The meaning of the name triple burner, sanjiao, is unclear; “burner” gives the impression that this “organ system” generates heat, perhaps a lot of heat, but there is little evidence that it does that, rather acting as a conduit for heat transferred between other organs. An alternative interpretation of the name has been the “three burning spaces” which is somewhat better, in the sense that the location or zone of influence of this organ system can encompass three “heat sources” without itself being the generator of the heat (e.g., kidney, spleen, and heart yang). Even then, the term is not entirely suitable.
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