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Chapter 52 Discourse on Prohibitions in Piercing1 52-275-8 Huang Di asked: “I should like to hear about prohibited techniques [in piercing].”2 Qi Bo responded: “[each] depot has an important [location where it can be] harmed;3 [these locations] must be inspected! The liver generates life on the left;4 the lung stores on the right.5 1 for a detailed clinical discussion of the prohibitions mentioned below, see 1065/19. 2 yang shangshan: “數is 法, ‘method.’ ” NJCD: “數is 術, 方法, ‘technique, method ’ ” Gao Jiwu/232: “數 is to be explained as 几, ‘how many?’ as Zhang Zhicong commented:‘That is to say: how many locations exist that one must not pierce?’ ”Gao shishi: “數is 條目, ‘entry.’ ” 3 Gu yanwu 顧炎武 stated in his Ri zhi lu 日知錄: “The Nan yue 南越, Wei tuo zhuan 尉佗傳, states: ‘發兵守要害處.’ a comment to the Han shu 漢書, Xi nan yi zhuan 西南夷傳, states: shigu said: ‘The 要害[places] are those that are important for me and where the enemy inflicts harm.’ This commentary does not suffice. 要害 is to say: place to attack and to defend. [at such places] I can harm someone else and someone else can harm me. That is called ‘harm.’ The human body, too, has 要 害[places].” 4 Wang Bing: “The liver reflects the wood; it flourishes in spring. The spring is yang and brings [things] to life. Hence, it generates life on the left.” 5 Wang Bing: “The lung reflects the metal; it flourishes in autumn. The autumn is yin; it gathers and kills. Hence, it stores on the right.” Gao shishi: “When man faces south, the east is to his left and the West is to his right.The liver rules the qi generated in spring; it is located in the east. Hence,‘the liver generates life on the left.’ The lung rules the qi gathered in autumn; it is located in the West. Hence,‘the lung stores on the right.’ ”Wan lanqing et al./51: “The meaning of these two statements is: the qi generated by the liver rises on the left; the clear qi of the lung descends on the right. one should realize that the ancients determined left and right in that they faced the south and turned their back against the north. ..The liver is associated with the east and the wood; the lung is associated with the West and the metal. The east is on the left; the West is on the right.The sun rises in the east; it descends in the West. ..The liver is the minor yang in the yin. It rules the generation of qi in the human body and 742 Huang Di nei jing su wen The heart commands in the exterior;6 the kidneys govern the interior.7 The spleen serves as their messenger;8 the stomach serves as their marketplace.9 is linked to the east. The east is on the left. Hence, its qi rises on the left.” 2891/8: “The qi generated by the liver conduit starts on the left and rises; the qi stored by the lung conduit starts on the right and descends.” 725/20: “These two statements refer to the anatomical positions of liver and lung. ‘left’ and ‘right’ stand for ‘below’ and ‘above,’ respectively.That is,‘the liver exists below [the diaphragm]; the lung is stored above [the diaphragm].” for details of the argument, see there. see also 1667/10. for a rejection of the ‘anatomical’ interpretation, see also 267. 6 yang shangshan: “The heart is the commander-ruler (部王) of the five depots. Hence, it is said ‘to command.’ ”Wang Bing: “The yang qi rules the exterior; the heart reflects the fire.”Ma shi: “The heart is associated with the yang; it is located above the diaphragm. Hence, ‘the heart is positioned in the exterior.’ ” 7 yang shangshan: “The qi moving between the [two] kidneys serves to govern the interior. Hence, [the text] states ‘governs.’ ”Wang Bing: “The yin qi rules the interior; the kidneys reflect the water.” Ma shi: “The kidneys are associated with the yin; they are located below the diaphragm. Hence, ‘the kidneys govern the interior.’ ” 1185/3: “‘Interior’ refers to the depots and palaces, to the bones and the marrow here. The kidneys store the essence and they rule the water.They nourish the depots and palaces with moisture and they fill and supply the bones and the marrow. Hence, [the text] states: ‘The kidneys govern the interior.’ ” 8 yang shangshan: “The spleen is soil; it flourishes during [all] the four seasons. The spleen moves the grain qi...

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