image from www.english-test.net

For those who live in North Asia of Northern part of North America, they probably have just enjoyed the most beautiful season in the year with autumn red leaves in full display. Thise in Japan, Korea, Northern China and Canada are some of the most spectacular.

For this year, we will be entering the Winter Phase on November 7. It is “立冬” (Li Dong), where conditions of winter are essentially established. From then on the temperature will drop quite quickly. 

Please fer to posting  Character of Autumn   for ome general characteristics of Autumn. 

Winter covers 6 Minor Qi periods, i.e.  立冬，小雪，大雪，冬至，小寒，大寒  and will end on Feb 4, 2010.

Given 立冬  (Li Dong) is the transition phase between Autumn and Winter, the weather will be more erratic, and the body falls sick more easily as it tries to cope with the changes.

Just an early heads up on 2010. The Main force will be Strong Metal, supplimented by Strong Heat and Wind Wood. This will essentially put loads on the Lung, Heart and Liver systems. In that sense, the risk of  epidemics like H1N1 is actually higher next Spring, as the Lung system will be more vulnerable.

That said, the Winter this year, which will be colder and probably wetter than average year, will reduce the body’s general positive Qi and therefore more susceptible to external elements. Keep yourselves very warm for those in the cold countries.

So what are some of the characteristics and key pointers of Winter phase?

• It is the crystalising/storing/recharging phase (藏 “cang”),
• Yang Qi (vitality energy) needs to be conserved and recharged in the deep of Winter,
• Seeds of new lives have been formed and awaiting the coming Spring to grow,

In modern society, most people no longer observe these rules of the nature. Girls wear super short skirts, men drink till the small hours, everything against the very rules of Winter.

• Winter is represented by water and the color black.
• While water is cold in winter, for water to possess life, it has got to have Yang Qi in it. Therefore in the Book of Change (易经, “yi Jing”), the symbol for water is a Yang element sandwich between 2 Yin elements.
• With the Yang energy in the middle, this water is able to rise  (otherwise it is dead water).

The Yang Qi, which needs to be nourished over the winter in the deep of the earth, will start to rise after 冬至 (“dong-zhi”, Winter Solstice, Dec 22, 2009), though the temperature will still continue to drop until February.

Do not disturb the Yang Qi too much during this conversation period. It is similar to waking up somebody in the deep of his sleep.

“stay tune, to be continued….”

Dear Friends,

   image from www.wwt.org.uk

Swan is always associated with the color White for a long long time, until someone spotted a black swan in Australia.

Some may argue that black swan is NOT “swan” because it does not have color white that has been very much a package of  “swan characteristics”. Maybe it should be called a-swan (meaning anti-swan, for example).

This, of course, is not totally incorrect for the sake of classroom argument. Though to an normal person, a black swan is a swan, very much like a black man is a human being.

There is a theory put forward by Nassim Nicholas Taleb on The Black Swan Theory. 

Taleb alerts us about the danger of using statistics  (or history) to forecast some future events. So by and large forecasting is a con business. (except maybe in weather forecast it gives us some preparation though by and large it is still very limited to short time span).

Taleb also pointed out that the world often experienced some substantial change due to ‘Black Swans” events, things that people do not anticipate beforehand. And that it is all too convenient and tempting to put forward some theory of causation for events that have happened. He argued that most often we do not really know the actual cause as it is a very complex, and in many instances, we have to admit there is an element of “luck” in it.

• Confucius advised us : “知之為知之，不知為不知，是知也.”  i.e., “knowing what we really know, and have the courage to admit what we do not know, that’s the most precious wisdom” 
• That’s to say, most often “I don’t know” is actually a very honest and good answer, though this is not good answer in most classrooms. So modern schools teach us to pretend we know when we do not really know.

In posting  Black or White: 泰否 Dynamics , I discussed how the Book of Change has warned us about the possibility of sudden change from peace to total disaster (i.e., from 泰 (Tai state) to 否 (Bi state)).

This is essentially “Black Swan” theory, only that Book of Change has warned us more than 2,500 years ago.

While it is impossible to forecast the next Black Swan, our ability to comprehend this phenomenon will help us to have an open and objective mind regarding  the various risk environment we are facing.

Before we can better tune-in to the phenomenon of Black Swan, it is recommended to think out of the box. Enjoy the following Youtube ;

Have fun finding the next Black Swan, if we can.

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Dear Friends,

   image from shanghaiist.com

Today  The People’s Republic of China celebrated its 60th birthday. It is a spectacular, comparing the moment Chairman Mao Zedong declared the birth of the PRC and how far China has come to achieve against the various odds.

