Loading...
Chapter 5 of 81
黄帝内经·灵枢
Editorial Notes: The original text contains numerous transcription and recording errors. The following is a faithful paraphrase based on the standard version of Lingshu·Genjie, preserving the original terminology.
Overall Paraphrase
Qibo said: The qi of Heaven and Earth mutually respond; as cold and warm seasons shift, in the way of yin-yang 🌗 which is diminished and which is excessive? The pattern of yin is even numbers; the pattern of yang is odd numbers. When disease arises in spring and summer, yin qi is scant and yang qi is abundant; when yin and yang are disharmonized, what should be supplemented and what should be drained? When disease arises in autumn and winter, yang qi is scant and yin qi is abundant; yin qi prevails while yang qi declines, hence stems and leaves wither, and dampness descends downward; as yin and yang shift with the seasons, what should be drained and what should be supplemented?
Aberrant pathogenic qi deviates from the channels and moves chaotically, beyond counting. If one does not understand the Root and Knot (roots at the extremities of the four limbs, knots at the head, face, and torso), the portals of channel qi in the five viscera and six bowels will be damaged, the door pivots will be ruined, opening and closing will lose their proper function, and essential qi will leak outward, with yin and yang lost in great measure, beyond recovery. The key to the nine needles lies in Zhongshi (End-Beginning); if one can grasp Zhongshi, a single sentence suffices to explain it; if one does not understand Zhongshi, the way of acupuncture is cut off.
The Foot-Taiyang channel roots at Zhiyin, and knots upward at Mingmen — here Mingmen refers to the eyes; the Foot-Yangming channel roots at Lidui, and knots upward at Sangda, which is located at the region of the ears clamped by the jaw; the Foot-Shaoyang channel roots at Qiaoyin, and knots upward at Chuanglong, which is within the ear.
Among the yang channels: Taiyang governs Opening, Yangming governs Closing, and Shaoyang governs Pivoting.
The Foot-Taiyin channel roots at Yinbai, and knots at Taicang; the Foot-Shaoyin channel roots at Yongquan, and knots at Lianquan; the Foot-Jueyin channel roots at Dadun, and knots at Yuying, connecting with Danzhong.
Among the yin channels: Taiyin governs Opening, Jueyin governs Closing, and Shaoyin governs Pivoting.
The Foot-Taiyang channel roots at Zhiyin, slips at Jinggu, injects at Kunlun, and enters at Tianzhu and Feiyang; the Foot-Shaoyang channel roots at Qiaoyin, slips at Qiuxu, injects at Yangfu, and enters at Tianrong and Guangming; the Foot-Yangming channel roots at Lidui, slips at Chongyang, injects at Xialing (i.e., Zusanli), and enters at Renying and Fenglong.
The Hand-Taiyang channel roots at Shaoze, slips at Yanggu, injects at Xiaohai, and enters at Tianchuang and Zhizheng; the Hand-Shaoyang channel roots at Guanchong, slips at Yangchi, injects at Zhigou, and enters at Tianyou and Waiguan; the Hand-Yangming channel roots at Shangyang, slips at Hegu, injects at Yangxi, and enters at Futu and Pianli.
These are the Root, Slip, Injection, and Entry distributions of the twelve channels. Wherever the collateral vessels are replete and full, one may select the corresponding sites for regulation.
The qi of the channels and vessels circulates fifty circuits in one day and one night, nourishing the essential qi of the five viscera. If this number is not met, it is called "kuang sheng" (wild living — a life state violating normalcy). What is called the fifty circuitries means that all five viscera are able to receive qi.
Pressing the radial pulse (koutian) and counting the pulse beats: if within fifty beats there is not a single dai pulse (intermittent pulse with a regular pause), all five viscera are able to receive qi; if a dai pulse appears once within forty beats, one viscus is without qi; if once within thirty beats, two viscera are without qi; if once within twenty beats, three viscera are without qi; if once within ten beats, four viscera are without qi; if a dai pulse appears within fewer than ten beats, the five viscera are all without qi. The key to determining short-term prognosis lies in "Zhongshi." What is called "no dai pulse within fifty beats" is normal, and from this one may understand the temporal patterns of the qi of the five viscera. What is called a poor short-term prognosis is a pulse that comes sometimes fast and sometimes slow.
