In the beginning of Chapter 22 of the Nei Jing Su Wen, the Yellow Emperor Huang Di asks how to match the physical appearance of man with the pattern of the four seasons and how one should proceed to treat accordingly. Master Qi Bo answered the Yellow Emperor and then ended Chapter 22 by explaining the proper use of the five (5) flavors.
Yang Ming Shan Zhu translation (Chinese Edition)
Liver corresponds to green and the suitable food is the sweet; non-glutinous rice, beef, dates and mallow are all of the sweet food.
Heart corresponds to red and the suitable food is the sour; adzuki bean, dog meat, plums and leek are all of the sour food.
Lung corresponds to white and the suitable food is the bitter; wheat, lamb, apricot and shallot are all of the bitter food.
Spleen corresponds to yellow and the suitable food is the salty; soybeans, pork, chestnut and pulseleaves are all of the salty food.
Kidney corresponds to black and the suitable food is the pungent; millet, chicken, peach and scallion are all of the pungent food.
The pungent is capable of dispersing, the sour of astringing, the sweet of moderating, the bitter of hardening, and the salty of softening.
The drug is capable of attacking evils. Five grains are used as main food, five fruits as supplementary food, five animal meat as beneficial food, and five vegetables as adjuvant food.
The flavors are ingested collectively to supplement essence and benefit Qi.
The five flavors include the pungent, sour, sweet, bitter and salty with their respectively advantages of dispersing, astringing, moderating, hasting, hardening or softening. In four seasons and to five solid viscera, the disease is approached with the proper flavors.
Unschuld & Tessenow translation
It should be noted, in the Unschuld & Tessenow translation the word/flavor “pungent” is called “acrid.” Therefore, in the Unschuld & Tessenow translation it reads:
- acrid flavor disperses,
- sour flavor contracts,
- sweet flavor relaxes,
- bitter flavor hardens,
- salty flavor softens.
Unschuld & Tessenow translates the foods to consume as such: Non-glutinous rice, beef, dates, and the kui herbs are all sweet. Small beans, dog meat, plums and leek are all sour. Wheat, mutton (aka. lamb), apricots, and chives are all bitter. Large beans, pork, chestnuts, and bean leaves are all salty. Yellow glutinous millet, chicken meat, peaches, and onions are all acrid.
It should be noted, where the Yang Ming Shan Zhu (Chinese Edition) corresponds the color green to the liver. In the Unschuld & Tessenow translation the liver is associated with color green-blue.
Adzuki or lentils as small beans
Adzuki beans [flavor] sour are found in east Asia. Per the Unschuld & Tessenow translation of small bean use for sour, I often use lentils in place of adzuki beans because it’s easier to get lentils in America. And in the case of large beans [flavor] salty I will use lima beans.
Depending on the situation, and especially when treating chronic pain problems, I balance and nourish the nervous system with salty flavor (big bean or pork); sour flavor (lentils, plum or leek); sweet flavor (white rice); acrid flavor (peach or onion); bitter flavor (wheat).
Disclaimer: This letter is for informational purposes. This is not to be considered medical advice. Although our site may include health & wellness related information, nothing on our site is intended to be, and you should not consider anything on our site to be medical, dental, or other professional advice.
HK® | Bobby Pen & The Pen Pals® | All rights reserved.