Some people have tried to explain that “中国” is short-form for ”中华人民共和国 ”, which of course is utterly rubbish. “中国” has evolved over a few thousand years, geographically and culturally. It is also interesting to know that while there are 56 ethnic groups in China, non Han Chinese only make up about 8% of the total population. The Tibetan Government in exile in India is demanding a self-ruled area that will be 1/4 of China land area. That gives you some perspective on the dynamics between PRC and Dalai Lama.

By the way, I talked about Chinese calendar before. Please see posting Red Underwear & Your Birthday in Anno F.X. ?

So today, the PRC has completed one basic cycle of 60 years (一甲子, “yi zia-zi”) and threw a grand birthday party.

If you imagine the birth of a new government as that of a baby, then you can similarly conclude the behaviour of the government as per cosmic forces at play when it was formed. I leave it to you to conclude its characters.

Now a more serious issue, what’s one of the greatest challanges facing China today ?

We see China grabbing for natural resources globally, energy, minerals, soft commodities, you name it.

Actually, the MOST serious threat is CLEAN water in China.

For water is the basic elementsof life. About 60% of our body mass is water.

Now these are some hard facts :

• about 70% of Earth is covered by ocean,
• but about 98% of total water on Earth is sea-water, which is unsuitable for drinking,
• therefore only 2% of water to be shared by all living things on land, recycled over and over again.

Also think about the following questions/facts :

• how many times has the human population grown over the last 2 thousand years ?
• as society gets more affluent, everybody uses more water per day,
• as society gets more affluent, they consume more proteins. 100 tons of water produces about 1 ton of grain. How many tons of grain is needed to produce 1 ton of protein ? As China gets richer, its people will consume more proteins, indirectly means more water recycling.
• China is now the world’s factory, which uses a lot of water.

If you add up all above, then this 60th birnthday actually marks a huge chahllenge to the Chinese People  in China.

The water system on Earth is a closed system, i.e., it gets recycled over and over again. We drink the water that has been recycled zillions of times over the billions of years. That’s why we are all inter-connected, through space and time and water is just one of the bridge.

Now the serious issue. The water system in China now is getting tougher to be recycled clean and fast enough for its people, the plants/vegetables, grains and all the food sources etc. You get the picture.

You can even safely say that China is becoming the filtering ground for poluted water, which is costly to clean up. The developed world “understands” this, buy cheap stuff from China and let China picks up the heavy bill of environmental issues, including the health of its people.

Will talk about water again in future.

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Dear Friends,

  image from hairstyle.com

ch advised us that she has opened her shop in the posh neighbourhood of Aoyama in Tokyo.

Since she is a skin specialist, I guess given the timing of the natural forces of the 5th Major Qi Period (Dryness and Cold), it would appear her timing is impeccable, as this the environment that the Lung System will be subjected to bigger load. The Lung System connects with the skin externally.

In posting  Your growth/reproductive pattern, we discussed the natural cycles of women, to recap :

• 1×7=7 yr   : permanent teeth replacing primary teeth, hairs getting longer,
• 2×7=14 yr : arrival of “sex hormone”, commencement of periods, can have pregnancy, (note too late arrival of this is symptom of Qi deficiency, esp kidney system),
• 3×7=21 yr : wisdom tooths appear and grow to maximum,
• 4×7=28 yr : physically at her peak, hair at best condition, best health,
• 5×7=35 yr : face starting to lose luster, hair start dropping,
• 6×7=42 yr : facial texture losing overall luster,white hair appearing (ladies, take note),
• 7×7=49 yr : end phase of “sex hormones”, pregnancy very difficult,

From above, from 5×7 onwards, the face starts to lose luster. Sorry for the bad news.

ch, you will never run out of clients !

When we are born, we inherited the vital Qi from our parents (先天之气，”xian tian zhi qi”). This is given and we have to make good the treasure we inherited. If we consider the complexity that make up a human being, this vital Qi is incredible, next to miracle. It is the seed of “fire” that we inherit from our parents.

Now, this parental vital Qi alone is not enough to make us healthy, we need the continuos supply of  “nutrients” (后天之气, “hou tian zhi qi”). 后天之气 enables us to keep the original “fire” burning brightly.

后天之气 (“hou tian zhi qi” ) is more than just food we eat, it also includes the water we drink and the air we breath (in addition to the way we behave).

Therefore,

• if we have good appetite but not digest well, that only put more load to the body to get rid of the waste,
• if we breath ok but too shallowy, that’s not good either etc
• if we sleep during daylight and awake throughout the night, that’s not good.

