“四季脾王不受邪,即勿补之”发微

Exegesis of‘strong spleen being pathogen resistant for four seasons so that not supplement’

《金匮要略》中“四季脾王不受邪,即勿补之”一句受到后世广泛引用,该文基于文字训诂学与逻辑学,结合理论自洽性与实用性对这句的本意进行了探讨。根据秦汉两晋时期的中医典籍可知,“四季”特指四时之末各十八日,“四季脾王”不能理解为“脾主四时”;“脾王”应解释为脾主导机体在生、长、收、藏四态之间转化,以适应春、夏、秋、冬气候变易,与“脾气健旺”没有直接关系。《素问》“脾王易受邪”理论与《难经》“脾王不受邪”理论看似对立,实则统一,所谓王者是主于内,失于外,故《素问》云脾王易受外邪,《难经》云脾王不受内邪相传,而“四季脾王不受邪即勿补之”一句是《素问》脾王易受外邪观念的具体应用。把握“即”这一关联词,“四季脾王不受邪”是判断脾实的重要方法,四时之末各十八日,脾应天时主导机体平衡转化,如果此时能不受外邪干扰,则提示脾气坚实,不用补脾。

In Jingui Yaolue,the sentence‘strong spleen being pathogen resistant for four seasons so that not supplement’was widely quoted.This article discusses the meaning of this sentence based on textual exegesis and logic,combining theoretical self-consistency and practicality.According to the medical classics of Qin,Han and Jin dynasties,‘four seasons’refers to the last 18 days of four seasons,and‘strong spleen being pathogen resistant for four seasons’cannot be understood as‘spleen governing four seasons’,but the‘spleen is the leader during last 18 days of four seasons of birth,grow,harvest,and hide,and helping body adapt to the changes of climate in spring,summer,autumn and winter.It is not directly related to‘spleen qi healthy and vigorous’.The theories that‘strong spleen being pathogen resistant for four seasons’in Suwen and‘strong spleen being pathogen resistant for four seasons’in Nanjing seem to be opposite.Actually,they are unified.Spleen-wang means spleen plays an internal leader role,without enough energy to resist external evil.So,it was susceptible to external evil in Suwen,while it was not susceptible to internal evil in Nanjing.Therefore,‘strong spleen being pathogen resistant for four seasons so that not supplement’should be considered as the specific application of Suwen theory.The word‘so that’indicates that‘strong spleen being pathogen resistant for four seasons so that not supplement’help us assess the spleen healthy or not.At the last 18 days of four seasons,the spleen should lead the balance transformation of the body.If spleen can be free from external evil during these periods,it would prompt that the spleen is healthy and there is no need to give it excessive nutrition.