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Chapter 31 of 81
黄帝内经·灵枢
The Yellow Emperor asked Bo Gao: I wish to understand the organs responsible for transmitting food and drink among the six bowels — namely, the size, length, and capacity of the intestines and stomach. Bo Gao replied: Allow me to explain in detail the depth, shallowness, distance, and length measurements of the pathway that food and drink traverse from entry to exit.
From the lips to the teeth measures nine tenths of a cun; the mouth is two and a half cun wide. From behind the teeth to the epiglottis is three and a half cun deep, with a capacity of approximately five he. The tongue weighs ten liang, is seven cun long, and two and a half cun wide. The pharyngeal gate weighs ten liang and is one and a half cun wide; from the pharyngeal gate to the stomach measures one chi and six cun. The stomach body is winding and curved; when straightened it measures two chi and six cun in length, one chi and five cun in circumference, five cun in diameter, and can hold three dou and five sheng.
The small intestine attaches posteriorly to the spine, loops leftward in coils, layering upon itself in accumulation; where it empties into the ileum, it attaches externally above the navel, turning and folding through sixteen curves. Its circumference is two and a half cun, its diameter approximately eight and one-third fen, and its length three zhang and two chi (the original text's "length, king wen two chi" is likely a scribal error; based on the standard edition and the total length stated later, it is corrected to "three zhang and two chi").
The ileum is located at the navel, coiling leftward in rings, folding downward like stacked leaves, turning through sixteen curves. Its circumference is four cun, its diameter approximately one and one-third cun, and its length two zhang and one chi. The broad intestine attaches to the spine, receives the contents of the ileum, coils leftward in accumulating rings, and is relatively wide both above and below. Its circumference is eight cun, its diameter approximately two and two-thirds cun, and its length two chi and eight cun.
From the entry of food and drink at the mouth to the exit of waste, the total length of the intestines and stomach measures six zhang, four cun, and four fen, including thirty-two curves and foldings in total.
This chapter is a rare early anatomical record in the Inner Classic, focusing not on pattern differentiation and treatment but on establishing the structural understanding of the six bowels' function of "transmitting grain."
The ancients held that the six bowels are characterized by "transmitting transformed substances without storing." The intestines and stomach form a continuous conduit through which food and drink pass from entry to exit. Their length, coiling, and capacity determine the duration of food retention and the efficiency of transmission. The "thirty-two curves" recorded in the text demonstrates that the ancients had already observed that the intestinal tract is not a straight tube but rather extends the pathway and increases the contact surface through curvature—reflecting the bowel-qi principle of "orderly transmission and measured reception."
When later Chinese medicine speaks of "the stomach governs reception," "the small intestine separates the clear from the turbid," and "the large intestine governs transmission," its anatomical foundation can be traced directly back to this chapter.
This passage can be compared with the modern digestive system:
If we roughly convert using Warring States-Qin-Han measurements—one cun being approximately 2.31 cm—the total intestinal length recorded in this chapter is significantly greater than modern anatomical values; the stomach capacity of "three dou and five sheng" is also markedly larger than the capacity of a modern adult stomach. This may relate to differences in ancient weights and measures, measurement subjects, post-mortem states, transcription variations, and other factors. Therefore, these figures should not be treated as precise anatomical constants but rather as exploratory records from early medicine concerning the morphology of the digestive system.
This chapter suggests: after food and drink enter the stomach, they must be gradually conducted through the long, multiply curved intestinal tract. Daily health maintenance may note:
These are all general lifestyle moderation suggestions and are not directed at any specific disease.
Bugu Note: This content is based on classical Chinese medicine texts and is intended solely for traditional cultural study and research. It does not constitute any form of medical diagnosis, medication, or treatment advice. Please consult a qualified physician promptly if you experience any discomfort.