Healthy liver and eyes
davidpizon
October 04, 2008, 01:58 AM posted in General DiscussionTwo days ago while on a trip to Hanzhou I found myself in need of some saline solution for my contact lenses. My friend, a native of Shanghai, helped me find my way to a store that might have what I needed.
Some of the "Chinglish" phrases were quite awkward to me as a non-Chinese reader. But one phrase stood out in particular. To paraphrase, it said that it promoted clear eyes by way of a "healthy liver".
I questioned my friend about it but she simply said it is an old expression and would elaborate. Now I'm dying to know.
Can you help me put this medical mystery to rest?
dedsall78
March 24, 2009, 04:32 AMAs a chinese medical doctor, I can try to clarify this a bit.
First off, the liver in chinese medical terminology is not necesarily the same as the actual physical Liver. There are some similarities but, in Chinese medicine, everything was clasified by functioning, not by actual medical anatomy (since it was not as advanced).
The Liver channel travels to the eyes and many eye issues can be tied to a dysfunctioning Liver. Thus, if one has eye problems, enabling a better functioning ("smooth") Liver could resolve the problem.
Now, after saying said that, I would say your dry eyes are more due to your contacts rather than a dysfunctional Liver. Contacts dry up your eyes and I have heard some people can't wear them long term. After going back to glasses, whenever I wear contacts, I notice how my eyes get dry by the end of the day.
changye
October 04, 2008, 02:30 AMHi davidpizon,
Just a mystery. I would like to know the whole explanation in "Chinglish". I've found the phrase "肝开窍于目" (gan1 kai1 qiao4 yu2 mu4) on the Internet. This is a saying used among Chinese medecine doctors (中医生), and it means "Your eyes tell you whether or not your liver is healthy." As you know, for instance, "yellow eyes" is a symptom of a liver ailment. This might has something to do with the strange Chinglish phrase, although I'm not so sure.
P/S. Another possibility : "Liver" is a typo of "river" (= abundant flow). Does it make sense in "Chinglish"?