Lingshu · Nutritive Qi

The text

The Yellow Emperor said: The Dao of ying-qi takes grain within as its treasure. Grain enters the stomach, is then passed to the lung, overflows in the center, and is spread without. What is refined and dedicated travels the channel tunnels, circulating without cease, ending and beginning again — this is called the calendar of heaven and earth. Hence qi issues from taiyin and pours into hand yangming; it rises and pours into foot yangming; it descends to the instep, pours between the big toe, and joins taiyin; it rises to the thigh; from the thigh it pours into the heart; it follows hand shaoyin, emerges below the armpit and down the arm, pours into the little finger, and joins hand taiyang; it rises over the armpit, emerges inside the cheek, pours into the inner canthus, rises to the crown and descends the nape, joins foot taiyang, follows the spine, descends the sacrum, runs down and pours into the tip of the little toe; it follows the sole, pours into foot shaoyin, rises and pours into the kidney; from the kidney it pours into the heart, and scatters without in the chest; it follows the heart-governor vessel, emerges at the armpit, descends the arm, emerges between the two sinews, enters the palm, emerges at the tip of the middle finger, returns and pours into the tip of the next finger after the little finger, and joins hand shaoyang; it rises and pours into the chest-center, scatters through the sanjiao; from the sanjiao it pours into the gallbladder, emerges at the flank, pours into foot shaoyang, descends to the instep, and from the instep again pours between the big toe, joining foot jueyin; it rises to the liver; from the liver it pours upward into the lung, follows the throat upward, enters the opening of the nasopharynx, and ends at the nostril-gate. Its diverging branch rises the forehead, follows the crown, descends the center of the nape, follows the spine, and enters the tail-bone — this is the governor vessel; it networks the yin organs, passes upward through the pubic hair, enters the navel, follows the inner abdomen upward, enters the empty basin, pours down into the lung, and emerges again at taiyin. This is where ying-qi travels — the constant of going against and going with.

The line

The Yellow Emperor said: The Dao of ying-qi takes grain within as its treasure. Grain enters the stomach, is then passed to the lung, overflows in the center, and is spread without. What is refined and dedicated travels the channel tunnels, circulating without cease, ending and beginning again — this is called the calendar of heaven and earth.

The note

Grain taken within is the treasure. Ying-qi comes from food and travels in the vessels. What is refined and dedicated travels the channel tunnels. Nourish, here, is still a road.