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The Conduits (Jing Luo 經絡) 6 Exegesis The conduits are as yet unidentified vascular structures in which qi and blood flow from one part of the body to another. Since blood flows in blood vessels large and small, the pulsatile force that drives the blood in a directional flow can be construed as a kind of qi (qi xing xue xing 氣行血行, “where qi goes, blood will flow”). But there are also other kinds of qi (e.g. zangqi 臟氣) that flow in vascular structures other than blood vessels. This is the quintessence of the jingluo theory. While the yin-yang and “five elements” theories can be regarded as tools of reasoning in Chinese medicine, the jingluo theory is based solidly on an as yet unidentified vascular system that connects all the important visceral organs (zang- and fu-organs as well as the odd organs) and their affiliated structures and tissues. There are twelve regular conduits in which qi flows from one visceral organ (zang- or fu-organ) to another in a sequential manner. The directional flow of qi may be obstructed or even blocked but never allowed to back-flow.1 There are many branches interconnecting the regular conduits, as well as connecting them with the surface structures of the body, such that this vascular system actually forms a three-dimensional network that connects every possible part of the body, allowing the qi to penetrate into every corner or compartment of it. In essence, because of the conduits 1 Suwen Chapters 15, 19: shen zhuan bu hui 神轉不回 (the mechanism is always to turn forward). Neijing.indb 177 2010/2/26 6:58:42 PM 178 Neijing Zhiyao Yigu 內經知要譯詁 and the qi that flows in them, the body is an organic entity and no part is isolated, although the relative importance of its parts in health and disease may vary. This is the structural basis for a holistic view of body function. That said, one might readily conclude that this vascular system is the nervous system and qi is the nerve impulse propagated along the nerve fibres. That may be partly true, because when a certain conduit is obstructed or blocked for a long time (denervated?), the body part distal to the blockage will atrophy (weijue 痿厥). However, the function of qi flow in conduits is more complicated than the propagation of nerve impulses. The practical aspect of the jingluo theory lies in the fact that there are discrete acupoints that punctuate the itinerary of the conduits. It is believed that by manipulating these acupoints through transdermic needling, reinforced today with an electric current, or irradiation with an infra-red beam, or simply by applying pressure with the finger (zhiya shu 指壓術, shiatsu in Japanese), one can change (increase or decrease) the flux of qi flow so that a stimulatory (e.g. activation of muscular movement) or an inhibitory (e.g. analgesic) effect may result in the afflicted parts governed by the conduit in which that particular acupoint lies. Such a description of physical intervention at a discrete locus on the body’s surface (with its related underlying structure) is a picture of clinical acupuncture. It can be likened to a water supply system in which there are numerous taps along the piping. By opening the taps, it is possible to draw water. But in the context of jingluo theory, one can control the tap to modulate the flux of qi. This is the zuo bu you xie 左補右瀉 (turn left to replenish, turn right to discharge) mode of needle manipulation. Moreover, while in a water supply system water flows down a pressure gradient, the qi flows from one regular conduit to another in a diurnal rhythm such that qi, or a peak of qi, will visit each visceral organ at a certain time of the day. Practically speaking, it is widely accepted that qi starts to flow from the middle burner (maybe considered as the stomach) at the hour of yin (yinshi 寅時, 1–3 a.m.). Qi enters first into the cheirotelic pulmonic conduit (from acupoint yunmen 雲門). Dou Mo 竇默, an acupuncturist in the Jin dynasty, in his Biaoyou fu 標幽賦 postulated that after going through the conduits and their branches in a sequential manner, qi returned to the liver (acupoint qimen 期門) by midnight in the same 24 hours. Therefore, in order for the acupuncture to have maximal effect, the practitioner must time the estimated moment that the qi arrives at a certain conduit, so that the organ it Neijing.indb 178 2010/2/26 6:58...

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