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Chapter 9 of 14
针灸甲乙经
Overall Paraphrase
This chapter is from Volume Seven of The A-B Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Jiǎ Yǐ Jīng), focusing on the transmission patterns of the Six Channels in exogenous febrile diseases (heat-producing illnesses led by cold damage), the mechanisms of Heat Reversal and Cold Reversal, Stiffness Disease (a condition characterized by rigidity of the neck and back, and opisthotonos), as well as the attack mechanisms and acupuncture principles for malaria.
Part One (Upper) · General Discussion on Six-Channel Heat Diseases
The Yellow Emperor asked: All febrile diseases belong to the category of cold damage. Some patients recover, while others die; those who die do so within six to seven days, while those who recover take more than ten days. Why is this? Qibo replied: The Greater Yang Channel governs all yangs. Its channel connects to Wind Mansion (Fengfu), and therefore it governs the exterior qi of the entire body. When a person is invaded by cold pathogen, they develop fever. Although the heat may be severe, it does not lead to death. However, if both the exterior and interior channels are simultaneously affected by cold, death is certain.
The transmission sequence of cold damage is: On the first day, the Greater Yang is affected, manifesting as headache, neck pain, and rigid lumbar spine; on the second day, the Bright Yang is affected. The Bright Yang governs the muscles, and its channel runs alongside the nose and connects to the eyes, presenting with body heat, eye pain, dry nose, and inability to rest comfortably; on the third day, the Lesser Yang is affected. The Lesser Yang governs the gallbladder, and its channel runs along the flanks and connects to the ears, presenting with chest and flank pain and deafness. If all three yang channels are affected but the pathogen has not yet penetrated the five viscera, it can still be cured through promoting sweating. On the fourth day, the Greater Yin is affected. The Greater Yin channel spreads through the stomach and connects to the throat, presenting with abdominal fullness and dry throat; on the fifth day, the Lesser Yin is affected. The Lesser Yin channel penetrates the kidneys and connects to the lungs and root of the tongue, presenting with dry mouth, dry tongue, and thirst; on the sixth day, the Reverting Yin is affected. The Reverting Yin channel runs along the genitals and connects to the liver, presenting with restlessness and contraction of the scrotum. If all three yin and three yang channels, the five viscera and six bowels are all affected, then Constructive and Defensive qi (the essential qi circulating at the surface and interior of the body) becomes blocked, and the qi of the five viscera is obstructed — leading to death.
If the condition is not one of simultaneous cold damage to both exterior and interior, then on the seventh day the Greater Yang disease declines, and headache lessens; on the eighth day the Bright Yang disease declines, and body heat gradually recedes; on the ninth day the Lesser Yang disease declines, and hearing partially returns; on the tenth day the Greater Yin disease declines, abdominal fullness subsides, and the patient desires food; on the eleventh day the Lesser Yin disease declines, thirst ceases, and tongue dryness improves; on the twelfth day the Reverting Yin disease declines, the scrotum relaxes, the bearing-down sensation in the lower abdomen diminishes, the pathogenic qi is discharged downward, and the disease gradually resolves. In treatment, one should circulate the viscera and channels of each meridian, and the disease will decline day by day. If the illness has not yet reached three days, it can be cured through sweating; if it has already reached three days, it can be cured through purging.
Regarding the issue of residual heat remaining after recovery from febrile disease: when a febrile illness is about to resolve, if the patient is forced to eat, the grain qi combines with the residual heat, and the two heats merge, causing the residual heat to persist. When a febrile illness has just partially resolved, eating meat causes relapse, and eating too much leaves residual heat — these are prohibitions.
In the case of simultaneous cold damage to both exterior and interior: on the first day, the Greater Yang and Lesser Yin are simultaneously affected, with headache, dry mouth, and restlessness; on the second day, the Bright Yang and Greater Yin are simultaneously affected, with abdominal fullness, body heat, loss of appetite, and delirious speech; on the third day, the Lesser Yang and Reverting Yin are simultaneously affected, with deafness, scrotal contraction, and reversed coldness of the four limbs. If the patient can neither take fluids nor regain consciousness, death occurs on the sixth day.
