Lingshu · Defensive Qi

The text

The Yellow Emperor said: The five zang are what store jing, spirit, hun and po. The six fu are what receive water and grain and transform and move things. Their qi, within, reaches the five zang; without, it networks the limbs and joints. The floating qi that does not follow the channels is wei qi. The jing qi that travels in the channels is ying qi. Yin and yang follow each other; outer and inner pass through each other, like a ring with no end. How still, how abundant — who can exhaust it? Yet in telling yin from yang, each has its places of root and branch, empty and full, and where they leave each other. One who can tell the yin and yang of the twelve channels knows where illness is born. One who watches where the empty and the full sit can find whether the illness is high or low. One who knows the qi thoroughfares of the six fu can undo knots and join what was meant to meet at the gates. One who can know the hard and the soft of empty and full knows where to replenish and where to drain. One who can know the roots and branches of the six channels may be without confusion under heaven. Qi Bo said: Broad indeed, the sage Emperor's discourse. Let this servant speak it all, and exhaust the meaning. The root of foot taiyang is in the five cun above the heel; the branch is in the two networks of the gate of life — the gate of life is the eyes. The root of foot shaoyang is between Qiaoyin; the branch is in front of the window-cage — the window-cage is the ear. The root of foot shaoyin is in the three cun below and above the inner ankle; the branch is in the back transport and the two vessels under the tongue. The root of foot jueyin is some five cun above Xingjian; the branch is in the back transport. The root of foot yangming is at Lidui; the branch is at the man's-welcome, the cheeks flanking the hanging palate. The root of foot taiyin is in the four cun before and above Zhongfeng; the branch is in the back transport and the root of the tongue. The root of hand taiyang is behind the outer ankle; the branch is one cun above the gate of life. The root of hand shaoyang is two cun above, between the little finger and the next; the branch is at the upper angle behind the ear and the outer canthus below. The root of hand yangming is in the elbow-bone, rising to the departing yang; the branch is below the forehead, joining above the clamp. The root of hand taiyin is in the inch-mouth; the branch is the moving vessel inside the armpit. The root of hand shaoyin is at the tip of the sharp bone; the branch is in the back transport. The root of the hand heart-governor is in the two cun between the two sinews behind the palm; the branch is three cun below the armpit. In all watching of these: empty below is reversal; full below is heat; empty above is dizziness; full above is heat and pain. Therefore, what is full, cut off and stop it; what is empty, draw and raise it. Let me speak of the qi thoroughfares. Chest qi has a thoroughfare; abdominal qi has a thoroughfare; head qi has a thoroughfare; shin qi has a thoroughfare. Thus qi in the head is stopped at the brain. Qi in the chest is stopped at the breast and the back transports. Qi in the abdomen is stopped at the back transports, and at the thoroughfare vessel in the moving vessels left and right of the navel. Qi in the shin is stopped at the qi thoroughfare, and at Chengshan, above and below the ankle. To take these, use a fine needle. You must first press and find it; when it has long answered in the hand, then needle and give it. What is ordered: headache, dizziness and falling, abdominal pain, fullness in the center, sudden swelling, and new accumulations. Pain that can be moved is easy to end; accumulations without pain are hard to end.

The line

The Yellow Emperor said: The five zang are what store jing, spirit, hun and po.

The note

Wei qi travels outside the vessels. The five zang store jing, spirit, hun and po; the six fu receive water and grain. The walking of wei is two shifts — night and day.