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Heart yīn and heart yáng
心阴、心阳 〔心陰、心陽〕 xīn yīn, xīn yáng
Heart yīn and heart yáng refer to the complementary aspects of the heart’s functions. Heart yáng refers to a strong heartbeat, smooth blood flow, and the lively, expansive aspect of mental activity. Heart yīn refers to a regular, moderate heartbeat and the calm, passive aspect of mental activity. Yīn and yáng complement and counterbalance each other, ensuring that the heart beats forcefully and regularly, and performs all its normal functions. An essential prerequisite of normal function is an abundance of heart blood and exuberance of heart qì. Insufficiency of heart blood or heart qì may debilitate heart yīn or yáng. Since when yáng is vacuous, there is cold,
and when yīn is vacuous, there is heat,
such cases present with signs not only of qì or blood vacuity but also of vacuity cold and vacuity heat.