The ''Sasang'' constitutional medicine () or ''Sasang'' typology is a typological constitution medicine within

traditional Korean medicine Traditional Korean medicine (known in North Korea as Koryo medicine) refers to the forms of traditional medicine practiced in Korea. History Korean medical traditions originated in ancient and prehistoric times and can be traced back as far as ...

. It was systematized by Yi Je-ma in his book ''Dongyi Suse Bowon: Longevity and Life Preservation in Eastern Medicine'' (동의수세보원, 東醫壽世保元) in 1894. It divides people into four body types based on their biopsychosocial traits. The classification was derived from the five body types of

Traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

described in an ancient Chinese medical book Lingshu Jing of

Huangdi Neijing ' (), literally the ''Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor'' or ''Esoteric Scripture of the Yellow Emperor'', is an ancient Chinese medical text or group of texts that has been treated as a fundamental doctrinal source for Chinese medicine for mo ...

.Table 1: TCM and SCM philosophical foundations.

Classification system

''Sasang'' typology divides people into four types based on their biopsychosocial traits with a combination of yin/yang and greater/lesser: ''tae-yang'' ( 태양, ) or "greater yang"; ''so-yang'' (소양, ) or "lesser yang"; ''tae-eum'' (태음, ) or "greater yin"; and ''so-eum'' (소음, ) or "lesser yin". Each type consists of a classification of pathology, medicine and hygiene depending on personality, psychological status and organ functionality. It is considered that one cannot escape the category of biological body type, and the strengths and weaknesses of organs, both major and minor, depend on the type.

Body Types

''Tae-yang''

''Tae-yang'' have large lungs and a small liver. They have superiority in function, and often have feelings of inferiority.

''Tae-eum''

''Tae-eum'' have a large liver and small lungs. They are tall and the majority gain a lot of weight. They are patient and have a reserved personality. Therefore, if they are given a task, they will not give up, no matter what task it is. Because of this personality, they are prone to gambling.

''So-yang''

The so-yang type has a large spleen, and small kidneys. They have whitish skin. Like ''so-eum'', many of this type are skinny.

''So-eum''

The ''so-eum'' type have large kidneys and a small spleen. They are short, and many are skinny. Due to weak intestines, they very often have digestive problems. Many enjoy a meat diet.

References

{{Reflist

* Soo Jin Lee, Soo Hyun Park, and Han Chae (December 2012)
"Temperament profiles of Sasang typology in a child clinical sample"
''Integrative Medicine Research'', Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 21–25. Elsevier * Han Chae (March 2015)
"The multidisciplinary study on Sasang typology"
''Integrative Medicine Research'', Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 1–3. Elsevier * Kyungwoo Sohn, Ansuk Jeong, Miyoung Yoon, Sunkyung Lee, Sangmoon Hwang, and Han Chae(December 2012)
"Genetic Characteristics of Sasang Typology: A Systematic Review"
''Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies''. Vol. 5, No. 6, pp. 271–289. Medical Association of Pharmacopuncture Institute * Soo Jin Lee, Soo Hyun Park, C Robert Cloninger, Yun Hee Kim, Minwoo Hwang and Han Chae (2014)
"Biopsychological traits of Sasang typology based on Sasang personality questionnaire and body mass index"
''BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine'', Vol. 14, No. 1. International Society for Complementary Medicine Research Traditional Korean medicine