Chapter 15 Section 5 Relationship between environment and human health

Ancient my country has long noticed the impact of geographical environment on human physique and health.Ancient Chinese medicine has always put the human body shape and physiology in a unified relationship with the living environment to understand. Water and soil are important factors in the human living environment, and it has an important impact on human physical health.The ancient people realized very early that the properties of water and soil in different regions are different. Therefore, there are obvious differences in physique among people living in different regions. "Zhou Li Di Guan Situ" records that the duty of Da Situ is to take charge of the land map of the world and record the household registration of the people, and assist the king to stabilize the world. Knowing its advantages and disadvantages, use it to soap the people, use the birds and beasts, use the grass and trees, and use it to handle the affairs of the earth."It can be seen that more than 2,000 years ago, people had a good understanding of the adaptive relationship between organisms and geographical environments.One of the important responsibilities of government officials at that time was to investigate and study the animals and plants produced in various regions and the living environment of human beings, so as to know how to maximize the advantages and avoid the disadvantages, so that the people will be healthy and prosperous, the birds and beasts will multiply, and the vegetation will prosper.What is particularly striking here is that the investigation of the living environment of the crowd was also included in the scope of work of the government at that time, and the differences in the physical characteristics of the population living in different environments were investigated and studied. "Zhou Li Di Guan Si Tu" made a specific description of the physical differences of people living or living in different geographical environments: "One is called the mountains and forests... the people are square (the people who live in the mountains and forests, The shape is correct and hairy)." "The second is called Chuanze... its people are black and Jin (people living in the Chuanze area, their bodies are black and moist)." "The third is called hills... its people are specialized and long (living in hilly areas people with round and tall bodies)." "Fourth is called Grave Yan...their people are fair and barren (people living in the flat land near the water are thin and white)." "The fifth is called Yuanxi...the people are rich in flesh and庳 [beibei] (people living in the plains, with plump muscles and short stature)." It clearly depicts the differences in the shape of the human body living in different regions.

The "Lingshu Jing Yin Yang Twenty-five" further divides the physical characteristics of people into five types: wood, fire, metal, water, and soil according to the east, west, south, north, and middle regions, and describes them.It is pointed out that the physical characteristics of wood-shaped people (Oriental) are: pale skin, small head, long face, broad shoulders, straight body, small stature, small hands and feet, intelligent, scheming, weak physical strength; fire-shaped people (Southern), red skin, broad back, thin face, small head, well-developed shoulders, back, thighs, and abdomen, small hands and feet, and steady steps; the physical characteristics of the earth-shaped person (central) are: yellow complexion, round face, large head, The shoulders and back are strong, the abdomen is wide, the lower limbs are strong and sturdy, the hands and feet are small, the muscles are plump, the steps are steady, and the ground is silent; The hands and feet are small, the heels are solid and thick, and the movement is brisk; the characteristics of the people in the shape of water (northern) are: dark complexion, sunken face, big head, broad palate, small shoulders, broad abdomen, and long back. The "Lingshu Jing" not only describes the differences in the body shapes of people from all walks of life, but also further points out the differences in the responses of people from all walks of life to seasonal climates.As pointed out in the "Lingshu Jing", Easterners and Southerners are generally able to adapt to spring and summer climates, but are less adaptable to autumn and winter climates, and are prone to get sick due to cold stimulation.On the contrary, Westerners and northerners are usually able to adapt to autumn and winter climates, but not so much to spring and summer climates. They are often easily stimulated by heat and get sick.

In the book "Huainanzi" by Liu An in the Han Dynasty, he also discussed the important impact of different terrain, climate, soil, water quality and other living environment conditions on the physical characteristics and diseases of the population. "Huainanzi Terrain Training" says: The east is the place where the water flows from the big rivers and deep valleys, and it is also the place where the sun and the moon rise.People here are tall, mature early, but live short.The body is pointed, the head is small, the nose is high, the mouth is big, the shoulders are like kites, and the heels are tiptoed when walking.The south is where the sun gathers and is hot and humid.The land is suitable for growing rice and producing one-horned rhinos and elephants.Southerners are tall, with a pointed upper part, a big mouth, and wrinkles at the corners of their eyes. They are precocious and short-lived.The west is the place where the mountains and valleys originate and the sun goes down. The land is suitable for planting millet, and it is rich in yaks and rhinos.The people here have long necks and curved backs, and they are brave and tough.The north is a place where the ice and snow do not melt all the year round, where animals hibernate and dormant all the year round, and is dark and closed. The land is suitable for planting beans, and dogs and horses are prolific.The bodies there were shrunken, with short necks, large shoulders, and long arms.Live long for being ignorant.The central area extends in all directions and has abundant rainfall. The land is suitable for growing grains, and it produces a lot of cattle, sheep and livestock.He is obese, with a big face, short cheeks, and a beautiful beard. He is intelligent and good at governing the country. To what extent these expositions in "Huainanzi" reflect the real situation at that time is difficult to verify now.But these statements are by no means entirely fictional.More importantly, these discussions have closely linked the physical characteristics of the population with the environmental conditions of various places, such as water and soil, climate, products and other factors.It fully reflects the ancient concept of human ecology.These discussions also show that ancient China attached great importance to the investigation and research on the living environment of people in various places.