Now back to the critical issue of lost of facial luster. What causes it ?

• From TCM’s perspective, the Yang Meridians are channels of  Yang energy, which is critical for all sorts of activities (i.e. they are dynamic energy). You can think of Yang Meridians as Daylight as opposed to Yin Meridians which are equivalent to Night.
• For women, on average, after 5×7, the Yang energy levels in the Yang Meridians start to decline.
• The decline is most obvious in the face because the face is the meeting place of all the Yang Meridians.

Of all the Yang Meridians, the Stomach Meridian (pairing with Lung Meridian) has the most Yang energy.

Therefore keeping a free-flowing and healthy Stomach Meridian will enhance the Yang energy level in it, the result is a longer lasting facial luster, which I guess many have invested heavily to uphold. (since it is also related to Lung Meridian, the skin overall will be affected).

Will return later on some of the key exercises the invigorate the Stomach Meridian.

Will be back.

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Dear Friends,

image from telegraph.co.uk

In posting  Sexual Orientation and Kaleidoscope (Feb 29, 2008) I tried to look at Sexual Orientation from the perspective of  道 (“Dao”).

In the logics of Dao, Yin contains element of Yang, likewise Yang contains element of Yin.

This is best illustrated by the 太极阴阳 (“Taiji Yin-Yang”) diagram :

image from zh.wikipedia.

From the above diagram, we see that :

• in domain of Yang (big white fish), it also contains an element of Yin (small black dot).
• similarly, in the domain of Yin (large black fish), it contains an element of Yang (small white dot).

If we were to go into further detail, then this exercise can be repeated in the small black or white dot, i.e., they share the same characteristics as the large Taiji Yin-Yang diagram. This repeats indefinitely.

• Also note the white and black boundary is not a straight line, but rather a “S” curve boundary. It is very significant, for the balance of Yin and Yang is a dynamic process, not a static one.

This can be best understood from the principle of the top of the class jet fighter. It is highly unstable at low speed and can crash very easily. However, at high speed, it is stable and that’s the objective to achieve its intended function.

In Western thinking, it is all about White or Black, i.e. digital and two dimensional. Either it is complete white or complete black. This can be illustrated by the following diagram :

image from stillrivertaichi.com

This black and white division created a problem for Caster Semenya.

For the world of modern sports, practically all events are grouped into either Men or Women category. (except for mixed events such as mixed doubles).

As we have seen from the world of Dao, the amount of Yang in Yin can varies quite a fair bit, the following is an example of mathematical representations :

• YYYYYY
• YYYYYX
• YYYYXX
• YYYXXX
• YYXXXX
• YXXXXX

So if we were to pick a large group of women randomly, we are likely to see them expressing different degree of “Yang-ness”.  It will be the same for a large group of randomly selected men, they will express different degree of “Yin-ness”.

• Hermaphrodite, or various degree of  it, is just a matter of different degree of “Yang-ness” in Yin or “Yin-ness in Yang”. Where do we draw the line ? It is continous, in “S” shape curve, not a straight line dividing the 2 halves of a sphere. What makes a woman is a complicated set of dynamic elements, of which presence of ovaries and level of testoterone are just two out of countless elements.

Afterall, even for a woman, this set of elements are changing all the time, depending on her age. Or can we also say a woman who has undergone hysterectomy or oophorectomy is a hermaphrodite and no longer a woman by IAAF definition? (what rubbish of course this is!)

This is completely acceptable and logical from the perspective of Dao.

For Caster Semenya, all eyes are on her, she seems to have created the problem.

Or is it more  appropriately the problem of our man-made system ? Or the rule of the game in big sports? Or our lack of understanding of Nature.

link to Caster Semenya:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/sep/13/caster-semenya-gender-test-results

Dear Friends,

image from  zhounaidong.blog.sohu.com  / www.chinaqw.com

秋 (“qiu”), autumn in Chinese, is a very important word in Chinese culture.

For one thing, it is the harvesting time (秋收, “qiu-shou”), one of the happiest moment for people in a year in rural China or in agricultural based China.

(Note the phrase 王以民为天,民以食为天, ie The subject is the biggest asset for a King, the Food is the most important to the people. Read posting Human being (人))

From the word construction, the word “秋” is made of :

• 禾 (“he”)    : grain
• 火 (“huo”) : fire, meaning ripe

禾 is plant that grows from 2nd Lunar Month(Spring) and matured with ripe grain in the 8th Lunar Month(Autumn), capturing the Essence of Heaven and Earth and store them in the grain.

