The Six Climatic Factors and The Five Elements

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The six exogenous factors, called the "six evils" in traditional Chinese medicine, are external climatic forces that invade our body and affect our health. The "six evils" are wind, cold, heat, summer-heat, dampness, and dryness. Under normal conditions these climatic factors do not cause disease and are known as nature’s “six types of Qi”. They are natural manifestations of the different seasons and nature’s constantly varying climate. Only when they become sudden, extreme or when the body’s immune system is weak, these climatic factors become pathological for human health and are then referred to as "the six evils”.

Each evil relates to a certain season (although with climate abnormalities it may appear in any given season). Each evil can transform into another evil after it has invaded the body. Each evil can invade the body alone or in combination with another evil.

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Liangyue, D., Yijun, G., Shuhui, H., Xiaoping, J., Yang, L., Rufen, W., Wenjing, W., Xuetai, W., Hengze, X., Xiuling, X., Jiuling, Y. (1987). Chinese acupuncture and moxibustion. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press