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Chapter 80 Discourse on Comparing abundance and Weakness 80-567-6 lei Gong requested to ask: “The large or small amounts of qi, which [of their movements] are contrary [to their regular course] and which [of their movements] follow [their regular course]?” Huang Di answered: “yang [qi] follows the [course on the] left; yin [qi] follows the [course on the] right.1 In the old, it follows the [course] above; in the young, it follows the [course] below.2 1 Wang Bing: “yang qi, regardless of whether in large or small [quantities], always follows [a course on] the left.yin qi, regardless of whether in large or small quantities, always follows [a course on] the right.從 stands for 順,“to comply with”.The opposite is 逆,‘to move contrary [to its regular course].’Su wen 5 states: ‘left and right are the pathways of yin and yang.’” Zhang Jiebin: “yang qi controls rise; hence, it originates on the left.yin qi controls descent; hence, it originates on the right.”Zhang Zhicong: “陽從左者 is to say, the qi of spring and summer originates from the left and moves to the right. 陰從右者 is to say, the qi of autumn and winter originates from the right and moves to the left.” 2 Wang Bing: “The old consume little solid food; hence, to follow the above is appropriate [for them]. The young have many desires; hence, to follow the below is appropriate [for them].” Zhang Zhicong: “The qi of the old moves downwards from above. This is like the qi of autumn which originates from above and is then weak below. The qi of the young moves upwards from below. This is like the qi of spring which originates from below and is then abundant above.” Zhang Jiebin: “The qi of the old begins to weaken below. Hence, when it originates from above, this is correct. The qi of the young is first abundant below. Hence, when it originates below, this is correct.” Gao shishi: “among the qi of the four seasons, that of autumn and winter is yin; it originates from above and moves down. [The qi of] spring and summer is yang; it originates from below and moves up. Hence, [the text states]: in the old, it originates above; in the young, it originates below. The fact is, old stands for the yin [qi] of autumn and winter; young stands for the yang [qi] of spring and summer.” Mori: “When in old people the spleen and the kidneys have weakened, while the heart and the lung still abound [with qi], this is the normal state. Hence, [the text says]: ‘originates above.’Whenever the feet are weak, the knees are cold, the passage of the stools is blocked, while urination occurs frequently, and ears and eyes are sharp nevertheless, then this is the meaning of ‘originates above.’ In the young, when spleen and kidneys 706 Huang Di nei jing su wen Hence, in spring and summer, an association with yang is life; an association with autumn or winter, this is death.3 80-568-1 In the opposite [case], an association with autumn or winter is life.4 Therefore, whenever large or small [amounts of] qi move contrary [to their regular course], in all instances this is recession.”5 abound [with qi], while heart and lung are weak, then this is normal. Hence, [the text] states: ‘originates below.’ Whenever drinking and eating is doubled, when sexual desires abound,when thoughts and plans are directed at the nearby and when the chest is full resulting in coughing and panting, then this is the meaning of ‘originates below.’” 3 Wang Bing: “歸秋冬 is to say: to move contrary [to a regular course] and to associate with the yin.The reason [for death in this case] is that to associate with the yin means to follow the qi of attack and killing.” Zhang Jiebin: “spring and summer are seasons of yang abundance. external signs and the [movement in the] vessels should both be associated with yang, to signal life. If one notices yin indicators, as should be the case in autumn and winter, this is ‘moving against [a regular course],’ this means death.”Ma shi: “In spring and summer, both in disease and in the [movement in the] vessels, an association with yang is life. If a yin disease or a yin [movement in the] vessels [appear], as if it were autumn or winter, this is death.” yu Chang: “春夏歸陽 should perhaps be 陽歸春夏, ‘when yang associates with spring and summer, [this...

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