Brain is the House of Yuanshen
The phrase the "Brain is the House of Yuanshen" is
used in "Bencao Gangmu" in order to explain the reason why magnolia
flower is good for sinus problems; however, the ideas on the relationship
between the brain and the nose originate from "Huangdi Neijing" and
those on the relationship between the brain and Yuanshen come from Taoism. It
was "Bencao Beiyao" that combined the theory with the Western idea
that "someone's memory is in the brain". The idea of the brain
staying on as memory had great impact on "Leizheng Zhicai" and
"Yilin Gaicuo", but again in "Yixue Zhongzhong Sanxilu" it
claimed that "Yuanshen is in the brain" from Taoism's point of view,
and it criticized the theory of the brain derived from the Western world. In
this paper, the meaning of "Brain is the House of Yuanshen" in
"Bencao Gangmu" is examined, along with the influence this idea had
on the subsequent theories of medicine.
Source: Okuno S. On the "Brain is the House of
Yuanshen" in "Bencao Gangmu"; from Li Shizhen to Zhang Xichun. Nihon Ishigaku Zasshi. 2011
Mar;57(1):39-50.
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