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When dryness prevails, there is dryness

燥胜则干 〔燥勝則乾〕 zào shèng zé gān

Dryness qì causes dry signs. Dryness qì causes damage to the fluids, causing dry mouth and nose, dry lusterless skin, dry cough without phlegm, short scant voidings of urine, and dry bound stool.

Etymology

Chinese:zào and 干 gān both mean dry(ness)and are usually translated by the same word in English. In actual fact, they differ slightly in meaning and usage. Among the six excesses is zào, also called dryness qì. This, when penetrating the body, gives rise to signs more commonly described with the term gān (here rendered as aridity). Thus, zào is a dryness-causing qì, whereas gān describes the manifestations of zào.

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