What Zhang Jinyue said about vertigo in ancient Chinese medicine

  Zhang Jinyue (1563-1640) was a native of Huizhou (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province) at the end of Ming Dynasty, named Jiebin, character Huiqing, No. Jinyue, because his room name was Tongyizhai, so alias Tongyizi. At the same time, because he made good use of Shu Di, some people also called him “Zhang Shu Di”.  He was a distinguished medical doctor and a representative of the ancient school of Chinese medicine of warming and tonicity. He advocated that “Yang is not surplus, but Yin is always deficient” and emphasized the nourishment of kidney yin and kidney yang. At that time, people called him “the master of medical arts” and “one of a thousand ancient scholars after Zhongjing”, and his academic ideas had great influence on later generations. He also had his own unique insights on vertigo.  1. Zhang Jinyue analyzed the causes of vertigo in four aspects: ① people’s bad life, such as excessive drinking, smoking, often staying up late, not knowing how to control ② people’s work pressure, emotional and mental disorders, liver fire on the inflammation, impatience and irritability ③ the elderly are old and declining, the kidney essence is insufficient to nourish the brain marrow ④ there is bleeding in the body, such as vomiting blood, blood in the stool, or women’s bleeding from the collapse, blood loss after childbirth, etc., resulting in qi and blood can not be glorified. head and face.  All these factors will consume the body’s energy and material, resulting in either Yin deficiency, Yang deficiency, or Qi and Blood deficiency, and thus Qi and Blood will not be glorified in the head, thus causing dizziness.  Based on the above reasons, Zhang proposed the idea of “no deficiency, no vertigo”.  He believes that “the evidence of vertigo is only one or two out of ten for those who are deficient, and only one or two out of ten for those who have both fire and phlegm”. Most of the evidence of dizziness is deficiency, and the proportion of those with fire and phlegm is only one or two tenths.  3. In terms of treatment, because he advocates that “no deficiency can make vertigo”, “the main treatment should be deficiency, and the symptoms should be treated at the same time.  (1) For Yang deficiency in Yang, i.e., Qi deficiency and Qing Yang not rising, it is appropriate to treat the Qi by applying the Qi tonifying methods of Si Jun Zi, Wu Jun Zi Decoction, Gui Shen Tang, and Zhong Zhong Yi Qi Tang.  (2) Yang deficiency in yin, i.e. vertigo caused by deficiency of essence and blood that cannot be carried upward, it is advisable to nourish its essence, such as Wu Fu Drink, Qi Fu Drink, Zuo Gui Drink, Right Gui Drink, Si Wu Tang and so on.  (3) Concurrent evidence: for those with fire, it is appropriate to clear the fire; for those with phlegm, it is appropriate to clear the phlegm; for those with qi, it is appropriate to smooth the qi. We should “adapt to the situation, but always treat deficiency as the first, and concurrent treatment as a complement.”  (4) In terms of specific prescriptions for the treatment of concurrent evidence, Zhang believes that “Han Xia Bai Zhu Tian Ma Tang treats spleen phlegm; Er Chen Tang with Scutellaria Baicalensis treats hot phlegm; Qing Zhou Bai Wan Zi treats wind phlegm and cold phlegm; and Kidney Dressing Tang treats diarrhea phlegm.” In addition, the end of rhubarb is available for those with phlegm and fire congestion; the heavy fall of black tin dan is available only for those with qi solid on top.  In conclusion, Zhang Jingyue is a great expert in treating deficiency, so his academic viewpoint certainly revolves around deficiency evidence, so he proposes that “no deficiency can cause vertigo”; in terms of etiology, he believes that there are four major factors causing vertigo, and in terms of treatment, Zhang has made a very detailed discussion on the treatment of vertigo in terms of yang deficiency in yang, yang deficiency in yin, and concurrent evidence and prescriptions, all of which provide valuable ideas for our future clinical practice. These have provided us with valuable clinical ideas.