Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen: An Annotated Translation of Huang Di’s Inner Classic – Basic Questions: 2 volumes

Chapter 24. Blood and Qi, Physical Appearance and Mind

Chapter 24 Blood and Qi, Physical appearance and Mind 24-154-8 now, as far as the regular numbers of man are concerned: The major yang [conduits] regularly [contain] much blood, little qi. The minor yang [conduits] regularly [contain] little blood, much qi. The yang brilliance [conduits] regularly [contain] much qi, much blood. The minor yin [conduits] regularly [contain] little blood, much qi. The ceasing yin [conduits] regularly [contain] much blood, little qi. The major yin [conduits] regularly [contain] much qi, little blood. These are the regular numbers of heaven.1 foot major yang [conduits] and [foot] minor yin [conduits] constitute exterior and interior. [foot] minor yang [conduits] and [foot] ceasing yin [conduits] constitute exterior and interior. [foot] yang brilliance [conduits] and [foot] major yin [conduits] constitute exterior and interior. These are the yin and yang [conduits] of the feet. Hand major yang [conduits] and [hand] minor yin [conduits] constitute exterior and interior. [Hand] minor yang [conduits] and [hand] heart ruler constitute exterior and interior. [Hand] yang brilliance [conduits] and [hand] major yin [conduits] constitute exterior and interior. These are the yin and yang [conduits] of the hands. now, when one knows that from which the yin and yang [conduits] of hands and feet suffer, 1 Wang Bing: “The quantities of blood and qi [in the conduits] represent the regular numbers of heaven. Hence the Way of piercing is employed regularly to drain what is [too] much.” Gao Jiwu/232: “In accordance with the wording above, ‘heaven’ should be ‘man’ here.”Zhang yizhi et al.: “The 52 character passage beginning with 夫人 appears with larger or smaller differences in the Su wen, the Ling shu, the Jia yi jing, and the Tai su. all commentaries differ, too.” 414 Huang Di nei jing su wen whenever one treats the disease, one must first remove their blood.2 That is, remove that from which they suffer and pay attention to what they long for.3 Then drain what is present in surplus and supplement what is insufficient. 24-155-6 If one wishes to know [the location of] the transporters on the back,4 one first measures5 the distance between the two breast nipples [with a stalk of grass]. one breaks [this stalk] in the middle. again one takes another [stalk of] grass, measuring [the distance between the nipples], and removes one half of it. after that one takes the two ends of the [remaining half] to support [the ends of the first stalk].6 Then one lifts [the resulting triangle] to measure this [person’s] back. 2 Wang Bing: “ ‘one must first remove their blood’ is to say: when the blood vessels appear filled beyond normal, then remove the [blood]. This is not to say that in a normal situation one has to remove the blood before piercing.” Zhang Jiebin: “This is not to say that whenever one needles one must first remove blood.” 2111/37: “去 is 解除, ‘to eliminate.’ ” 3 Zhongyi yanjiuyuan...: “伺 is 觀察, ‘to examine.’ ” Zhang Jiebin: “after the blood [causing] blockages has been removed, examine what the qi of the depots like.That is, the liver [qi] likes dispersion,the heart [qi] likes softness,the lung [qi] likes collection, the spleen [qi] likes dryness, the kidney qi likes hardness.” Wu Kun: “ ‘伺之所欲’ [is to say]: wind, cold, summerheat, dampness, dryness, and fire, the patients may have an aversion to these [qi], or they may like them. one examines what they like and then one knows in which conduit the disease is located.” 4 Ma shi: “The ‘transporters on the back’ are the transporters of the five depots mentioned in the text further below.They below to the foot major yang conduit of the bladder. Because they are located on the back they are summarily called ‘transporters on the back.’ ” Zhang Zhicong: “俞 is identical with 輸, ‘to transport.’ ” 5 Wang Bing: “度 is 度量, ‘to measure.’ ” 6 1263/16: “柱 is most likely a mistake for 拄, ‘to oppose.’ ” Zhongyi yanjiuyuan...: “The meaning is that the first stalk is combined with the second, shorter stalk in such a way that an equilateral triangle results.” Chapter 24 415 one lets one angle be situated upwards, on the same level as the great hammer on the spine.7 The [other] two angles are [situated] below. exactly at the location of the lower angles are the transporters of the lung. one measurement8 further down, [exactly at the location of the lower angles] are the transporters of the heart. one...