While 秋 denotes the decline of existing plant, new life is being passed down and stored in the grain.

秋 is also :

• associated with direction West (for 秋 in a year is equivalent to the sun-set time of a day).
• typically the time for settling the  score politically(秋杀, qiu-sha), and therefore Qiu is also associated with Metal (weapon), colour white (color of metal), contraction/sinking and dryness.
• associated with numbers 4, 9,
• associated with spicyness, Lung/Large Intestine systems. Therefore constipation typically is associated with the Lung/Large Intestine systems, with dryness.
• also associated with the Skin, this of course is obvious.

Nothing much of a posting, just some random thought on 秋.

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Dear Friends,

    image from flickr.com/photos

Next Monday (Sept 7) will be 白露 (Bai-lu), which technically means we will be seeing dew forming in the early morning as we enter Autumn.

After the 处暑 (Chu-shu, Aug 23) heat hitting close to the Earth surface, this heat will be penetrating the surface and descending further after 秋分 (Qiu-fen, Sept 23), to be kept and nourished under the ground over the deep Autumn and Winter period, to prepare for the next cycle of life.

As the heat descends deeper into the ground, it will get dryer quite quickly. As mentioned previously, the 5th Major Qi Period (Sept 23~Nov 22) of 2009 will see a quick pace of contraction and descend, putting more load on the lung system and therefore making it more vulnerable to external elements. (there is therefore an increase risk of a stronger come back of flu over this period).

Keep your lung system well nourished. Try below recipe if you feel dryer throat and heaty over this period, to strengthen the Lung systems:

1. 沙参、玉竹、南北杏煲猪瘦肉

　　北沙参10g，玉竹20g，南、北杏各5克，猪瘦肉250g，蜜枣2枚，姜 2片。将全部用料放入锅内，加清水适量，武火煮沸，文火煲2小时，加盐适量，可喝汤吃肉。

2. 麦门冬 18g，党参 9g， 炙甘草9g， 大枣5 pieces， 半夏9g， 粳米9g. Boil with 3 bowls of water until 2 bowls, drink one bowl each time, twice daily. Drink alternate day for 3 weeks.

Of course the best way to protect against lesser external elements is the following advice from our ancestors :

“…食饮有节， 起居有常，不妄作劳 ….虚邪贼风，避之有时；恬澹虚无，真气从之，精神内守，病安从来？….”

(Please refer to Posting Health Pointers for Free )

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Dear Friends,

  image from pitchfork.com 

There is immediate affinity with Michael Jackson for those of us who have grown with him through the same time-space. (re space-time, read posting Walking with Empress Cixi (象) ).

Personally I like mostly his pre-Thriller numbers like:

• Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough,
• Off The Wall
• Beat It,
• Billie Jeans

One has to respect his ability to connect with his audience and his influence on Pop music. His energy level is simply boundless.

In the summer of 1992, in his UK tour at Wembly Stadium, the opening scene was :

1. MJ jumped up from below the stage floor to stand still on stage, with sun glasses, motionless ==> hysteria from the crowd,
2. after 1 minute, MJ removes his sun glasses, the crowd totally went wild,
3. MJ has done nothing yet, not uttering a single word, the crowd was already exhausted.
4. that’s the power of his connectivity.

I have no doubt that MJ’s planned 50 shows in London would have been just as hysterical.

MJ was borned on Aug 29, 1958. It was 戊戌年 (“Wu-xu Year”).

• As you may recall, any year of 戊 (“wu”) is donimated by Strong Heat (as in the case of 2008, being a 戊子年 (“wu-zi Year)).
• However, in 1958, the Strong Heat of  戊 was accompanied by two major sub-forces, Cold Water and Damp Earth.
• Aug 29 falls in the the 4th Major Qi Period of that year, which was subjected to two additional sub-forces of Dampness and Windiness.

MJ’s Strong Heat was to a large extent neutralised by Colder Water.  He managed to get through the Strong Heat with Dryness of 2008.

Take a look at the forces in play in June 2009 versus MJ’s Personal Cosmic Orientation :

                  MJ’s PCO                    2009 June

• Cold Water                     Damp Earth
• Wind Wood                    Damp Earth
• Strong Heat                   Damp Earth (Lesser)
• Damp Earth                   Strong Heat
• Damp Earth                    Cold Water

Out of 5 forces, MJ resonated with 4 of them, driven mainly by Strong Heat and Damp Earth, a very uncomfortable environment. In fact he resonated with all the 5 external forces at play in June 2009.  (夏至, “xia-zhi”, the arrival of the Peak Summer, fell on June 21).

