中西医学的时空解读

Unscrambling Space-time of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine

空间与时间是事物的两种基本属性,然而由于思维方式的不同,便形成了两种截然不同的时空观:时空合一与时空分离。它们分别是中国与西方的时空观。中国尚合,西方尚分,而分合之源就在时空观。时空合一意味着融合、贯通,这正是中医与中国古代哲学合流的奥秘;时空分离意味着分解、还原,而分解、还原最基础的学科是数理化,这正是西医与数理化联姻的原因。形态属于空间,功能属于时间,中医与西医的时空观不同,意味着在中西医两种理论体系中,形态与功能的涵义不同。从时空观出发,一些争论不休的问题,诸如中医的脏象究竟是形态的还是功能的,为什么经络、命门、三焦有名无形等便可迎刃而解。

Space and time are two basic attributes of things. However, because of the difference of thinking modes, it develop two different views of space-time in terms of space-time syncretism and space-time separation, belonging to China and the Western respectively. Different notions of space and time result in that Chinese advocating ＂syncretism＂ while the occidental advocating ＂separation＂. ＂Syncretism＂ means amalgamation and transfixion, which is just the secret of interflow of traditional Chinese medicine and archaic Chinese philosophy. ＂Separation＂ means decomposition and recovery, which is the reason why western medicine and mathematics, physics and chemistry are allied. Modality belongs to space whereas function to time. Different conceptions of space and time lead to different meaning of modality and function in TCM and western medicine respectively. According to the conception of space and time, some issues such as whether state of viscera in TCM is configurable or functional, why meridian, vital gate and triple wanner have been named but can＇ t be seen, and so on, can be solved readily.