Sasang constitutional medicine
The Sasang constitutional medicine or Sasang typology is a typological constitution medicine within traditional Korean medicine. It was systematized by Yi Je-ma in his book Dongyi Suse Bowon: Longevity and Life Preservation in Eastern Medicine in 1894. It is a branch of the yin-yang theory. It divides people into four body types based on their biopsychosocial traits and their nature of strong and weak organs. The classification was derived from the five body types of Traditional Chinese medicine described in an ancient Chinese medical book Lingshu Jing of Huangdi Neijing.
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 or "greater yang"; so-yang or "lesser yang"; tae-eum or "greater yin"; and so-eum or "lesser yin". In the yin-tang theory it suggests a duality, two complete opposite energies that need each other in order to exists, for example to wake up we need to sleep and viceversa, for the day to come out we need the night to fall and viceversa. In sa sang it divides it into four which doubles the precision. A clear example is the day and night but in between there is the evening and morning.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.