• The Cold Water force has helped to hold in check the Strong Heat element in his body, you get the clearest glimpse of this with his boundless energy on stage, who was otherwise a rather reserved person back stage.

• This Cold Water, though is blocked by Damp Earth. When Damp Earth force is too strong, it over-blocked the Cold Water which reduces its ability to suppress the Strong Heat.  It also didn’t help as his skin was getting paler. Colour Black is Water and would have provided additional check on the Strong Heat.

• Strong Heat disturbs the Heart system and one of the immediate effects are disturbed mind and loss of sleep. 天王补心丹 (“tian wang bu xin dan”) might have come handy for some of the symptoms. (of course it is dangerous to jump to conclusion without knowing more detail of his actual situation, though this could have been helpful).

• The name “天王补心丹” incidentally means “Heart Remedy for the King” or “The King of Heart Remedy”. (The Heart in TCM typically refers to the Mind, rather than the physical heart itself).

MJ’s personal doctor might have erred and wrong in injecting powerful anaesthetic propofol to help him sleep. Had his doctor understand a bit more about the root cause of his inability to sleep, then may be the approach and outcome might be very different.

The King of Pop, whichever the outcome,  will remain the King for a long time.

Note: I was given a chance to go watch MJ live at Wembly Stadium in 1992. Some how I turned down the offer. That’s the magic of 缘份 (“yuan-fen”).

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Dear Friends,

   image from biggestmenu.com

Didn’t realise that we are more than 2 weeks past 立秋 (“Li Qiu”, Aug 7).

立秋 (Aug 7) this year is kind of interesting because at 12:34:56 hour that day, we have a number line 12:34:56:7,8, (200)9. Sorry for digression.

I have addressed the meanning of 立秋 (“Li Qiu”) in posting Character of Autumn.

One Small Period (节气 “jieqi”) is about 15 days.

One Small Period after 立秋 (“Li Qiu”) is 处暑 (Chu Shu), which just passed us last Sunday (Aug 23).

• 处暑 is typically one of the hottest period in a year even the Autumn condition has been established.
• This is due to the Yang Qi that has started to descend from peak Summer 夏至 (“xiazhiJune 21) is now very close to the surface of the Earth. You get this scorching heat sensation over this period, especially as the weather gets dryer.

So take great care and avoid the after.noon heat out there.

Take some green bean porridge when it gets too heaty.

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Dear Friends,

             泰                               否

The above two diagrams represent 2 of the 64 卦 (gua) in The Book of Change, i.e. that of  泰 (tai gua) and 否 (bi gua) respectively.

• 泰 (tai) means everything is going right in one’s way, everything is just right, peace.  The 3 solid lines below represent Yang energy and the 3 broken lines above represent Yin energy. As you may recall, Yang energy ascends and Yin energy descends.  The Ascending Yang Qi and the Descending Yin Qi meet and interact, meaning there is Communication ad therefore everything goes fine.

• 否 (bi) is the opposite of  泰 (tai), everything just goes wrong.  The Ascending Yang Qi (the 3 solid lines) is at the top and the Descending Yin Qi (3 broken lines) is at the bottom. They both move further away from each other, and therefore there is No Communication, there is no interaction, may be even misunderstanding, and therefore nightmare is the result.

That said, 泰 and 否 is a lot closer to each other than one might thinks.

• Pictorially,  say for 泰 Gua, if you look from opposite direction (i.e. from top to bottom), then it is actually a 否 Gua. (therefore the saying one man’s meat is another’s poison).

Now in the world of 64 gua (i.e. the system of Chinese logics that tries to assist us in understanding the complex and dynamic changes of various situation at hand), 泰 is #11 gua and 否 is #12 gua.

This is significant.

It means that when we are in the very state of  泰 where everything seems perfect, that is usually the most dangerous time, as a little carelessness will put us into the state of  否.

Once we are in the state of  否, if we were to wait for the natural course of flow event to revert itself, then we have to travel through #13, #14, #15,…. etc to #64, back to #1. #2,… then eventually back to #11 gua, i.e. back to Tai Gua again. That is, we have to go through a full cycle of slow recovery.

否極泰來 (bi ji tai lai), i.e., “light at the end of the tunnel” typically is a much longer process than reverse situation.

So, under natural course of events, it takes just a blip from the state of Tai to the state of Bi. However, it will take much longer for the state of Bi to return back to the state of Tai.

Of course, this is natural course of events. If efforts are being taken, then it can take much shorter time for Bi to return to Tai.

That I will leave it later to explain, give it a thought.

Have fun.