复杂性科学视野下的中药药性理论——药性形成的多源性

A complexity analysis of Chinese herbal property theory: the multiple formations of herbal property

中药药性是中药有别于现代药物的根本属性,是药物与疗效有关的各种属性和性质。中药药性理论肇始于四气五味,经过几千年不同历史时期的补充完善,形成了目前以四气、五味、归经、升降沉浮、有毒无毒为主体的中药药性理论。由于阴阳五行哲学思维的渗透和不同历史时期格物传统的差异,中药药性理论的形成具有复杂性特征,表现在以下几个方面。第一,药性确定的途径具有多源性,除了药效反推法,还有以药材质地、颜色、生长环境、加工处理等自然属性为依据的取象比类法,并受到易家、道家、巫家思想等的影响;第二,就药效反推法来看,药性与功效之间的多选性普遍存在,同一药性可以通过不同的功效反推得到。因此,中药药性形成具有多源性特征,药性实质研究应密切关注特定药物的认知起源及相对应的功效特点。

Chinese herbal property theory （CHPT） is the fundamental characteristic of Chinese materia medica different from modern medicines. It reflects the herbal properties associated with efficacy and formed the early framework of four properties and five flavors in Shennong＇s Classic of Materia Medica. After the supplement and improvement of CHPT in the past thousands of years, it has developed a theory system including four properties, five flavors, meridian entry, direction of medicinal actions （ascending, descending, floating and sinking） and toxicity. However, because of the influence of philosophy about yin-yang theory and five-phase theory and the difference of cognitive approach and historical background at different times, CHPT became complex. One of the complexity features was the multiple methods for determining herbal property, which might include the inference from herbal efficacy, the thought of Chinese Taoist School and witchcraft, the classification thinking according to manifestations, etc. Another complexity feature was the multiselection associations between herbal property and efficacy, which indicated that the same property could be inferred from different kinds of efficacy. This paper analyzed these complexity features and provided the importance of cognitive approaches and efficacy attributes corresponding to certain herbal property in the study of CHPT.