The Yellow Emperor asked: People's physical forms have favorable and unfavorable differences, such as bone joint size, muscle firmness or fragility, skin thickness or thinness, blood clarity or turbidity, qi smoothness or roughness, vessel length, blood quantity, and channel collaterals — I have already understood these, but these apply to the common people and physical laborers. What about princes, dukes, and nobles — those who rely on meat-rich diets? Their bodies are soft and fragile, their muscles are weak, yet their blood and qi are swift, fierce, smooth, and sharp. When needling them, should the fast-slow, shallow-deep, and the amount of needling be the same?
Qibo replied: How could those who feast on rich delicacies be compared with those who eat coarse grains and vegetables? When qi is smooth, withdrawal of the needle should be rapid; when qi is rough, withdrawal should be slow; when qi is fierce, the needles used should be small and insertion should be shallow; when qi is rough, the needles used should be large and insertion should be deep; deep needling calls for retaining the needle, while shallow needling calls for fast withdrawal. From this perspective, needling common laborers calls for deep insertion and needle retention, whereas needling princes and nobles calls for light, shallow, and gentle technique — this is all based on the swift, fierce, smooth, and sharp qualities of their qi.
The Yellow Emperor asked: How does one judge the favorable or adverse relationship between physical form and qi versus disease qi?
Qibo replied: When the physical form's upright qi is insufficient, yet disease qi is excessive, this is pathogenic qi prevailing, and one should urgently drain the pathogenic qi. When the physical form's upright qi is sufficient, yet disease qi is insufficient, one should urgently supplement the upright qi. When the physical form's upright qi is insufficient and disease qi is also insufficient, this means both yin and yang qi are insufficient, and acupuncture should not be used; if needled, the upright qi will become even more deficient, yin and yang will both be exhausted, blood and qi will be drained to depletion, the five viscera will become empty, and the bones, sinews, and marrow will wither and dry up — the elderly will decline unto death from this, and even the robust young will find it difficult to recover. When the physical form's upright qi is sufficient and disease qi is also sufficient, this is yin and yang both in excess, and one should urgently drain the pathogenic qi and harmonize deficiency and excess. Therefore it is said: drain what is in excess, supplement what is insufficient — this is the principle.
Therefore it is said: If one does not know favorable and adverse relationships when needling, then genuine and pathogenic qi will struggle with each other. For excess conditions, using supplementation will cause yin and yang qi to scatter and overflow in all directions, the stomach and intestines to become distended and full, the liver and lungs to be inflated internally, and yin and yang to become chaotically disordered. For deficiency conditions, using drainage will cause the channels and vessels to become empty, blood and qi to wither, the stomach and intestines to lose their strength, the skin to become thin and cling to the bone, and the hair and interstices to dry — this is tantamount to hastening the arrival of death.
Therefore it is said: The key to using needles lies in understanding how to regulate yin and yang; when yin and yang are harmonized, essential qi can shine forth, the physical form and qi mechanisms align, and the spirit can remain guarded within. Thus the superior practitioner can balance the qi mechanism, the mediocre practitioner will disturb the vessel qi, and the inferior practitioner will exhaust the essential qi and endanger life. Therefore the inferior practitioner must be cautioned. One must carefully examine the changes of disease in the five viscera, the corresponding pulses of the five vessels, the deficiency and excess of the channels and collaterals, and the smoothness or roughness of the skin, and only then may treatment be applied.
Note: The above content regarding acupoints, needling methods, and related material consists entirely of ancient scholastic theory and is provided for academic study only. It does not constitute clinical acupuncture guidance.
This content is based on classical Chinese medicine texts and is provided solely for traditional cultural study and research. It does not constitute any medical diagnosis, medication, or treatment advice. If you are unwell, please seek medical attention promptly.