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Chapter 47 Discourse on strange Diseases 47-259-6 Huang Di asked: “someone has a doubled body. In the ninth month [that person] turns mute.1 Why is that?” Qi Bo responded: “The network vessel of the uterus2 has been interrupted.”3 [Huang] Di: “Why do you say so?” Qi Bo: “The network [vessel] of the uterus is tied to the kidneys. The minor yin vessel penetrates the kidneys and is tied to the base of the tongue. Hence, [that person] cannot speak.”4 1 The Shi jing 詩經, Da ya 大雅, Wen Wang 文王, Da ming 大明, has: “大任有身, 生此文王, “Daren was pregnant and gave birth to our king Wen.” (see legge, Vol. IV, Part III, Bk I, 2., p. 432.) The commentary of the Mao 毛 edition of the Han era states: “身, 重也”, and the interpretation by Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 states: “重 is to say: pregnancy.” see ruan yuan, 上 , p.507. Given the absence of a term 重身 from ancient literature, the original wording of the Su wen may have been 人有身, which, apparently, by the Han era needed an interpretation. Hence, someone added a 重, creating the term chóng shen, “doubled body.” Wang Bing: “重身 is to say: inside the body is another body, that is a pregnancy. .. During the ninth month of a pregnancy, the foot minor yin vessel nourishes the fetus. When the [flow of] qi is almost cut off, [the expecting mother] turns mute and cannot speak.” Wang shaozeng/204 and Wang shaozeng & Xu yongnian/93: “When a pregnant woman in the ninth month speaks but fails to emit any sound, what is the cause?”Cheng shide et al.: “瘖 is 子瘖, ‘child[bearing] muteness.’ ” see also 574/29. 2 Wu Kun: “胞 is 子室, ‘uterus.’ ” 3 Wang Bing: “絕 is to say: the flow [of qi in] a vessel has been cut and cannot pass through it [any longer]. Hence, when [the mother] cannot speak, it is not so that the [flow of the] true qi of heaven had been interrupted.”The Huai nan zi 淮南子, Ben jing 本經, has: 江河山川絕而不流, “the [long] river, the [yellow] river, and the mountain streams are all 絕 and do not flow.”The commentary explains: “[絕] is 竭, ‘exhausted,’ ‘worn out.’ ” Ma shi: “This is the 絕 of 阻絕, ‘obstructed,’ not of 斷絕, ‘severed.’ ” 4 Wang Bing: “The minor yin [vessel] is the kidney vessel. If it is not supplied with qi, the tongue cannot [be employed for] speaking.” 690 Huang Di nei jing su wen 47-259-8 [Huang] Di: “To treat this, how to proceed?” Qi Bo: “Do not treat. recovery will set in in the tenth month.5 The Laws of Piercing states: Do not [further] diminish an insufficiency; [do not further] add to any surplus. This would serve to establish these [conditions] as a chen-disease.6 {after that regulate it.}7 47-259-10 as for the so-called ‘do not diminish an insufficiency,’ 5 Wang Bing: “In the tenth month the fetus has departed and the network [vessel] of the uterus is passable again.The kidney vessel supplies the upper [regions]. Hence, [a person] speaks as before.” 6 Wang Bing: “疹 is to say: chronic disease. If a treatment is conducted contrary to the [correct] pattern, the fetus dies and does not leave.This then results in a long-lasting , chronic disease.” Gao shishi: “疹 is equivalent to 病, ‘disease.’ ”Tanba: “The Guo yu 國語 states: 孤子寡婦疾疹, ‘orphans and widows who have suffered from catastrophes .’The Shang han lie 傷寒例 has: 小人觸冒必嬰暴疹, ‘when the little ones are attacked by the adverse, they will suddenly fall ill.’ Wang Bing may be wrong.”Cheng shide et al.: “one should follow Gao shishi.”916/54: “疹 is identical with 疢, ‘fever.’ ” Zhang yizhi et al.: “The Jia yi jing, ch.12/10 has 辜 instead of 疹. 辜 is identical with 故 and 故 has the same meaning as 久, ‘old.’ ” see also 2885/212. 7 lin yi et al.: “The Jia yi jing and the Tai su do not have the four characters 然後 調之. now, Quan yuanqi wrote in his commentary: ‘when it is said “do not treat”, that is to say: when someone is pregnant in the ninth month, [this person] must not be treated. one must wait until the conclusion of the tenth month, when, after [the child] was born,the original condition has returned.after that one regulates the [condition of the mother].’ That is, these four characters were part of the comment added by Quan yuanqi and have been erroneously inserted into the main text later on.They should be deleted.” Ma shi: “one must wait until the tenth month has passed and then regulates the [condition of the woman].” Hu Tianxiong: “above...

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