Clinical Theories Based on Bodily Experience and Perception: Analysis of Metaphorical Characteristics of Etiology in Traditional Chinese Medicine Using Wind of the Six Evils as an Example

Methods used in the etiology of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are briefly reviewed. This article discusses the metaphorical characteristics of TCM in the analysis of etiology systematically. Wind, one of the six evils, is used as an example. It concludes that ancient TCM physicians transplanted some properties of the natural wind into the explanation of TCM theories. Consequently, the concept of wind as a pathogenic factor and the disease-related characteristics of wind have been used in the medical field. This is the method of metaphorical cognition from the perspective of cognitive linguistics, which interprets unfamiliar things with the help of familiar things. The term “six evils” in TCM is a metaphorical concept used in the explanation of TCM etiology.