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Also evil qì; disease evil; pathogen (Obs.). Any entity from outside or from within that threatens health. Evils include six excesses, which are the six qì, wind, cold, fire, summerheat, dampness, and dryness, in their capacity to cause disease. They also include the warm evils spoken of by the warm heat school, and the various kinds of toxin. Evils further include wind, cold, fire, dampness, and dryness arising within the body, and disease-causing products of the body, static blood and phlegm. Evil stands in opposition to right, the force that maintains health. Since evil actively fights right or summons activity of right to eliminate it, it is often called evil qì. Plain Questions (素问 sù wèn, píng rè bìng lùn) states, For evil to encroach, the qì must be vacuous. Evils may be classified as yīn and yáng. Wind, fire, summerheat, and dryness are yáng, whereas cold and dampness are yīn. They interact with the body in accordance with the laws of yīn and yáng. Yáng evils damage yīn, and yīn evils damage yáng. Thus, in treatment, the principle of dispelling evil under specific circumstances is combined with that of supporting right, i.e., supplementing yáng qì in the presence of a yīn evil, and supplementing yīn in the presence of a yáng evil. For example, heat evil is treated by clearing, but when it causes damage to fluids, the method of engendering liquid is used. See also the five evils.

For more details about the effects and attributes and effects of disease evils, analysis and analogy: disease evils.

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