Liver heat disease: initially manifests as yellow urine, abdominal pain, fondness for lying down, and body heat. When heat and righteous qi contend, there is manic speech and fright, chest and flank fullness with pain, restless hands and feet, and inability to rest comfortably. It worsens on geng and xin days (metal days) and peaks with profuse sweating on jia and yi days (wood days). Heart heat disease: initially manifests as unhappiness, followed by fever after a few days. When heat contends, there is vexation in the heart, tendency to vomit, headache, red face, and absence of sweating. Spleen heat disease: initially manifests as heavy head, cheek pain, vexation, tendency to vomit, and body heat. When heat contends, there is lumbar pain with inability to bend or extend, abdominal fullness, and diarrhea. Lung heat disease: initially manifests as aversion to cold, goosebumps on the skin, fear of wind, yellow tongue, and body heat. When heat contends, there is wheezing and coughing, pain shooting through the chest and back, and inability to breathe deeply. Kidney heat disease: initially manifests as lumbar pain and sore legs, thirst with excessive drinking, and body heat. When heat contends, there is neck pain and rigidity, heat in the soles of the feet, and unwillingness to speak.
Facial diagnosis of the five viscera in heat disease: In liver heat, the left cheek reddens first; in heart heat, the forehead and chin redden first; in spleen heat, the nose reddens first; in lung heat, the right cheek reddens first; in kidney heat, the jaw area reddens first. When the disease has not yet manifested, if redness is observed in the corresponding area, needle it — this is called "treating before disease onset" — intervening before the disease has fully taken shape.
The general principle for treating febrile disease: first have the patient drink cold water, then needle. The patient should wear thin clothing and stay in a cool place, and treatment stops when the body cools down. For severe cases, use the Fifty-nine Needling method.
"If one is injured by cold in winter, one will inevitably suffer warm disease in spring; if one is injured by summer heat in summer, one will inevitably suffer malaria in autumn." — Cold injury in winter leads to warm disease in spring; summer-heat injury leads to malaria in autumn. The distinction between warm disease and summer-heat disease is demarcated by the summer solstice: onset before the summer solstice is warm disease; onset after the summer solstice is summer-heat disease. Summer-heat pathogen should be allowed to be discharged through sweating; do not suppress sweating. What is called the Mysterious Mansion (Xuanfu) is the sweat pore.
Part One (Middle) · Differentiation and Treatment of Heat Disease with Fifty-nine Needles
Definition of Deficiency and Excess: When pathogenic qi is exuberant, this is Excess; when essential qi is deprived, this is Deficiency. Double Excess: internal great heat with pathogen-heat and full pulses — this is called double excess. Double Deficiency: deficient pulse, deficient qi, and deficient cubital skin — this is called double deficiency. Persons with deficient qi speak weakly and inarticulately (lung deficiency); persons with deficient cubital skin walk unsteadily; persons with deficient pulses have a pulse that does not resemble a yin pulse.
Principles for Treating Reversal: In treating reversal conditions, one must first apply fire-warming to unblock the channels, harmonize the qi and blood of the palms and armpits, elbows and feet, and neck and spine. Once the great pathways are opened and the blood vessels are moving, then needle according to the pulse. The key to needling lies in regulating qi.
Nine Signs of Fatality in Heat Disease: ① No sweating with reddened cheekbones; ② Diarrhea with severe abdominal fullness; ③ Unclear vision with unabated heat; ④ Fever with abdominal fullness in the elderly and infants; ⑤ No sweating with vomiting of blood; ⑥ Ulceration of the tongue root with unabated heat; ⑦ Cough with nosebleed, sweating that does not reach the feet; ⑧ Heat in the marrow; ⑨ Fever with opisthotonos and trismus. In all these nine conditions, needling is prohibited.
Part One (Lower) · Point Selection for Heat Disease
This section enumerates in detail the specific point selections for heat disease of each channel, such as LI11 (Quchi) for heat disease with shivering and jaw chattering, and throat sounds; LU10 (Yuji) for cold reversal with heat vexation, and parched throat; LU9 (Taiyuan) for warm disease with body heat lasting more than five days without sweating; PC9 (Zhongchong) for heat disease with vexation and heat in the palms; PC8 (Laogong) for heat disease with fever, vexation, fullness, and tendency to vomit; PC7 (Daling) for heat disease with vexation and incessant sweating; PC5 (Jianshi) for heat disease with vexation and tendency to vomit; KI1 (Yongquan) for heat disease with vexation and cold feet; KI3 (Taixi) for heat disease without sweating, and silent somnolence; ST42 (Chongyang) for heat disease with heat pain in the mouth; ST41 (Jiexi) for stomach heat with delirious speech; ST40 (Fenglong) for throat blockage with inability to speak; ST36 (Zusanli) for yang reversal, hardness in the lower abdomen, and tendency to vomit; BL58 (Feiyang) for body fatigue, severe heat with aversion to people; BL40 (Weizhong) for heat disease with pain along the spine, etc.
