*Relative Properties - Yin and Yang : The Physiology of Chinese medicine holds that the human body's life is the result of the balance of yin and yang. Yin is the inner and negative principles, and yang, outer and positive. The key reason why there is sickness is because the two aspects lose their harmony. Seen from the recovery mechanism of organs, yang functions to protect from outer harm, and yin is the inner base to store and provide energy for its counterpart.
*Basic Substance : Doctors of traditional Chinese medicine (abbreviated to TCM) believe that vital energy - moving and energetic particles, state of blood, and body fluid are the essential substances that compose together to form the human body, and the basis for internal organs to process. They are channeled along a network within the body - Jing Luo as their channels. On the physical side, vital energy serving to promote and warm belongs to the properties of yang, and blood and body fluid to moisten possesses the properties of yin.
*===Five Phases theory=== Five Phases (五行, {{zh|p=wǔ xíng}}), sometimes also translated as the "Five Elements"<ref name="Ergil 2009"/> theory, presumes that all phenomena of the universe and nature can be broken down into five elemental qualities – represented by wood (木, {{zh|p=mù}}), fire (火{{zh|p=huǒ}}), earth (土, {{zh|p=tǔ}}), metal (金, {{zh|p=jīn}}), and water (水, {{zh|p=shuǐ}}).<ref name="Aung 2007">Aung, S.K.H. & Chen, W.P.D. (2007): [http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=I6NclaeDWjgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Clinical+introduction+to+medical+acupuncture&hl=zh-CN#v=onepage&q&f=false "Clinical introduction to medical acupuncture"]. Thieme Medical Publishers. ISBN 978-1-58890-221-4</ref> In this way, lines of correspondence can be drawn: {| class="wikitable"|-! Phenomenon || Wood || Fire || Earth || Metal || Water|-! Direction<ref name="Aung 2007"/>| east || south || center || west || north|-! Colour<ref name="Deng 1999"/>| green/blue || red || yellow || white || black|-! Climate<ref name="Aung 2007"/>| wind || heat || damp || dryness || cold|-! Taste<ref name="Ergil 2009"/>| sour || bitter || sweet || acrid || salty|-! Zang Organ<ref name="Maciocia 1989">Maciocia, Giovanni, (1989): The Foundations of Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive Text for Acupuncturists and Herbalists; Churchill Livingstone; ISBN 978-0-443-03980-5, p. 26</ref>| Liver || Heart || Spleen || Lung || Kidney|-! Fu Organ<ref name="Maciocia 1989"/>| Gallbladder || Small Intestine || Stomach || Large Intestine || Bladder|-! Sense organ<ref name="Deng 1999"/>| eye || tongue || mouth || nose || ears|-! Facial part<ref name="Deng 1999"/>| above bridge of nose || between eyes, lower part || bridge of nose || between eyes, middle part || cheeks (below cheekbone)|-! Eye part<ref name="Deng 1999">Deng, T. (1999): [http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=wONlwtKkUmcC&pg=PA185&dq=tcm+six+evils&hl=zh-CN#v=onepage&q&f=false "Practical diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine"]. Elsevier. 5th reprint, 2005. ISBN 978-0-443-04582-0</ref>| iris || inner/outer corner of the eye || upper and lower lid || sclera || pupil|} Strict rules are identified to apply to the relationships between the Five Phases in terms of sequence, of acting on each other, of counteraction etc.<ref name="Aung 2007"/> All these aspects of Five Phases theory constitute the basis of the [[Zang-fu|zàng-fǔ]] concept, and thus have great influence regarding the TCM model of the body.<ref name="Ergil 2009"/> Five Phase theory is also applied in diagnosis and therapy.<ref name="Ergil 2009"/> Correspondences between the body and the universe have historically not only been seen in terms of the Five Elements, but also of the "Great Numbers" (大數, {{zh|p=dà shū}})<ref name="Matuk 2006"/> For example, the number of acu-points has at times been seen to be 365, in correspondence with the number of days in a year; and the number of main [[meridian (Chinese medicine)|meridians]] – 12 – has been seen in correspondence with the number of rivers flowing through the [[History of China|ancient Chinese empire]].==Diagnosis==Four Methods of Diagnosis : It is a wonder that TCM doctors could cure countless patients without any assistant apparatus but only a physical examination. The four methods of diagnosis consist of observation, auscultation and olfaction, interrogation, pulse taking and palpation.
**Observation indicates that doctors directly watch the outward appearance to know a patient's condition. As the exterior and interior corresponds immediately, when the inner organs run wrongly, it will be reflected through skin pallor, tongue, the facial sensory organs and some excrement.
**Auscultation and olfaction is a way for doctors to collect messages through hearing the sound and smelling the odor. This is another reference for diagnosis.