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Chapter 76 Discourse on Demonstrating a natural approach1 76-549-8 Huang Di sat leisurely.2 He summoned lei Gong and asked him: “Having been taught the art and reciting the written records, it appears you are able to consider a broad variety of teachings,3 to reach [an ability] to compare the likes,4 and to penetrate and become one with the structures of the Way. speak to me about where you excel. 1 Cheng shide et al.: “示 is 示范, ‘to set an example,’ ‘to demonstrate.’” Ma shi: “從容 is the title of an ancient classic. This chapter was written to elucidate its contents .” In contrast, Gao shishi: “When the sages treated diseases, they followed the laws and they guarded the standard measures. They argued about beings by analogy and they pursued the Way in a natural manner. [In the present chapter, Huang] Di demonstrated this principle to lei Gong. Hence, the title is 示從容, ‘to demonstrate a natural approach [in the application of the Way].’” The earliest known appearance of the term 從容 is in Zhuang zi 莊子, chapter 11 在宥 and 17 秋水. (see Chen Guying p. 299 and 457.) There it carries the meaning of “relaxed, natural behavior”. In the present chapter we interpret its usage in the sense of “natural approach”in that it is contrasted, by Huang Di, with its opposite, i.e., an approach to healing entirely based on fixed patterns formulated in the classic texts. Hence, the current chapter bears witness of an awareness of the potential conflict in medicine between an understanding and a treatment of disease based on formularized notions on the one hand and one guided by pragmatism and the empirically guided approach of an expert physician on the other hand. 2 Mori: “燕坐 is identical with 燕居. The Lun yu 論語 has 子之燕居, 申申如也, ‘.. in a relaxed, self-possessed way.’”916/53: “燕 stands for 晏,‘quiet.’”Zhang yizhi et al.: “The Han shu 漢書, Cai yi zhuan 蔡義傳 has 愿賜清間之燕. The commentary states: 安息也. Hence, 燕坐 is 安坐, ‘to sit quietly.’” 3 Wang Qi: “雜學 is scholarship apart from medicine.” 4 Zhang Jiebin:“比類 means ‘to compare what is different and to differentiate among what is alike in order to assess the nature of a disease.’” Ma shi: “The preceding and the following chapters have [the term] 比類; it belongs to an ancient book title. Its actual meaning, though, is 比方相類, “to classify through comparison.” Zhang yizhi et al.: “比方相類 is 觸類旁通,‘to comprehend by analogy.’”Gu Guanguang: “比類 is an ancient book title.” Mori: “於 is identical with 為. In ancient records, 於 was frequently written as 為.” on the concept of 類 in the Su wen see 2800/28 and 1513/4. 652 Huang Di nei jing su wen The five depots and the six palaces, the gallbladder, the stomach, the large and the small intestines, the spleen, the uterus, and the urinary bladder, the brain, the marrow, the snivel, and the saliva, weeping, sadness, and grief, as well as the paths where the water moves,5 all these together form the basis of human life. When mistakes are committed in treating them,6 it is your obligation to understand them! [only then] you will be able to achieve a success in all [cases you treat]. If you are unable to have this knowledge, you will incite the grudge of everyone.”7 lei Gong: “[I, your] subject, request [to state the following.] I have recited the upper and the lower chapters of the Vessel Classic8 very many times and I differentiate what is different9 and I compare the likes. still, I am not yet able to achieve a success in all [cases I treat]. also, how could [my learning] suffice to understand them?” 5 Gao shishi: “The five depots are responsible for the storing of essence. Hence, [the text] speaks of ‘water.’” Zhang Jiebin: “ ‘Water’ refers to the five liquids. This is a reference to the 14 origins [of the paths] of blood and qi from gallbladder and stomach downwards.Man relies on them for his life.If they are not understood,[therapeutic ] activities will result in many mistakes.” 6 In contrast, Wang Bing reads the four characters 治之過失 as a final statement linked to the preceding argument: according to Wang Bing, “those who treated diseases in antiquity considered [treating these palaces] a mistake.” Zhang Jiebin: “a treatment in excess of the [requirements of a] disease, is called 過,‘excess’; a treatment insufficient vis-a-vis the [requirements of a] disease, is called 失, ‘miss.’”The Li ji 禮 記, Qiu guan 秋官, si ci 司刺, has: 一宥曰不識, 二宥曰過失, 三宥曰遺忘, “The first case for leniency is ignorance, the second case for leniency is [an unintentional] mistake, the...

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