Nourishing Essence Is Nourishing Life: “Essence” Is the Foundation of the Body

「夫精者，身之本也。故藏於精者，春不病溫。夏暑汗不出者，秋成風瘧。此平人脈法也。」

「精」字點解係「米」加「青」？個「青」字又可以拆成兩個「土」疊埋，下面一個「月」——「月」即係「肉」。

所以「精」嘅意思係：一個係五穀之精。五穀係精嘅根本。想養精蓄銳，就要食咩？食米，食五穀。

點解話五穀係補充精嘅最好嘢？因為將五穀轉化成精，所需要消耗嘅能量係最少嘅。

好多人大病一場之後，就想食小米粥、鹹菜。因為當你身體消耗得好犀利、元氣不足，又想依賴外界補充自己嘅精氣神嘅時候，五穀係最容易轉化嘅。

“Essence is the foundation of the body. Therefore, those who store essence well will not suffer from warm diseases in spring. Those who do not sweat in summer heat will develop wind malaria in autumn. This is the pulse method for ordinary people.”

Why is the character “essence” (精) composed of “grain” (米) and “blue-green” (青)? The character “blue-green” can be further broken down into two “earth” characters stacked together, with “flesh” (月) below.

Therefore, “essence” means: the essence of the five grains. The five grains are the foundation of essence. If you want to nourish and store essence, what should you eat? Grain – the five grains.

Why are the five grains the best thing for replenishing essence? Because converting the five grains into essence consumes the least amount of energy.

After a serious illness, many people crave millet porridge and pickled vegetables. This is because when your body is severely depleted and your vital energy is insufficient, and you want to rely on external sources to replenish your essence, qi, and spirit – the five grains are the easiest to convert.

我哋想健康長壽，就要節能減排，儘量減低自己轉化異物時消耗嘅氣血同能量。所以，食五穀係最經濟嘅。

古人話「食穀者慧」。想要開慧，就要食五穀。《曹劌論戰》話：「肉食者鄙，未能遠謀。」唔好以為成日大魚大肉就好威，其實你正係向住縱欲嗰條路行緊。

補充我哋嘅精，需要注意以下方面：

第一，「五穀為養」——食五穀係最根本嘅。

第二，「五畜為益」——五畜起錦上添花嘅作用。人要活得有情有義、有血有肉，就要食啲肉。

「故藏於精者，春不病溫。」

意思係話，如果你在冬天將自己嘅精養得好足、藏得好，到咗春天生發嘅時候，就唔會得溫病同熱病。

If we want health and longevity, we must conserve energy and reduce consumption – minimize the qi and blood energy needed to transform foreign substances. Therefore, eating the five grains is the most economical.

The ancients said, “Those who eat grain attain wisdom.” If you want to open your wisdom, eat the five grains. The classic text said, “Those who eat meat are vulgar and cannot plan far ahead.” Do not think that eating meat and fish all day makes you impressive – in fact, you are walking down the path of indulgence.

To replenish our essence, we need to pay attention to the following:

First, “the five grains nourish” – eating the five grains is fundamental.

Second, “the five meats supplement” – the five meats serve as icing on the cake. If we want to live with feeling, meaning, and vitality, we need to eat some meat.

“Therefore, those who store essence well will not suffer from warm diseases in spring.”

This means that if you nourish and store your essence well in winter, when spring comes and energy begins to rise, you will not suffer from warm diseases or heat diseases.

腎主藏精。腎嘅功能係致冷嘅，心嘅功能係致熱嘅。到咗夏天，人會覺得熱，覺得特別躁。其實，腎精足嘅人，體液循環會好，好似冷氣機裡面嘅雪種加得足，製冷效果就好。雪種冇咗，精漏完，外面一熱就跟住熱。

古人話：「心靜自然涼。」邊個能令心火靜落嚟？水克火。呢個水唔係指凍飲，而係我哋嘅精化成嘅體液。體液循環起嚟之後，自然能夠令你平靜落嚟。

咩叫「煩」？火上頭叫煩。火苗兒向上竄，火性炎上。點樣調治？你嘅腎水足咗之後，自然就唔煩。腎水一虛，人就表現為「咪搞我，煩到爆」！成日睇邊個都唔順眼，因為心火太旺。

The kidneys govern the storage of essence. The function of the kidneys is to cool; the function of the heart is to heat. In summer, people feel hot and restless. In truth, those with sufficient kidney essence have good fluid circulation – like an air conditioner with enough refrigerant, the cooling effect is good. Without refrigerant, when essence leaks out, when it is hot outside, you become hot too.

The ancients said, “A calm heart naturally cools itself.” What can calm the heart fire? Water overcomes fire. This water does not mean cold drinks – it means the body fluids transformed from our essence. When these body fluids circulate, they naturally calm you down.

What is “annoyance” (煩)? Fire rising to the head is annoyance. The nature of fire is to rise. How do you treat it? When your kidney water is sufficient, you will naturally not be annoyed. When kidney water is deficient, people become “Don’t bother me, I’m so annoyed!” They feel irritated by everyone because the heart fire is too strong.

《黃帝內經》話：「夫精者，身之本也。」精係身體嘅根本。養精就係養命。

點樣養精？第一，食五穀。五穀係轉化精最節省能量嘅食物。第二，冬天藏精。冬天唔藏精，春天就會得溫病。第三，夏天出汗。夏天唔出汗，秋天就會得風瘧。

我哋創立 回音堂 Echo Du Passe，就係希望透過五款金方茶飲，幫你喺唔同嘅季節養精、藏精、護精：

產品	養精作用	最佳飲用季節
金方明目茶	清肝養血，護目養精	春季
金方刮油茶	消滯通中，減少耗精	四季
金方酸梅湯	收斂生津，防暑護精	夏季
金方氣血茶	益氣養血，補精充神	冬季
金方祛濕茶	健脾祛濕，杜絕耗精之源	長夏

養精就係養命。

食五穀、冬天藏精、夏天出汗——順應自然，一杯養生茶陪你走過四季。

回音堂 Echo Du Passe——聆聽身體嘅回音，讓本草之聲再次響起。

The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon says: “Essence is the foundation of the body.” Nourishing essence is nourishing life.

How do you nourish essence? First, eat the five grains. They require the least energy to convert into essence. Second, store essence in winter. If you do not store essence in winter, you will get warm diseases in spring. Third, sweat in summer. If you do not sweat in summer, you will get wind malaria in autumn.

We founded Echo Du Passe to help you nourish, store, and protect your essence through the different seasons with our five Golden Tea Blends:

Product	Essence-Nourishing Function	Best Season
Golden Vision Tea	Clear liver, nourish blood, protect eyes and essence	Spring
Golden Digest Tea	Remove stagnation, unblock middle, reduce essence consumption	All seasons
Golden Sour Plum Tea	Astringe, promote fluids, protect essence from heat	Summer
Golden Qi & Blood Tea	Boost qi, nourish blood, supplement essence and spirit	Winter
Golden Dampness Tea	Strengthen spleen, remove dampness, eliminate source of essence depletion	Late summer