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

Chapter 4. Discourse on the True Words in the Golden Chest

Chapter 4 Discourse on the True Words in the Golden Chest 4-22-8 Huang Di asked: “Heaven has eight winds.1 The conduits have five winds.2 What does that mean?” Qi Bo responded: “The eight winds bring forth evil [qi]. They become the [five] winds in the conduits. They affect the five depots. The evil qi brings forth diseases.3 4 1 These are the winds originating in the south,the south-West,the West,the northWest , the north, the north-east, the east, and the south-east. see Ling shu 77. 2 Wang Bing: “經 refers to the conduit vessels. They are the passage ways through which the camp and the guard [qi],the blood and the qi flow.”Zhang Jiebin:“經 refers to the conduit vessels.The ‘five winds’ are the winds of the five depots.” 3 Wang Bing: “The final cause [of the diseases] named here is the evil emitted by the eight winds. When it was received by the conduit vessels it follows the [path of the] conduits and affects the five depots, because evil offends the proper. Hence it brings forth diseases.”475/41 quotes Ge songping, Huang Di nei jing su wen zhi gui黄帝内 经素问指归 which identifies 邪 as 耶, a final particle, and 以 as superfluous here and suggests the following reading: 八風發邪,為經風,觸五臟邪: “When the eight winds emerge, they become conduit winds; they affect the five depots.” . 4 Wang Bing: “spring is wood, summer is fire, late summer is soil, autumn is metal, winter is water. each of them dominates that what it can overcome and kill. When it is said that the five seasons dominate each other, this is not to say that when the eight winds strike man, this results in disease. What it means is that whenever any of them meets that [seasonal qi] by which it cannot be dominated, then this brings forth disease.” The Tai su, ch.3 “yin yang za shuo” 陰陽雜說, has 脈 instead of 勝. Tanba suggested that the 32 characters from 所謂得 to 四時之勝也 are later insertions which make no sense here. a parallel statement appears in Su wen 09; there 84 Huang Di nei jing su wen 4-23-3 The east wind is generated in spring; [it causes] a disease in the liver. The transporters5 are in the neck.6 The south wind is generated in summer; [it causes] a disease in the heart. The transporters are in the chest and flanks.7 The West wind is generated in autumn; [it causes] a disease in the lung. The transporters are in the shoulders and back.8 The north wind is generated in winter; [it causes] a disease in the kidneys. The transporters are in the lower back and thighs.9 The center is the soil. The diseases are in the spleen. The transporters are in the spine.10 it is the begin of the dialogue. 526/5 agreed and suggested that the present passage constituted an erroneous insertion here taken from Su wen 09. In contrast, fu Weikang & Wu Hongzhou/261 suggested the following interpretation: “Qi Bo replied: ‘The eight abnormal climatic conditions in the natural world are pathogenic elements; by penetrating the conduit vesselss of the human body they harm the five depots and bring forth the five winds.The diseases brought forth by these abnormal evil qi of the eight regions result from the relationships among the four seasons where a superior qi subdues that which it is able to subdue.” 5 1072: “俞在頸項 refers to the location of the point to be selected for treatment.” 6 Wang Bing: “The qi of spring stimulates flourishing on top of the myriad beings. Hence it is transported in the neck.” 7 Wang Bing: “The heart minor yin conduit follows the chest and emerges in the flanks. Hence it is transported there.” 8 Wang Bing: “The lung is located in the upper burner. The back is the palace of the chest. shoulders and back follow each other. Hence it is transported there.” 9 Wang Bing: “The lower back is the palace of the kidneys. The thighs are located next to it. Because their qi are linked, they are referred to here together.” 10 Wang Bing: “Because the spine corresponds to the soil, it is said to be situated in the center.” 85 Chapter 4 4-23-6 Hence, as for the qi of spring, [it causes] diseases in the head.11 as for the qi of summer, [it causes] diseases in the depots...