Tracing the Origin of Zhu Danxi’s Xianghuo (Ministerial Fire) Theory

Abstract

The theory of Xianghuo (lit. ‘ministerial fire’) was first recorded in the "Huangdi Neijing", and it was supplemented and perfected by later generations. During the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Zhu Zhenheng refined it into "Xianghuo theory" to guide clinical treatment; modern scholars proposed the Xianghuo mechanism theory based on the corresponding characteristics of the Xianghuo theory to promote the clinical research in the Xianghuo theory. This paper discusses Danxi School's understanding of Xianghuo theory, and makes a rigorous research and summary in order to serve as a reference for Xianghuo theory.