Origin Exploration of Fei Xiao

ZHAO Ling-zhu; JU Bao-zhao

Abstract：Feixiao,an ancient disease,was first recorded in Su Wen Qi Jue,Inner canon of Huangdi which clearly states its pathogenesis as the heart transferring cold to the lungs.However,many medical experts believe that it is caused by heat and thus classify it as Shangxiao and Gexiao.To make a deeper exploration to the disease,a systematic study has been made on the medical literature in the Qing Dynasty or earlier classics which can be summarized into five stages.First,cold was believed to be the cause from Spring-autumn Period to the dynasties of Neijing;Second,the theory of fever generating with cold stagnation came into being in the dynasties of Sui and Tang;Third,the therapeutic principle and formula of calming heart fire by tonifying lung metal were proposed in the Song Jin and Yuan Dynasty;Last,the theory of deficiency-cold causing Feixiao was induced in the dynasties of Ming and Qing.From the above analysis,we may reach the conclusion that deficiency-cold is the main cause and pathogenesis of Feixiao,which is different from Shangxiao and Gexiao in nature,while in terms of its primary characteristics of "drinking little but urinating much" and "high mortality",it's similar to the last stage of modern "Xiaxiao (Yin injury with Yang involved)".