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

Chapter 66. Comprehensive Discourse on Arrangements of the Principal [Qi] of Heaven

Chapter 66 Comprehensive Discourse on arrangements of the Principal [Qi] of Heaven. 66-361-2 Huang Di asked: “ ‘Heaven has the five agents; they control1 the five positions.2 Thereby [the five agents] generate cold, summerheat, dryness, dampness, and wind.3 Man has the five depots; they transform4 the five qi, thereby generating joy, anger, pensiveness, anxiety, and fear.’5 The discourse states: ‘The five periods succeed each other and each of them governs [one of] these [segments of the year]. When the days of an annual cycle6 are completed, the cycle commences anew.’7 That I have come to know already. I should like to hear [now] how this is linked to the manifestations of the three yin and three yang.” 66-361-5 Gui yuqu paid reverence twice knocking his head on the ground and responded: “a brilliant question, indeed! 1 Wang Bing: “御 is 臨御, ‘to control.’” Wang Qi: “御 is 恰, ‘proper;’ it has the meaning here of 支配, ‘to allocate,’ 分佈, ‘to spread.’” 2 Wang Qi: “ ‘The five positions’ are the five cardinal points of east, south, West, north, and Center.” 3 218/45: “Su wen 5 states: ‘the east generates wind, .. the south generates heat, ..’ Because the five qi of cold, summerheat, dryness, dampness, and wind are the qi ruling the five different seasons, the present [expression] ‘five positions’ includes the five seasons.” 4 Wang Bing: “化 is to say: 生化, ‘generate and transform.’” 5 see Su wen 5 for an almost identical statement. 6 Wang Qi: “終朞 is ‘one year.’” 7 Quotation from Su wen 9 or a predecessor text. 174 Huang Di nei jing su wen now, the five periods and yin-yang, they are the Way of heaven and earth,8 ‘the fundamental principles [governing] the myriad beings, father and mother to change and transformation, basis and beginning of generating life and killing,’ they are the palace of spirit brilliance.9 Is it possible not to understand them! The fact is, ‘When a being comes to life, this is called transformation. When a being reaches the extreme point [in its development], this is called [the point of] change.10 That which cannot be fathomed in [the alternation of] yin and yang, it is called spirit.11 Where the operation of the spirit follows no prescribed method, this is called sagehood.’12 8 696/35: “ ‘Way’ refers to the laws underlying the variations in the progression of the (five) periods.” 9 see Su wen 5 for an identical statement, except for the reference to the five periods. Wang Bing: “ ‘Way’ is to say: the Way of generation through transformation. 綱紀 is to say: the principles governing generation, transformation, completion, gathering, and storage. ‘father and mother’ is to say: that which is prior to the physical appearance of the myriad beings. ‘Basis and beginning’ is to say: it is because of them that all generation and killing exist. now, never has there been a physical appearance that depended on qi but was not maintained [in its existence] by the [qi of the] five periods as well as of yin and yang. Why is it that creation and transformation [through the qi of the five periods and of yin and yang] occurs unendingly and that they can be the origin of the generation and transformation of the myriad beings? Because they are the palace of spirit brilliance. after all, that union and dispersion [of qi] are immeasurable , that generation and transformation [of the myriad beings] are inexhaustible, all this is possible only because of the movement of the spirit brilliance.” 10 Zhang Zhicong: “When an abundance has reached its extreme, it will [be followed by] weakness; when a weakness has reached its extreme, it will [be followed by] abundance.” 11 Cf. Yi jing, Xi ci 易經, 繫辭: 陰陽不測之謂神. 12 Wang Qi: “方 is 常規,‘common rule.’”fang yaozhong: “方 has the meaning of 違, ‘to oppose,’or 逆,‘to counteract.’聖 refers to 高明,‘outstanding brilliance.’The meaning of the phrase 神用無方謂之聖 is: the laws of nature cannot be opposed. Those who are able to act in accordance with the laws of nature,they are persons of outstanding brilliance.”We interpret the phrase 無方 in accordance with Xun zi, Dalue 大略: “博學而無方.” see GHYZD 167. Chapter 66 175 66-362-1 now, as for the operation of change and transformation, ‘in heaven it is darkness,13 in man it is the Way,14 on the earth it is transformation’.15 Transformation generates the five flavors.16 The Way generates wisdom.17 The darkness generates the spirit...