Part Two · Bright Yang Vessel Disease with Fever and Manic Running
In disease of the Bright Yang stomach channel, the patient dislikes people and fire, becomes frightened at the sound of wood being struck, and wishes to shut the door and windows and stay alone. The principle is: The Bright Yang belongs to the stomach, the stomach belongs to Earth, and Wood overcomes Earth, therefore the patient is startled upon hearing wood sounds. The Bright Yang governs the muscles; when qi and blood are exuberant and pathogenic qi invades, fever develops, and with severe heat there is aversion to fire. When Bright Yang qi rebels upward, there is chest oppression, and with oppression the patient is unwilling to see people. In severe cases, the patient will remove their clothes and run about wildly, climb to high places and sing, going without food for days, climbing over walls and onto roofs — things they could not normally do become possible when ill. This is because exuberant pathogenic qi makes the four limbs replete, hence the ability to climb high; excessive body heat makes one shed clothes and want to run; exuberant yang qi makes one speak deliriously and scold others without regard to kinship. Treatment: take the Bright Yang channel and its great collateral; for deficiency, supplement; for blood excess, drain. One may also have the patient lie supine, while the practitioner presses the neck artery with the four fingers of both hands, rolling and pressing down to the Supraclavicular Fossa (Quepen), repeating the procedure until the fever subsides. This is called the method of pushing and dispersing.
Part Three · Yin Decline Produces Heat Reversal; Yang Decline Produces Cold Reversal
The general mechanism of Heat Reversal and Cold Reversal: When yang qi declines in the lower body, cold reversal develops; when yin qi declines in the lower body, heat reversal develops. Yang qi arises from the surface of the five toes, and yin vessels collect at the soles of the feet, thus when yang predominates the soles become hot; yin qi arises from the inner aspects of the five toes and collects below the knees, thus when yin qi predominates, cold develops from the toes up to the knees. This cold does not come from the exterior — it is generated from within the body.
Causes of Cold Reversal: In constitutionally strong individuals, excessive depletion of essential qi during autumn and winter causes the lower qi to contend upward without restoration, essential qi to discharge downward, and pathogenic qi to take advantage of the deficiency and move upward. When the middle burner yang qi declines, it cannot permeate and nourish the channels; yang qi is daily diminished, yin qi stands alone, and thus the hands and feet become cold.
Causes of Heat Reversal: When wine enters the stomach, the collaterals become full while the main channels become deficient. The spleen is responsible for transporting fluids to the stomach. When yin qi is deficient, yang qi enters; when yang qi enters, the stomach disharmonizes; when the stomach disharmonizes, essential qi is exhausted and cannot nourish the four limbs. Frequent intoxication or engaging in intercourse after a full meal causes qi to accumulate in the spleen without dispersal. Wine qi and grain qi contend, heat spreads through the entire body, internal heat develops, and urine becomes red. Wine qi is exuberant and swift, the kidney qi declines day by day, and yang qi alone flourishes, thus the hands and feet become hot.
Manifestations of Six-Channel Reversal:
The treatment principle: Excess is drained; deficiency is supplemented; in conditions neither excessive nor deficient, treat according to the affected channel.
