subtle imbalances and predict the root of an illness ahead of time. Western medicine, on the other hand, often has to wait until that balance completely collapses and causes tangible organ damage. Only then can they find the problem and use surgery to fix it."

"There’s a long process between the initial disruption of balance and the eventual irreversible, physical damage. The goal of Chinese medicine is to intercept this process upstream. This is what we call ’treating a disease before it arises.’"

"Think about the out-of-range numbers you see on lab reports. They don’t just go out of range for no reason. What’s the underlying cause? What kind of internal environment led to this result? To a Western doctor, it’s just an abnormal value. But from a Chinese medicine perspective, it’s the body crying for help. It’s the end result of an imbalance of yin and yang, a clash between organ systems..."

...

The number of viewers in Daoist Sun’s livestream broke the thirty-thousand mark.

For a medical science stream, this level of popularity was absolutely phenomenal.

The bullet comments flew by at a dizzying pace, and among the viewers were quite a few experts who truly understood Chinese medicine.

They felt a strong resonance with Li Xu’s explanations.

"Dr. Li is so right! Western medicine looks for ’evidence,’ while Chinese medicine looks for ’warning signs.’ There’s a whole preliminary stage." ℴ

"Exactly. That’s why Chinese medicine focuses on preventative treatment. When a Western machine can’t even see a shadow on a scan, the signs from the pulse and tongue are already setting off alarms."

"I’m learning so much. I’ve never thought about it this deeply before. Now that you put it that way, it makes perfect sense. First, the microscopic balance is broken, then the problem slowly accumulates, and finally, it causes macroscopic, physical damage. There’s a clear sequence of events."

Daoist Sun was ecstatic as he watched the viewer count continue to rise.

Li Xu glanced at the bullet comments and continued with a smile:

"You’re all correct."

"That’s why, in a clinical setting, we sometimes see patients who feel terrible, but after a whole battery of tests at a Western hospital, nothing can be found. For us in Chinese medicine, treating these cases is often quite simple."

"Why? Because from a Western medical perspective, these patients are ’looking for a problem where there isn’t one.’ But from our perspective, this is the initial stage of a disease. The flow of qi has just become disordered; it hasn’t formed an unbreakable knot yet. At this point, all it takes is a gentle nudge to restore the balance of yin and yang, making it much easier to resolve. This is where the strength of Chinese medicine lies."

The livestream was packed, and everyone was incredibly enthusiastic about participating.

It was a rare opportunity for Li Xu to explain these concepts to such a receptive audience, so he was willing to delve into some deeper topics.

"Alright, now let’s get back to our friend’s problem here."

Li Xu smiled and turned his gaze to Daoist Sun.

As he spoke, he pulled out the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor.

He flipped through the pages as he said,

"The *Suwen* Chapter, ’A Discourse on the Different Functions of the Five Zang Organs,’ in the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor states: ’When there is a disease of the heart and lungs, the nose will be afflicted...’"

Although Daoist Sun was just a dabbler, he had skimmed a few medical books for his traditional culture livestreams to keep up appearances.

Hearing Li Xu’s words, he raised a question:

"Huh? Dr. Li, wait. That doesn’t seem right, does it? I remember the book clearly stating that ’the lungs open into the nose.’ A stuffy nose or a loss of smell should definitely be a lung problem. Why are you bringing the heart into it?"

The viewers in the chat, who loved a good bit of drama, jumped in with their own questions:

"Yeah, that line is definitely in the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor; I’ve even memorized it. But what’s the connection between the nose and the heart? They seem completely unrelated!"

"So a bad heart can cause a stuffy nose? Please explain, Divine Physician Li!"

Faced with the questions, Li Xu wasn’t the least bit offended. He smiled and set the book down.

"An excellent question."

"The heart governs the blood and vessels, while the lungs govern qi. Qi and blood are the two pillars of life in the human body. They are complementary and inseparable."

Li Xu explained patiently, "Only when the heart’s blood is abundant can the lung’s qi be nourished. And only when the lung’s qi is vigorous can it propel the circulation of the heart’s blood. When the two work together, breathing becomes naturally unobstructed."

"The clear qi from nature that we inhale through the nose doesn’t just stop there. It is stored in the heart and lungs of the upper jiao. That’s why there’s another crucial line in the *Suwen* Chapter, ’A Discourse on the Six Sections and the Manifestations of the Zang Organs,’ from the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor: ’The five qi enter the nose and are stored in the heart and lungs; above, they cause the five colors to be brilliant and the voice to be clear.’"

With the help of his system’s intelligence, Li Xu had long ago achieved a complete and integrated mastery of the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor.

He now spoke with fluid eloquence.

"Now, pay close attention to this sentence."

"’The five qi enter the nose and are stored in the heart and lungs; above, they cause the five colors to be brilliant and the voice to be clear.’ This sentence doesn’t just clarify the relationship between breathing through the nose and the heart and lungs. It thoroughly explains the very root of a person’s complexion and voice."

"The clear qi we inhale, along with the essence of food and water, is stored in the heart and lungs, and it nourishes the head and face from below. If the heart and lung functions are good, a person’s ’five colors’—their complexion—will be beautiful and lustrous, and their voice will be resonant and clear. This includes not only the sense of smell but also the condition of one’s voice, the complexion of one’s face, and more."

As he spoke, Li Xu reached out and pointed to Daoist Sun’s face.

"The heart’s radiance manifests in the face. Everyone, take a look at the patient’s complexion right now."

The camera zoomed in.

"Doesn’t his face look a bit pale, with a sickly, fatigued appearance? And there are faint dark spots on his cheekbones. This shows that the root of his current condition isn’t just local inflammation or blockage in his nose. The problem is internal—a deficiency in both his heart and lungs."

As Li Xu gave his analysis, Daoist Sun subconsciously touched his own face.

Then, Li Xu held out his hand, signaling for Daoist Sun to place his wrist there so he could take his pulse.

He carefully diagnosed the cun, guan, and chi positions on both of Daoist Sun’s wrists.

"The guan pulses are deep and slow, and the cun pulses are deficient."

Li Xu withdrew his hand and gave his diagnosis:

"The cun pulse corresponds to the upper jiao. The left cun pulse is for the heart, and the right cun pulse is for the lungs. On both of your wrists, the cun pulses feel rather deep, and when I press down, there’s very little force. They feel soft and weak."

"This indicates you have insufficient heart and lung function—a deficiency of both qi and blood. To put it in simpler terms, your lung capacity is low, and your heart qi is weak. It’s like a bellows that has lost its power. That’s why your upper respiratory tract is obstructed, and the sensitivity of your nasal mucous membranes is off, causing you to lose your sense of smell and get a stuffy nose whenever you’re exposed to a little wind."

"Damn."

"Holy shit, Dr. Li’s explanation is way too clear."

"Fuck me, *this* is what learning medicine is supposed to be like! The basic TCM theories I learned in school felt like a pile of mush. After hearing Dr. Li lay it all out, my mind is blown. I get it all in an instant."

"If only Dr. Li could come teach at our University of Chinese Medicine, his classes would be packed every single time."