A brief introduction to fu xie

: In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the doctrine of fu xie is one of the most important basic theories with a long history. This article systematically reviews the available literature about TCM on fu xie from pre-Qin period to now and summarized information about fu xie in terms of its categories and insidious regions, pathogenic features, etiologies and clinical manifestations, and therapeutic methods. Treatment strategies of fu xie may include protecting yin-fluid, unblocking moyuan, opening onto the pleurodiaphragmatic interspace, and adopting the combination of extermination with appeasement. Notably, the combination of extermination with appeasement developed by the author (Tiansong Zhang) involves how to infer the hiding place of a pathogen and how to eliminate the pathogen with appropriate treatment. Modern advances in the doctrine of fu xie reflect the academic thought of TCM, which originates from clinical and discursive thinking and is highly enlightening. The fu xie theory has evolved with the advances in the doctrine of febrile disease and it has high theoretical and practical significance in immune-related diseases, involving infections, autoimmunity, allergic reactions, immunodeficiency, tumors, skin diseases, renal diseases, heart diseases, and spleen/stomach diseases. Further investigations on fu xie and its theory will offer a better understanding of more relevant diseases. 9