Spleen, 脾, 脾气

The English word "spleen" and the Chinese character "脾" refer to the same bodily organ. Traditional medicines, both Western and Chinese, had their fair share of misconceptions about the organ's functions, which have inevitably spilled into their respective languages.

Hippocrates (c. 460 – c. 370 BC) is considered the Father of Medicine. In his theory of four humors, the human body contains four vital bodily fluids: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. The imbalance among these four humors is responsible for human illness. Specifically, black bile, secreted by the spleen, is associated with melancholy. So, the spleen is the seat of melancholy. Excess or unnatural black bile could lead to depression or even cancer.

Modern microbiology since the 1850s has definitively disproven humourism. As we know now, the nerve system is responsible for all emotions. However, the advance of medical science had little effect on the popular culture related to the spleen. In the Middle Ages, even into the 1700s, the spleen was considered the seat of various emotions, including melancholy and merriment. Yes, one word for two opposite emotions! Both usages could be found in Gower's Confessio Amantis (1393) and throughout William Shakespeare's (1564 –1616) plays. The assumed meaning of ill temper is found in Shakespeare's Richard III (1594) and the popular phrase "vent one's spleen" (1885).

Traditional Chinese medicine was probably less wrong about the spleen's functions, believing the organ helps digest and circulate vital energy from food, being both digestive and circulative. As we know now, the spleen primarily functions as a blood filter, being a part of the body's circulation system. In traditional Chinese medicine, 脾气 is the vital energy exuded from the spleen, having little to do with emotion; temper and disposition are attributed to the liver, not the spleen.

An exhaustive search through The Complete Collection of Yuanqu (全元曲) finds no appearance of 脾气 but some appearances of 虚脾 and 假虚脾, both meaning disingenuous (虚情假意). The appearances of 脾气 meaning temper, anger, or personality, are found in Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦, 1780-1792). That was nearly two centuries later than Shakespeare's Richard III. Efforts to locate earlier usage in Chinese literature have so far been unsuccessful.

Traditional medicines, both Western and Chinese, were wrong on the spleen's primary function, though in different ways. It begs the question. Despite the differences in their understanding of the organ's functions, both the English word "spleen" and the Chinese character "脾" assumed the meaning of temper and anger. Was there any connection at all?

In the West, spleen's assumed meaning of temper originated from humourism's attribution of low spirits to the spleen. In contrast, 脾气's assumed meaning of temper deviated from traditional Chinese medicine for an unknown reason.

The central kingdom has tacitly maintained contact with the West since the 1500s. It might be reasonable to suggest that the missionaries in Macau helped expand the meanings of 脾气.

In the 1800s, a few protestant missionaries were instrumental in bridging the gap between the Chinese and English languages. Robert Morrison, a British, in his ground-breaking Dictionary of the Chinese Language (1819), interpreted 脾 as "a part of stomach", and 脾气 "the gastric effluvia; the disposition; the temper of a person." W.H. Medhurst, an Englishman, in his A Dictionary of the Hok-keen (福建) Dialect of the Chinese Language (1832), interpreted 脾 as "the stomach", with no mention of 脾气. S. Wells Williams, an American, in his An English and Chinese Vocabulary in the Court Dialect (1844), correctly established "spleen" as 臁贴, the Cantonese equivalent of 脾. Medhurst's English and Chinese Dictionary (1847-8) was the first to expressly establish the equivalence between the English word "spleen" and the Chinese character "脾". Wilhelm Lobscheid, a German, in his English and Chinese Dictionary with the Punti (粤语 "本地") and Mandarin Pronunciation (1869), and 冯镜如, a Chinese a.k.a. F. Kingsell, in his A Dictionary of the English and Chinese Language with the Merchant and Mandarin Pronunciation (1899), reaffirmed the equivalence between spleen and 脾.

It took a while for these missionary lexicographers to realize the perfect equivalence between the English word "spleen" and the Chinese character "脾". Yet, it has become less clear who has influenced whom in the constant flow of cultural crosscurrents.

All men are created equal, perhaps with different spleen sizes. Scientists have found that the Bajau, the seafaring nomads in Southeastern Asia, have evolved bigger spleens necessary to sustain long and frequent dives. A typical Bajau could routinely remain 200 feet underwater for 10 minutes at a time.

The Bajau are mild-mannered. They are the living proof that the spleen has nothing to do with one's temperament.

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