Chinese lesson: feng

Sandra Hill

Acupuncturist & Author: London

The character for wind – feng 風 – has a long and fascinating history. It is found in the ancient bone-oracle scripts where its meaning is very similar to what later came to be known as qi (氣). The radical or outer part (几) suggests movement and vapour, and is similar in meaning to the radical of the qi character (气).

In the earliest texts the wind is seen as the intermediary between heaven and earth, and the four winds are associated with the four directions – each having a particular influence on life on earth. The character for wind is also similar to that of the phoenix, also pronounced feng (鳳), and it seems that the original wind character was based on that of the phoenix – the semi-mythical bird which in legend was a messenger from heaven and in charge of the four winds. The character later morphed into its present form with the same idea of movement and extension (几), but with the character for insect (虫) at the centre. Both of these ideas are important in understanding the Chinese concept of wind.

With the development of wu xing (五 行) five element/phase theory, wind became associated with the east, with springtime and the beginnings of things. In the Chinese solar calendar, the two-week period at the beginning of March is known as the ‘Awakening of Insects’. After the dormancy of winter, the wind stirs things into life, and suddenly insects appear in their thousands, along with many other signs of life. In southern China there is a phenomenon called the ‘rain of insects’ which occurs at this time and lasts for just a few days. So wind, in its association with the wood element/phase, is at the beginning of things, it sets things in motion.

In medicine we tend to see wind in a negative way, but it is important to remember that it can also simply have the meaning of yang qi – which out of place can be very destructive, but is essential for all movement, change and transformation. This is well illustrated by the acupuncture points DU 16 feng fu 風 府 Wind Palace and GB 20 feng chi 風 池 Wind Pond, which as well as being indicated in attack by external wind, also bring yang qi to the brain, allowing clarity of thinking and perception, and the presence of the spirits (shen) in the ‘sea of marrow’. Feng fu has the alternate name ‘Clear Headedness’.

With the addition of the illness radical (瘋), the character also has the pronunciation feng, and traditionally includes diseases such as leprosy, scrofula, paralysis, insanity – all of which may be caused by either an excess or deficiency of yang qi. Various wei or flaccidity syndromes are said to occur in the spring, when the arousal of the wind, or yang qi cannot be contained by the yin, due to a lack of storage in the winter months..