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

Chapter 78. Discourse on Evidence of the Four Failures

Chapter 78 Discourse on evidence of the four failures1 78-558-3 Huang Di was in the Hall of light; lei Gong sat in attendance. Huang Di: “now, the written records you have penetrated and the [therapeutic] tasks you have accepted, are many.2 attempt to speak [to me] of the meaning of achieving or missing [success]. That by which one achieves it. That by which one misses it.”3 lei Gong responded: “[I have] followed the classics4 and [I have] received [instructions in medical] practice.5 all these [modes of learning] are said to result in success in all [cases treated]. [nevertheless, I] occasionally commit a mistake. Please, may I hear an explanation of these matters.”6 1 lin yi et al.: “This treatise was titled 方論得失明著 in the Quan yuanqi edition. “ Wang Qi: “徵 is 懲戒,‘to punish somebody as a warning.’This treatise issues a warning against physicians committing the four types of transgressions listed.” 2 Cheng shide et al.: “受事 is 接受的工作, ‘the work [you have] accepted.’” 3 2568/49: “所以 is 以所 in the sense of ‘why?.’” Cheng shide et al.: “得 is success; 失 is failure.” see also Gao Jiwu/342. 4 Wang Bing: “That is to say, to study from the classics and from teachers and to receive the practical knowledge handed down [from the past], all these [ways of acquiring expertise] are said to lead to ten cures [in ten treatments] when it is applied to people. [However,] when applying the proper art and when spreading the perfect Way, it nevertheless happens that they are lost in the world. Hence, [lei Gong] asks to have this explained.” 5 The Li ji 禮記, Tan gong xia 檀弓下, and Shi ji, preface by sima Qian, have 業 in the sense of “learning.” 6 Wang Bing repeated this question in his comment as 請聞其解說也. Hence Qian Chaochen-90/85 concluded that the character 事 in the main text was erroneously inserted by a copyist who lived after Wang Bing. 680 Huang Di nei jing su wen 78-558-6 [Huang] Di: “Is it because you are young in years and that your wisdom has not reached perfection yet,7 or that you combine the words [written in the scriptures] with various [practices]?8 now, the twelve conduit vessels and the 365 network vessels, everybody is familiar with them and the practitioners follow and employ them [in therapy].9 The reasons why there is no success in all [cases treated are the following:] when the essence spirit is not concentrated and when the mind lacks understanding, outside and inside lose mutual correspondence. Hence, [practitioners] often encounter uncertainties and dangers.10 7 Wang Bing: “That is to say: ‘Is it because of [your] youth that [your] knowledge is not yet perfect so that [you] do not achieve ten cures [in ten treatments]?” Cheng shide et al.: “邪 is identical here with 耶.” 8 Zhang Jiebin: “言以雜合 is to say: oneself does not have a firm opinion yet. Hence, one combines all types of doctrines without being able to arrive at a decision.“ Wu Kun :“That is to say: to grasp all types of doctrines and combine them with one‘s personal opinion.“ sun yirang: „雜 should be 離; the shapes of these characters are very similar, hence they are often erroneously exchanged. .. 言以離合 is to say: to discuss what is appropriate and what is not appropriate.”Wang Hongtu et al./159 agrees. If one were to follow sun yirang, this passage should read: “you are young in years and your wisdom has not reached perfection yet. shall I discuss what is appropriate and what is not appropriate?” 2168/5 reads 將 as 抑, “or.” 9 Wang Bing: “循用 is to say 循學而用.” 10 Wang Bing: “ ‘outside’ refers to one’s complexion; ‘inside’ refers to the [movement in the] vessels.Hence,when [a patient’s] complexion and [his movement in the] vessels are not brought into mutual agreement, oneself may develop doubts (自疑) and create danger.”Wu Kun: “The external appearance of the disease and the internal spirit do not agree with each other.” Zhang Zhicong: “When someone diagnoses [a disease], he must guard his essence spirit and he must order his intentions. Internally this should affect his heart and externally it should be reflected by his hand.” Chapter 78 681 If in diagnosing [a disease a practitioner] does not know the structures of yin and yang and of [movements] contrary to or following [their regular course],11 this is the first [reason of] therapeutic failure.12 78-558-10 If...