Preliminary Study on the Characteristics of Xiang （象） Thinking and Its Influence on Traditional Chinese Medicine Terminology
10.13288/j.11-2166/r.2025.12.001
- VernacularTitle:象思维的特征及对中医术语的影响初探
- Author:
Yifei TAN
1
;
Qicheng ZHANG
1
Author Information
1. Beijing University of Chinese Medicine，Beijing，100029
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
xiang （象） thinking;
traditional Chinese medicine terminology;
thinking characteristics;
holism;
functionality;
variability
- From:
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine
2025;66(12):1197-1201
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
By reviewing the main perspectives in current scholarship on the characteristics of xiang （象） thinking， comparing their similarities and differences， this paper summarizes the features of xiang thinking as holism， functionality， and variability. Taking these three characteristics as the core and contrasting with conceptual thinking， it argues that under the influence of xiang thinking， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） terminology shows three distinctive traits. Firstly， the unity of body and function， and the non-duality of dao （道） and its manifestations； Secondly， functionalization in referential use； Thirdly， a constructive， processual nature with inherent variability in reference. Based on this， this paper analyzes some contemporary misinterpretations of TCM terminology that detach from the subjectivity of xiang thinking， such as the conceptual thinking-influenced division and opposition of material qi and functional qi， and the reification of the functional zang-fu concepts. It is further proposed that， in the context of the linguistic turn in western philosophical studies emphasizing the subject's role in language construction， TCM terminology rooted in the xiang thinking realm of subject-object unity should uphold a culturally subjective stance and construct a knowledge system consistent with its own characteristics.
