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The Heart stores Shen (Spirit), the Spleen stores Zhi (Intellect) and Yi (Intent), and the Kidney stores Jing (Essence) and Zhi (Will). Human thought and reflection are governed by Zhi and Yi; the application of Zhi and Yi is controlled by Shen. Therefore, some say that excessive thinking damages the Heart, while others say it damages the Spleen; this is merely emphasizing one aspect. Upon deeper investigation, when thought first begins to form, it is the Heart that directs the Spleen; when thought becomes exhausted, it is the Spleen that burdens the Heart. Thus, damaging the Spleen is heavier than damaging the Heart. Generally, injuries caused by the Five Emotions (Joy, Anger, Worry, Thought, Fear) often result from Qi converging due to excess. Excessive thought causes Qi to converge in the Spleen, hence the Classic says: "Thought causes Qi to knot." "Converge" means "knot." In the Five Elements, Earth overcomes Water; Water governs Winter and corresponds to closure and storage. When the Spleen is full, there is Fire; the nature of Fire is to dissipate. With an extreme excess condition overcoming a deficient condition, the dissipating nature alters the normal state of closure and storage. Furthermore, due to the Spleen disease burdening the Heart, the Shen, which lacks a master, becomes confused and scattered, causing Jing to leak. The Classic states: "Excess leads to dreams of giving." Because the Spleen shows excess due to Qi convergence, dreams involve giving away Jing. Discussing this syndrome, the correct approach is to view it as Spleen Fire harassing the Heart Shen above and overcoming Kidney Water below. If one rigidly adheres to the theory that "all heat belongs to the Heart," finding it inconsistent with the principles of Five Element generation and overcoming, and then relies on the Hexagrams Ji Ji (Water and Fire in their Proper Places) and Wei Ji (Before Completion) from the Book of Changes to argue for Heart-Kidney Non-Interaction, they fail to realize that the imagery in the Book of Changes only takes the meaning of Zhen and Hui (trigrams), not actual physical events. If this were applied to pathology, would one believe that "Great Accumulation: Heaven within the Mountain" or "Great Strength: Thunder moving in the Heavens" are literal realities? How would one describe the pathological image if the Lung were placed inside the Spleen and the Heart moved above the Lung? Establishing theories should rely on principles that hold true universally.

When human deficiency encounters natural deficiency (non-seasonal pathogens), it forms pathogenic diseases from hostile factors (Zei Xie), such as cold from Spring Equinox to Autumn Equinox, and heat from Autumn Equinox to Spring Equinox. When human deficiency encounters natural excess (seasonal pathogens), it forms pathogenic diseases from righteous factors (Zheng Xie), such as heat from Spring Equinox to Autumn Equinox, and cold from Autumn Equinox to Spring Equinox. Broadly speaking, Cold and Heat correspond to Yin and Yang Qi; specifically, Cold, Heat, Cool, and Warm correspond to the Four Seasons, all originating from Wind. Hence, the Inner Classic says: "Wind is the chief of a hundred diseases." Warm wind necessarily carries Dampness; cool wind is merely Wind, distinct from Cold and Heat which govern specific seasons, as described in the Ling Shu Nine Palaces: Spring Damp, Summer Heat, Autumn Wind, Winter Cold. However, Dampness, Cold, and Heat exist only during their prosperous times, whereas Wind exists in all four seasons, so wind-related illnesses are particularly numerous. Humans become deficient due to labor and rest imbalance, emotional extremes of Joy and Anger/Yin and Yang, dietary excesses of drunkenness and fullness, fright from humans and spirits, falls and crushings, and bites from insects and beasts. If any of these occur, Wind will invade; during periods of Dampness, Cold, or Heat, or when hostile factors are present, they also invade. Thus it is said: "Where pathogenic factors gather, Qi must be deficient." Yet, after gathering, the presentation often appears as Excess. The manifestations vary: some are half-excess/half-deficient, some have excess exceeding deficiency; there is no pure deficiency. Only after major illnesses treated with sweating, vomiting, or purging methods, where pathogens are removed but Qi and Blood cannot immediately recover, or in women shortly after childbirth where fluids are lost and form and Qi are insufficient to fill, is there pure deficiency. However, the former occurs post-illness, and the latter is not a disease per se; neither should be treated with standard disease-treatment methods. Since diseases do not present as pure deficiency, formulas do not use brute tonification, which is unsurprising. One might object: "Are not deafness and blindness in the elderly pure deficiency?" The answer is: This is also due to Wind. In the elderly, Qi and Blood naturally decline; medicines cannot support them, and even if supported, subsequent pathogens continue to invade the deficiency, leading to non-recovery. The reason for non-recovery lies in deficiency, but the pathogenic factor remains Wind.