六壬法教

The Three Pillars of Traditional Healing

🩺 The 13 Departments of Zhu You

Ancient Chinese medicine recognized 13 specific departments of study, including "Incantations" (Shu Jin) as a legitimate clinical specialty. This historical framework is the foundation of our healing curriculum.

→ Explore the 13 Departments and Yikelei Degree

🏛️ Famous Physician-Diviners (历代名医 Lì Dài Míng Yī)

The historical record of Chinese medicine is populated by figures who embodied the integration of healing and metaphysical knowledge. They were not merely doctors but sages who perceived the hidden dynamics of illness through transcendent capacities — exemplars of the Five Arts physician tradition.

扁鹊 Bian Que (c. 5th century BCE) — Father of Diagnostic Medicine

Bian Que is recorded in the 《史记》 (Shǐ Jì / Records of the Grand Historian) by Sima Qian as a physician possessing the ability to see through the human body. According to tradition, he received a medicinal formula from the immortal Chang Sangjun (长桑君 Cháng Sāng Jūn) that granted him the ability to perceive internal organs directly — the archetypal story of medical knowledge transmitted through spiritual initiation.

Bian Que is credited with pioneering the Four Diagnostic Methods (四诊法 Sì Zhěn Fǎ) that remain the foundation of TCM clinical practice: Inspection (望 Wàng), Listening/Smelling (闻 Wén), Inquiry (问 Wèn), and Palpation (切 Qiè).

华佗 Hua Tuo (c. 140–208 CE) — The Surgeon-Cultivator

A physician of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Hua Tuo is celebrated for his surgical skills — including the legendary use of anesthetic powder (麻沸散 Má Fèi Sǎn) — and his creation of the Five Animal Frolics (五禽戏 Wǔ Qín Xì), a Qi Gong system modeled on the movements of five animals:

孙思邈 Sun Simiao (581–682 CE) — King of Medicine (药王 Yào Wáng)

Sun Simiao authored the monumental 《备急千金要方》 (Bèi Jí Qiān Jīn Yào Fāng / Essential Formulas for Emergencies Worth a Thousand Gold) and its sequel. A practicing Daoist who explicitly integrated astrological timing, spiritual cultivation, and ethical practice into medicine, he is the exemplar of the Five Arts physician.

Sun Simiao wrote extensively on using celestial observations to choose treatment timing, on the relationship between the patient's destiny and their disease, and on the use of incantation and talisman alongside herbal and acupuncture treatment — the complete integration of all Five Arts in medical practice.

李时珍 Li Shizhen (1518–1593 CE) — The Great Compiler

Author of the 《本草纲目》 (Běn Cǎo Gāng Mù / Compendium of Materia Medica), a monumental work cataloguing 1,892 medicinal substances across 52 volumes . Li Shizhen spent 27 years in field research and textual collation to produce this masterwork, classifying medicinal substances according to systematic principles including Five Element correspondences, Qi nature, flavor, and channel tropism.

🔥 Five Element Medical Theory (五行医学 Wǔ Xíng Yī Xué)

The Five Elements — Wood (木 Mù), Fire (火 Huǒ), Earth (土 Tǔ), Metal (金 Jīn), Water (水 Shuǐ) — form the organizational backbone of traditional Chinese medicine. Every organ, emotion, tissue, and sensory faculty is mapped to an element, creating a unified diagnostic and treatment framework that connects the macrocosm (heaven, seasons, climate) to the microcosm (the human body).

Complete Organ Correspondence Table (五行脏腑对应表)

Sheng/Ke Cycles in Pathology (生克病理)

🕯️ Zhu You Incantation Healing (祝由 Zhù Yóu)

Zhu You (祝由) is one of the oldest recorded healing modalities in Chinese civilization, referenced in the Huáng Dì Nèi Jīng (《黄帝内经》) , Chapter 13 — "移精变气论" (Yí Jīng Biàn Qì Lùn / On Transferring Essence and Transforming Qi):

The passage positions Zhu You not as primitive superstition but as the most refined healing art — one that addresses the root (本 Běn) of illness at the spiritual level, by "transferring essence" (移精 Yí Jīng) — redirecting the patient's spiritual and energetic matrix through invocation, intent, and ritual action.

The Thirteen Departments of Zhu You (祝由十三科)

During the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), Zhu You was formally organized into thirteen departments within the Imperial Medical Bureau (太医院 Tài Yī Yuàn):

The thirteenth department — Zhu You proper — was the master discipline unifying all others under the principle that all illness has a spiritual dimension , and the practitioner skilled in invocation can address causes that elude purely physical methods.

