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Chapter 76 of 81
黄帝内经·灵枢
Overall Paraphrase
The original version contains several transcription/scanning errors. The following translation is based on the standard collated edition of Lingshu · Wei Qi Xing.
The Yellow Emperor asked Qi Bo: I wish to understand the laws governing the entering, exiting, and convergence of Defensive Qi (the qi that travels outside the vessels, primarily warming and nourishing the superficial body, and resisting external pathogenic factors) in the human body. Qi Bo replied: The year has twelve months, the day has twelve double-hours, with Zi (midnight) and Wu (noon) forming the north-south meridian, and Mao (dawn) and You (dusk) forming the east-west latitude. The celestial circuit encompasses twenty-eight lunar mansions (ancient astronomical divisions, seven for each cardinal direction), with the Fang and Mao mansions marking the east-west latitude, and the Xu and Zhang mansions marking the north-south meridian. From the Fang mansion to the Bi mansion is Yang; from the Mao mansion to the Xin mansion is Yin; Yang governs the day, Yin governs the night. The Defensive Qi of the human body makes fifty circuits throughout the body in one day and night: during the day it travels through the Yang aspect of the body surface for twenty-five circuits, and during the night it travels through the Yin aspect of the interior for twenty-five circuits, circulating through the five viscera in succession.
When the Yin qi of the early morning is exhausted, the Yang qi begins to disperse outward from the eyes; when a person opens their eyes, the Defensive Qi ascends to the head, descends along the neck through the Foot Taiyang Channel, and travels down the back to the tip of the little toe. One of its spreading branches separates from the outer canthus (outer corner of the eye), proceeds down the Hand Taiyang Channel, and reaches the lateral side of the little finger. Another branch separates from the outer canthus, descends through the Foot Shaoyang Channel, and flows into the space between the fourth and fifth toes. One branch follows the division of the Hand Shaoyang Channel and descends to the space between the fingers. Another branch ascends to the front of the ear, joins the jaw vessels (vessels near the lower jaw), and enters the Foot Yangming Channel, descending to the dorsum of the foot and entering between the five toes. A spreading branch descends from below the ear through the Hand Yangming Channel, enters between the thumb and index finger, and reaches the palm. That which reaches the foot enters the center of the sole, emerges below the medial malleolus, travels through the Yin aspect, then ascends again to converge at the eyes — this constitutes one circuit.
Therefore, when the sun travels through one mansion, the Defensive Qi makes one circuit plus four-fifths of another in the body. When the sun travels through two mansions, the Defensive Qi makes three circuits plus three-fifths. When the sun travels through three mansions, it makes five circuits plus two-fifths. When the sun travels through four mansions, it makes seven circuits plus one-fifth. When the sun travels through five mansions, it makes nine full circuits. When the sun travels through six mansions, it makes ten circuits plus four-fifths. When the sun travels through seven mansions, it makes twelve circuits plus three-fifths. By the time the sun has traveled through fourteen mansions, the Defensive Qi has made twenty-five circuits plus one-fifth in the body — at this point, its circulation through the Yang aspect is complete, and it transitions to receive qi in the Yin aspect.
When the Defensive Qi first enters the Yin aspect, it typically flows from the Foot Shaoyin Channel into the kidneys, then from the kidneys to the heart, from the heart to the lungs, from the lungs to the liver, from the liver to the spleen, and from the spleen back to the kidneys — this constitutes one circuit. Thus, during the night, when the sun travels through one mansion, the Defensive Qi makes one circuit plus four-fifths through the Yin viscera, just as it makes approximately twenty-five circuits through the Yang aspect during the day, ultimately converging again at the eyes. Both the Yang and Yin circulations within a day and night have fractional remainders, which is why people wake and sleep at varying times — due to the incompleteness of these remainders.
The Yellow Emperor asked: Since the Defensive Qi moves up and down the body without fixed timing, how can one await the qi and apply needling? Bo Gao said: The number of notches on the water clock varies between day and night, and the four seasons each have their own patterns of day length. One should take daybreak as the standard, and the end of night as the beginning. A full day and night comprises one hundred notches on the water clock (an ancient timekeeping method dividing day and night into one hundred increments), with twenty-five notches marking half a day's measure. One should determine the rhythm according to the length of day and night to grasp the proper timing for needling. If one carefully awaits the appropriate time, disease can be treated according to schedule; if one misses the timing and violates the rules of awaiting qi, all diseases become difficult to treat. Therefore it is said: For excess conditions, needle when qi arrives to drain; for deficiency conditions, needle when qi departs to tonify. This is how one observes the presence or absence of qi to assess deficiency and excess before needling. For diseases in the Three Yang (Taiyang, Shaoyang, and Yangming yang channels), one must await the qi being in the Yang aspect before needling; for diseases in the Three Yin (Taiyin, Shaoyin, and Jueyin yin channels), one must await the qi being in the Yin aspect before needling.
At the first notch of the water clock, the qi is in Taiyang; at the second notch, the qi is in Shaoyang; at the third notch, the qi is in Yangming; at the fourth notch, the qi is in the Yin aspect; at the fifth notch, the qi returns to Taiyang; at the sixth notch, the qi is in Shaoyang; at the seventh notch, the qi is in Yangming; at the eighth notch, the qi is in the Yin aspect... This cycle of Taiyang → Shaoyang → Yangming → Yin aspect continues until the twenty-fifth notch of the water clock, when the qi is again in Taiyang — this constitutes the rhythm of half a day. From the Fang mansion to the Bi mansion there are fourteen mansions in total; when the water clock reaches fifty notches, the sun has traveled half a degree. When the sun travels through one mansion, approximately three and four-sevenths notches of the water clock have elapsed. In summary: whenever the sun aligns with a particular mansion, this marks the beginning with the qi in Taiyang; as the sun travels through each mansion, the qi circulates through the Three Yang and the Yin aspect in continuous succession — this pattern repeats endlessly, in unity with heaven and earth, circling ever onward, completing and restarting without end.
Disclaimer: This content is based on classical Chinese medical texts and is provided solely for traditional cultural study and research. It does not constitute medical diagnosis, medication advice, or treatment recommendations. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional if you experience any health issues.