Part Four · Stiffness Disease from Greater Yang Wind-Stroke with Cold-Damp Invasion
Stiffness Disease is characterized by opisthotonos, convulsions, and trismus. Zhang Zhongjing states: When all the symptoms of Greater Yang disease are present, the body becomes rigid and straight, and the pulse becomes deep and slow — this is stiffness disease. Rigid stiffness presents with fever, absence of sweating, and aversion to cold; Soft stiffness presents with fever, sweating, and a deep pulse. Treatment: for rigid stiffness, acupuncture and moxibustion yield good results; for medications, Gegen Tang (Pueraria Decoction) can be used (provided here only for theoretical study). Needling for stiffness disease: First take the Greater Yang channel and the blood collaterals at Weizhong (BL40) to release blood; in stiffness with cold, take Zusanli (ST36); take the Yin Heel Vessel and the blood collaterals above Sanmao. This section enumerates multiple essential points for treating stiffness: BL5 (Wuchu) for spinal rigidity with opisthotonos, mania, and heavy head; GV14 (Dazhui) for spinal rigidity, chills and fever; GV1 (Changqiang) for opisthotonos and heart pain; BL18 (Ganshu), BL20 (Pishu), BL23 (Shenshu) for tendon urgency with mutual pulling and heat stiffness; CV24 (Chengjiang), ST5 (Daying) for trismus; SJ17 (Yifeng) for inability to speak; ST36 (Zusanli) for body reversal with opisthotonos, trismus, and throat blockage, etc.
Part Five · Yin-Yang Mutual Shifting Produces Three Types of Malaria
All malaria originates from wind pathogen. At the onset, it begins in the body hair, with yawning and stretching, followed by shivering chills with jaw chattering and pain in the lumbar spine and back. When the cold recedes, there is heat both internally and externally, headache as if splitting, and thirst with desire to drink. The mechanism involves mutual contention between yin and yang above and below, alternation of deficiency and excess, and mutual shifting between yin and yang. When yang merges into yin, yang becomes deficient while yin becomes exuberant, hence the initial cold; when yin qi reaches its extreme reversal and re-emerges at the yang level, yin becomes deficient while yang becomes replete, hence the subsequent heat.
Regarding the attack schedule of malaria: The pathogenic qi lodges at Wind Mansion (Fengfu) and descends along the spine. Defensive qi convenes at Wind Mansion once in every twenty-four-hour period. Since the pathogenic qi descends one segment each day, the attacks occur progressively later (daily delay). Thereafter, as the pathogenic qi ascends and its position rises daily, attacks occur progressively earlier (daily advance). Tertian malaria (every other day) occurs because the pathogenic qi is deep-rooted, internally pressing upon the five viscera, horizontally connecting to the membrane source (mùyuán). The pathway is distant, the qi position is deep, and the travel is slow, so it cannot emerge daily with Defensive qi — hence attacks every other day.
Classification of malaria:
Treatment principles: In malaria, needling during an active attack is prohibited; one must wait until it naturally subsides before needling. This is because during the attack, yin and yang contend, and qi movement is disordered — needling at this time is harmful. "When the pathogen is at its peak, attacking will surely damage; when the pathogen declines, supporting one's efforts will surely succeed" — needling during intense contention of righteous and pathogenic qi will injure the righteous qi, whereas needling when the pathogenic qi declines will achieve success. Treatment must be administered before the attack, while yin and yang have not yet converged, so that genuine qi can be stabilized and pathogenic qi expelled. This section also provides a comprehensive listing of malaria of the six foot channels with their points and indications, such as GV24 (Shenting), GV20 (Baihui), GV23 (Shangxing) for malaria; ST25 (Tianshu) for malaria with shivering, intense heat, and manic speech; LU7 (Lieque) for malaria with exuberant heat; LU11 (Shaoshang) for malaria with cold reversal and heat reversal; BL60 (Kunlun) for malaria without thirst presenting every other day, etc.
1. Six-Channel Transmission — A Spatiotemporal Model of Exogenous Febrile Disease
The most central concept of this chapter is differentiation of febrile disease by the Six Channels: dividing the disease development process according to both time (one channel per day) and level (exterior → interior, yang → yin) into six stages. Greater Yang (exterior) → Bright Yang (interior heat) → Lesser Yang (half-exterior, half-interior) → Greater Yin (spleen-stomach deficiency cold) → Lesser Yin (heart-kidney decline) → Reverting Yin (liver wind agitation). This is not a mechanical correspondence of days but an abstract model of disease progressing from shallow to deep. The key marker is three days: within three days, the disease lies in the three yangs and can be resolved through sweating; after three days, the disease has entered the three yins and requires purging or harmonizing. This "three-day boundary" reflects ancient recognition of a critical treatment window — early intervention can intercept disease progression.
