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Chapter 73 of 81
黄帝内经·灵枢
Overall Paraphrase
The title "Official Functions" means assigning technical duties according to each person's abilities.
The Yellow Emperor asked Qi Bo: I have heard from you, Master, about the learning of the Nine Needles (nine ancient types of acupuncture needles), and the content is too vast to count. I have tried to deduce and summarize it, wishing to organize it into a systematic outline. Now I will recite it, and I ask you to listen to the principles therein—if there are errors, please correct them, so that it may be transmitted for a long time without leaving disaster for later generations; teach it only when a suitable person is encountered, and do not speak of it lightly to those who are unsuitable. Qi Bo bowed and said: Please let me listen to the sage king's principles.
The Yellow Emperor said: In the art of needling, one must know where the body's form and Qi (the basic substance and function of life activities) reside, distinguishing left and right, above and below, yin and yang, exterior and interior, the abundance and scarcity of blood and qi, the forward and reverse directions of movement, the points of exit, entry, and crossing, as well as the places where pathogenic factors attack. One must know how to untie stagnation, know how to supplement deficiency and drain excess; understand the qi gates (strategic points where qi and blood enter and exit) above and below, and clarify how they connect with the Four Seas (the ancient belief that marrow, blood, qi, and water-grain each have their own converging sea); scrutinize where the disease is located, whether cold or heat, whether external contraction, and the different sites where qi and blood are infused; be skilled in regulating qi, understand the meridian pathways (channels of the meridian system) and the left and right branch collaterals, and comprehensively grasp their crossings.
When cold and heat contend, one can harmonize them; when deficiency and excess are adjacent, one can resolve and open them; when left and right are not in harmony, one can grasp and regulate them; understanding forward and reverse, one knows what can be treated. When yin and yang are without bias, one can deduce the time of disease onset; scrutinizing root and branch, observing cold and heat, finding where pathogenic qi resides, one may needle ten thousand times without error. Know the respective functions of the nine needles, and the way of needling is complete.
Know the Five Shu Points (the Jing, Ying, Shu, Jing, He five categories of points), master the timing of rapid and slow needle insertion, and the withdrawing and advancing, entering and exiting all have their rules. Explain how yin and yang correspond with the Five Phases, and how the five visceral and six bowel organs each store what they store. The four seasons and eight winds all have yin and yang attributes, each returning to its position, corresponding with the facial Mingtang (the nose and facial color-diagnosis region); observe the correspondence of the facial color zones with the five viscera and six bowels, examine the sites of pain, distinguish left and right, above and below, know their cold and warmth, and judge in which meridian the disease lies; examine the cold, warmth, slipperiness, and roughness of the skin to know what the patient suffers; understand the location of qi above and below the diaphragm. First find the pathways of the meridians, insert needles sparsely, go slightly deeper and retain the needle, and advance slowly.
When great heat is above, guide it downward; when qi rushes upward from below, lead it to disperse; areas that previously had pain are often treated first. When great cold is at the exterior, retain the needle to supplement; when cold enters the interior, drain from the He-Sea points (points near the elbows and knees). What needling is not suitable for, moxibustion (🌿 wormwood fire) is appropriate. When upper qi is insufficient, push and raise it; when lower qi is insufficient, accumulate and supplement it; when both yin and yang are deficient, use fire moxibustion to warm and replenish. When reversal cold is severe, at the depressions beside the bones, when cold passes the knees, the ancients considered taking Zusanli (ST36) and the places where the yin collaterals pass, retaining the needle to disperse cold; when cold enters the center, push and move it; when meridian vessels sink down, use moxibustion to warm them; when collateral vessels are bound and firmly tightened, also treat them with fire moxibustion. When the exact location of suffering is unknown, search below the yin and yang qiao vessels; men and women differ in yin and yang, and the good physician should observe prohibitions. The principles of needling are thus complete.
In the practice of needling, there must be rules: look upward to the celestial light, observe the eight cardinal positions (solar terms and directions) below, in order to avoid strange pathogenic influences and to demonstrate to the people; scrutinize deficiency and excess, and do not offend pathogenic qi. If one encounters abnormal weather (sui lu) and depleted yearly fortune, rescue will not succeed, and one will instead be harmed. Therefore it is said: one must know the seasonal prohibitions before one can discuss the profound meaning of needling. Take model from ancient times, verify with the present, observe the subtle, and penetrate the limitless. What the coarse physician cannot see, the good physician treasures; its form is difficult to grasp, as if possessed by spirit.
When pathogenic qi harms a person, there will be chills with shivering and trembling of the body. When normal qi (ordinary climate that harms due to body deficiency) harms a person, it is mild, first manifesting in the complexion, while the body has no sensation yet—as if present yet absent, as if lost yet existing, with form yet without form, difficult to know. Therefore the superior physician regulates qi, treating at the sprouting stage; the inferior physician waits until the disease has formed, and often the body is already injured and defeated.
Therefore, when needling, one must know where qi resides, guard the portals, understand the locations of regulating qi, supplementing and draining, the intent of slowness and speed, and the sites to be selected. The draining method must use "yuan" (roundness and fluidity): press and rotate the needle body to move qi; insert quickly and withdraw slowly, and pathogenic qi will be expelled; extend the needle body to meet the pathogen, shake and enlarge the needle hole, and qi will exit quickly. The supplementing method must use "fang" (uprightness and squareness): pull the skin outward, aligning the needle hole with the portal, the left hand guides the pivot, the right hand pushes the skin, lightly twisting and slowly advancing, must be upright, calm and still, steadfast without slackening, retain the needle briefly; after obtaining qi, withdraw quickly, press the skin, covering the needle hole, so that genuine qi can be preserved. The essential point of needling lies in not forgetting "shen" (spiritual focus and the transformations of spirit-qi).
Lei Gong asked the Yellow Emperor: The "Needle Treatise" says, only transmit to the right person; do not speak to the wrong one. How does one know who can be taught? The Yellow Emperor said: According to each person's natural endowment, employ their abilities, and therefore one can understand their affairs. Lei Gong said: I wish to hear the meaning of "Official Functions." The Yellow Emperor said: Those with good eyesight may be assigned to observe complexion; those with keen ears may be assigned to distinguish sounds; those with quick speech may be assigned to transmit discourses; those who are calm and quiet by nature, with skillful hands and careful minds, may be assigned to perform acupuncture and moxibustion, to regulate qi and blood, harmonize forward and reverse, scrutinize yin and yang, and master all methods; those with supple joints, relaxed sinews and vessels, and harmonious temperament may be assigned to do daoyin qi-cultivation; those with harsh and contemptuous speech may be assigned to do "spitting on ulcers and incantation for diseases" (an ancient form of incantation medicine); those with coarse and heavy fingers who are strong and tend to damage things may be assigned to massage accumulations and press bi pain. When each person obtains a function suited to them, the methods can be implemented and reputations can be manifested. Without suitable people, achievements do not succeed, and the teacher has no renown. Therefore it is said: speak only to the right person, and do not transmit to the wrong one—this is the meaning. Those so-called "poison-handed" people may be tested by pressing a turtle: place the turtle under a vessel and press on it from above with the hand; it is said that after fifty days the turtle will die; but when "sweet-handed" people press it, the turtle can still recover as before.
⚠️ This content is based on classical Chinese medicine texts and is provided solely for traditional cultural study and reading. It does not constitute any medical diagnosis, medication recommendation, or treatment advice. Please consult a doctor promptly if you feel unwell.
——Bù Guā