The ancients also paid great attention to the influence of environmental factors such as water and soil conditions on diseases.Water is an important part of the human body and an indispensable material basis for maintaining the physiological activities of all living organisms.At the same time, water is also an essential environmental condition for people to engage in all life and production activities and maintain personal and public health. "Guanzi·Shuidi Pian" said: "What is water? The origin of all things is also the ancestor of all life." .Birds and beasts get it, with fat bodies, lush feathers, and clear culture, and everything is endless." This shows that more than 2,000 years ago, people have attached great importance to the importance of water to living organisms.Soil is the central link between the human body and the outside world for material exchange and energy transfer. Human clothing, food, housing, and transportation are all directly or indirectly related to soil.The soil is also a natural disposal place for all wastes. The elements in the soil can enter the human body through food, drinking water and air, thereby affecting human physiological functions.Therefore, poor or polluted soil and water will inevitably lead to diseases and damage to human health. More than 2,000 years ago, "Chun Qiu Zuo Zhuan" said: "If the soil is thick and the water is deep, it will not cause disease", "The soil is thin and the water is shallow, and the evil is easy to gou (gou enough)".It means that if you live in a place with high dryness, you will not get sick easily. On the contrary, if you live in a place with low humidity, the harm is obvious.

"Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" mentioned the impact of five kinds of water quality on human health, one is "light water place, many bald and gall [yingying] people"; swollen feet) and 〔bi〕 (can't walk) people"; the third is "the sweet water place, how good and beautiful"; It is "the place of bitter water, many people [wang Wang] (protruding chest and upward disease) and 伛 (spine disease) people".Although the five water quality environments mentioned here are still to be further studied, but at that time people clearly recognized that the occurrence of some common regional diseases was related to the environmental water quality, which was reasonable.We now know that the emergence of many endemic diseases is inseparable from the water quality in the environment.For example, drinking water with high fluoride content for a long time can cause people to suffer from spotted glaze disease and skeletal fluorosis, which are typical local soil and water diseases.In areas with high fluoride content in water quality, skeletal fluorosis causes many people to have varying degrees of bone and joint stiffness, and some even have rigid spines that cannot bend over.This kind of situation is very similar to "the place of bitterness, how many people and swindlers".The so-called "light water, many bald and galled people" should be the endemic goiter caused by iodine deficiency as revealed by modern medicine.

There are also many descriptions in "Huainanzi·Zuixing Training".It pointed out: "Each land grows according to its kind. Therefore, there are many males in the mountains, many females in the lakes, dark in the barriers, deaf in the wind, thick in the forest (longlong) (gonorrhea), slender in the woods, and dense in the shore. The lower qi is more swollen, the stone qi is more powerful, the dangerous qi is more galling, the summer qi is more premature, the cold qi is more longevity..." The various effects of various environments mentioned here on people's physical health may not be correct.However, some of the conclusions, such as the conclusions that "summer qi lasts longer", "cold qi lasts longer", "damaged qi leads to galls", etc., are worthy of our further research.Chen Jiang of the Ming Dynasty said in "Little Records of Differentiating Things" that nine out of ten residents in Mount Tai suffered from "galls" for hundreds of miles, pointing out that galls mostly occurred in mountainous areas.Li Shizhen also said: "Two mountains are surrounded by water, and many people suffer from galls." Now people know that goiter, an endemic disease, has a high incidence in inland mountainous areas, especially in places with serious soil erosion.Therefore, it is reasonable to say in ancient times that "dangerous qi is more galled".Li Shizhen also summed up the relationship between water quality, health and longevity in the book: "The water in the world is used to extinguish fires, but it is the same as dampness. However, its nature changes from the ground, and its quality changes with things. It is not the same." Pointing out that the quality of water varies with The environment varies.He gave an example: "The lake in Nanyang grows more like chrysanthemums, and its people live longer. ... The mountains of Jin produce alum (fanfan) stones, and springs can heal gangrene. ... Galls disappear in the waves of algae belts, ... snow washes eyes And red retreat..." opened up a way to use environmental conditions to treat diseases.