Gate Points & guan [Eric]

[Guest guest]

Chinese Medicine ,

<@w...> wrote:

> There is clearly confusion in " Grasping the Wind " (understandably,

it's an

> ambitious, and, in the Wiseman et al series, an early

undertaking). " St-7

> may derive its name from its location below the joint of the

mandible.

> Also, it is located just below the zygomatic arch, an area that

reminded

> the ancient Chinese of the door bolt (guan). Thus the point name

may be

> considered a reference to the point's location below that arch. "

They

> entertain two alternatives here (both with " may " ).

>

> Then " See also GB-3 (Above the Joint). " But GB-3 is

headed/titled " Upper

> Gate " . So the authors, at publication time, got caught with one

name in

> each of the two interpretations, with a clue here that they

entertained

> consistent naming (below/above joint), and either withdrew from it,

or

> failed to update both locations to it.

 

I agree that it is a bit inconsistent. Perhaps it was inconsistent

across different source texts. I know that they used Chinese texts

that explained the meanings of the point names to come up with their

translations. I'll ask Nigel and see if there is more explanation to

be added.

 

> By the way, (under GB-3 " The mandibular joint is often referred to

in

> Chinese as the 'gate' (guan). " Joints seen as gate/guan is routine

in

> Chinese.

 

Well, guan means " joint, " so it is hardly a surprise that joints seen

as guan is routine in Chinese.

 

>The 9 gates of (at least some) TaiJiChuan schools (ankle, knee,

> hip, lumbar, thoracic, cervical (as areas), shoulder, elbow,

wrist); the 3

> gates of the back emphasized in some systems, etc.

 

Guan has a wide range of use, to be sure. And " men, " door, can also

be translated as gate at times, further adding the complexity.

 

However, guan is clearly associated with the jaw in some contexts.

If a medicinal is said to free the guan, it is indicating that the

medicinal is specifically indicated for freeing the jaw to treat

clenched jaw.

 

What the exact context of guan in these point names refers to, I do

not know. I am just making some informed guesses. The answers will

be in the Chinese texts that explain the point names. Since these

were used for grasping the wind, I can't imagine that the

explanations in grasping the wind are that far off the mark, for

whatever ambiguities or inconsistencies there may be. Of course,

many times in Chinese, the answer is not simply A or B, the answer is

sometimes both A and B.

 

Eric