The Shen-Yi-Qi Mechanism (神意气 Shén Yì Qì)

Zhu You operates through the triadic relationship of Spirit, Intent, and Energy:

The Three Ritual Tools (三法器 Sān Fǎ Qì)

🌿 Herbal Medicine & Five Elements (草药五行 Cǎo Yào Wǔ Xíng)

Every medicinal substance in Chinese pharmacology possesses an inherent thermal nature (四气 Sì Qì) and flavor (五味 Wǔ Wèi) that determines its therapeutic profile. These properties are mapped to the Five Elements, forming the theoretical basis for formula design — the interplay of Qi nature and Flavor determines precisely how a herb acts within the body.

The Four Qi (四气 Sì Qì) — Thermal Nature of Medicinals

The Five Flavors (五味 Wǔ Wèi) — Elemental Correspondence

Channel Tropism (归经 Guī Jīng)

Channel tropism describes which specific meridians and organs a herb primarily affects — the targeting system of Chinese herbal medicine. It can be understood through Five Element theory: herbs entering the Liver channel have a Wood affinity, herbs entering the Heart channel have a Fire affinity, and so on.

Classical Formulas by Five Element Treatment Principle

⛩️ Ritual Medicine in Liuren Tradition (法医 Fǎ Yī)

In Liuren Fajiao (六壬法教) practice, illness is understood to have three possible origin layers. The Liuren practitioner is trained to distinguish between them and apply the appropriate intervention — physical, energetic, or spiritual.

Diagnosing Spiritual vs. Physical Illness (辨别阴阳病因)

The Concept of Yin Illness (阴病 Yīn Bìng)

Yin illness refers specifically to disease whose primary cause is in the Yin/invisible dimension. Classical diagnostic indicators include:

• Medical tests show no clear pathology despite severe symptoms
• The patient reports feeling a "presence" or oppressive weight
• Symptoms worsen at specific times — typically between 11 PM and 3 AM (子时 Zǐ Shí and 丑时 Chǒu Shí, the peak Yin hours)
• The patient's complexion shows a characteristic dark or greenish tinge around the Yin Tang (印堂 Yìn Táng — the area between the eyebrows)
• Pulse diagnosis reveals a "strange pulse" (怪脉 Guài Mài) — irregular, slippery yet tight, or seemingly absent yet the patient is conscious

Treatment requires both ritual intervention (to address the spiritual cause) and physical support (herbal medicine and acupuncture to strengthen the patient's Zheng Qi 正气 / Righteous Qi).

Fu Shui — Talisman Water Therapy (符水 Fú Shuǐ)

A core ritual treatment in Liuren healing practice. The preparation follows a precise protocol:

Medical Divination Methods (医卜诊断)

When spiritual etiology is suspected, the practitioner may cast a divination chart to identify the cause:

🦴 Bone Setting & Trauma Medicine (跌打损伤 Diē Dǎ Sǔn Shāng)

Bone-setting (正骨 Zhèng Gǔ) has been a component of Chinese medical practice since antiquity. Daoist lineages maintained specialized techniques passed down through martial arts families and temple traditions, integrating physical manipulation with energetic healing in ways that modern orthopedics does not address.

Traditional Daoist Bone-Setting Techniques (道家正骨术)

Dit Da Jow — Trauma Liniment (跌打酒 Diē Dǎ Jiǔ)

Dit Da Jow ("hit-fall wine") refers to herbal liniments formulated to treat traumatic injuries — external preparations steeped in high-proof grain liquor (白酒 Bái Jiǔ) for extended periods (traditionally 100 days to several years). Core ingredients include:

Different martial arts lineages and temple traditions maintain their own proprietary Dit Da Jow formulas, often with dozens of ingredients and specific preparation rituals.

Tui Na — Chinese Therapeutic Massage (推拿 Tuī Ná)

Tui Na (推拿) — literally "push-grasp" — operates on the same theoretical framework as acupuncture: meridian theory, acupoint stimulation, and Qi manipulation through physical contact. In the Five Arts medical context, Tui Na bridges physical manipulation and energetic healing:

🏥 Integration with Liuren Fajiao

In our tradition, healing is not just a skill but a vocation . The Medical Degree (Yīkēlèi) represents the final stage of mastery, where the practitioner becomes a "Spiritual Physician."