2. Double Cold Injury — The Critical Model of Concurrent Exterior-Interior Disease
"Double injury" refers to the simultaneous attack on both the paired exterior and interior channels: Greater Yang with Lesser Yin, Bright Yang with Greater Yin, and Lesser Yang with Reverting Yin. In the Six-Channel model, this represents severe deficiency of righteous qi: the pathogen does not transmit layer by layer but directly penetrates both exterior and interior channels simultaneously, meaning the defensive system has completely collapsed. Hence "death cannot be avoided." This is the ancients' straightforward observation of severe infections, sepsis, and multi-organ failure — when the pathogen breaches both the exterior and interior defense lines simultaneously, the prognosis is extremely poor.
3. Treating Before Disease Onset — The Early Warning Value of Facial Color Diagnosis
"Liver heat disease manifests as initial redness of the left cheek; heart heat disease manifests as initial redness of the forehead and chin… When the disease has not yet manifested but redness is observed, needle it — this is called treating before disease onset." This passage is a canonical expression of the "treating before disease onset" concept in Chinese medicine. By detecting color changes in specific facial regions, the disease tendencies of the five viscera can be predicted before symptoms appear, allowing early intervention. This bears remarkable resemblance to modern subclinical screening, reflecting the ancient emphasis on early warning signals.
4. Yin-Yang Contention — Prognosis Assessment of Fever Recurrence after Sweating
"Yin-Yang contention" is an extremely dangerous pattern in febrile disease: after sweating, the pulse remains rapid and full, the fever does not subside, the patient cannot eat, and there is manic speech. The ancients understood sweating as the righteous qi defeating the pathogen. If fever becomes severe again after sweating with continued rapid pulse, this indicates pathogen victory and essential qi exhaustion — a sinister prognosis. This passage is in essence a clinical observation of fluid loss, electrolyte imbalance, and central nervous system disturbance — fever unremitting after sweating with altered mental status represents a dangerous signal in severe febrile illness.
5. The Two Poles of Reversal Syndrome — Internal Injury Rather Than Exogenous Attack
"When yang qi declines in the lower body, cold reversal develops; when yin qi declines in the lower body, heat reversal develops." The root of reversal syndromes lies in the imbalance of yin and yang in the lower burner (kidneys and vital gate), rather than in external pathogens. Cold reversal arises from kidney yang decline failing to warm the four limbs; heat reversal arises from kidney yin depletion, essence consumed by alcohol and sexual excess, with yang qi alone hyperactive. The ancients explicitly state "the cold does not come from the exterior — all arises from within," emphasizing the dominant role of internal injury in reversal syndromes. This understanding parallels modern medical concepts of metabolic disorders (such as cold intolerance in hypothyroidism, peripheral neuropathy, etc.).
6. The Rhythmic Nature of Malaria Attacks — Temporal-Spatial Relationship between Defensive Qi and Pathogenic Qi
The scheduled onset of malaria (daily发作, every-other-day发作, delayed onset, early onset) is explained as an interaction between the rhythm of Wei-Qi circulation and the location where pathogenic Qi lies hidden. Wei-Qi moves through the yang aspect by day and the yin aspect by night; pathogenic Qi lies hidden at the half-interior half-exterior level or in deeper layers. When Wei-Qi travels to the place where pathogenic Qi is located, the struggle between pathogenic and righteous Qi triggers the chills-and-fever episodes. Although this differs from the modern understanding of the relationship between the Plasmodium life cycle and clinical symptoms, the ancients keenly captured the temporal rhythmicity of disease onset and sought to explain it through their own theoretical framework.
7. Needling When Qi Declines — The Wisdom of Treatment Timing
"Attacking when it is at full strength will surely cause damage; acting when it declines will surely bring great success." During a malaria attack, needling must not be performed; one must wait until the episode naturally subsides before treating. This is a therapeutic principle of respecting the disease's own rhythm and avoiding intervention during the violent struggle between righteous and pathogenic Qi. Modern management of febrile illnesses similarly follows such a principle: during the rigors of a rapid temperature rise, physical cooling should not be forcibly applied; intervention should be deferred to the plateau phase of fever.
Confirmed Aspects:
Historical Limitations:
Interlinked concepts:
Further Study Text:
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