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Capítulo 45 de 81
黄帝内经·灵枢
Overall Paraphrase
This chapter is Ling Shu · Wai Chuai, Chapter 45 (the original text "Wai Rui" is a scribal error for "Wai Chuai"). The Yellow Emperor said: I have heard that the Nine Needles 🩺 (nine types of needles and their corresponding theories) consist of nine chapters. I have personally received the methods of regulation and have roughly grasped their meaning. The principles of the Nine Needles begin with "One" and end with "Nine," but I have not yet grasped their most fundamental essence. The principles of the Nine Needles, when considered on a small scale, are so small that they have no interior; when considered on a great scale, they are so vast that they have no exterior. Their depth cannot be fathomed, their height cannot be reached; they are elusive and mysterious, without end, flowing and spreading without boundary. I know they accord with the laws of Heaven, human affairs, and the changes of the four seasons, but I wish to bind these exceedingly subtle and intricate principles, more numerous than downy hairs, into a single unified thread—is this possible?
Qi Bo said: How clear is your question! This is not only true of the Way of Acupuncture — it is also true of governing a state. The Yellow Emperor said: What I wish to hear is the Way of Acupuncture, not the affairs of state. Qi Bo said: Governing a state is also merely following the "Way"; without the Way, how could one unify such diverse things as the large and the small, the deep and the shallow? The Yellow Emperor said: I wish to hear your exposition in full. Qi Bo said: Take, for example, the sun and moon, water and mirrors, drums and their sounds.
The brilliance of the sun and moon never fails to capture the shadows they cast; the clarity of water and bright mirrors never fails to reflect the forms they behold; drums respond to sounds and never lag behind them; whenever there is movement, there is a response, and thus the true condition of things can be fully apprehended. 🪞🥁
The Yellow Emperor said: How profound! Such a manifest and evident principle cannot be concealed. It cannot be concealed because it does not deviate from Yin and Yang ☯️ (the two fundamental opposing yet complementary attributes of all things). Observe it comprehensively, verify it by palpation, perceive the internal condition through external signs—just as clear water and bright mirrors never fail to reflect the forms before them. If the five tones are not manifest, if the five colors are not lustrous, if the qi of the five viscera (liver, heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys) is agitated, then internal and external will mutually transmit and affect each other, just as a drum responds to a drumstick, an echo responds to a sound, and a shadow resembles the body. Therefore, from afar, one can infer internal changes through external phenomena; from near, one can infer external manifestations through internal states. This is the ultimate of the law of Yin and Yang and the great guideline of Heaven and Earth. I request that this be stored in the Linglan Chamber (the chamber where ancient emperors treasured their classics), and I dare not let it leak out.
The core of this chapter is the holistic diagnostic concept of "inferring the internal from the external, and inferring the external from the internal." Although the Nine Needles are divided into nine sections and are manifold in their transformations, they can ultimately be "bound into one" and returned to the Way of Yin and Yang. The human body's internal and external aspects correspond to each other: external manifestations such as sound, complexion, and physical form can reflect the state of the internal viscera, qi, and blood; conversely, internal changes will inevitably manifest externally. Therefore, the physician need not view largeness and smallness, depth and shallowness, internally and externally in isolation, but should infer internal changes through external signs. This is the foundational thinking of Chinese medicine that "when there is something internal, it must manifest externally," and it also embodies the scholarly pursuit of "grasping complexity with simplicity."
The approach of "inferring the internal from the external" is similar to the "black box" method in modern cybernetics: without directly opening the interior, one infers the internal state through external information. In Chinese medicine, observing the complexion, listening to the voice, inquiring about symptoms, and palpating the pulse are all ways of establishing a mapping between "internal" and "external." Modern medicine also often makes preliminary judgments about health conditions through the skin, voice, body temperature, and facial appearance, and certain systemic diseases do leave clues on the body's surface. However, it must be recognized that the traditional method of "inferring the internal from the external" relies on experience and holistic observation, and is suited to grasping functional and tendential issues; it cannot replace modern imaging, laboratory tests, and other precise examinations, nor can it be used to diagnose specific organic lesions. One should maintain a rational awareness of this historical limitation.
—— Bugu Reminder: This content is based on classical Chinese medicine texts and is provided solely for the study and research of traditional culture. It does not constitute any medical diagnosis, medication, or treatment advice; if you are unwell, please seek medical attention promptly.