Lingshu · On Pain

The text

The Yellow Emperor asked Shao Yu: Sinew and bone strong or weak, flesh firm or brittle, skin thick or thin, interstices loose or tight — each unlike the other. How is it with the pain of needle, stone, and fire-cautery? The stomach and intestines, too, are unequal in thick and thin, firm and brittle. How is it with strong medicine? I wish to hear it all. Shao Yu said: A person of strong bone, weak sinew, slack flesh, and thick skin endures pain. It is the same with the pain of needle and stone, and with fire-cautery. The Yellow Emperor said: Those who endure fire-cautery — how does one know them? Shao Yu answered: Add black color and fine bones — they endure fire-cautery. The Yellow Emperor said: Those who do not endure the pain of needle and stone — how does one know them? Shao Yu said: Firm flesh and thin skin — they do not endure the pain of needle and stone. It is the same with fire-cautery. The Yellow Emperor said: Of people who are wounded at the same time, some are easy to end, some hard to end. What is the reason? Shao Yu said: Wounded at the same time: those whose bodies have much heat are easy to end; those with much cold are hard to end. The Yellow Emperor said: How does one know who can bear strong medicine? Shao Yu said: Thick stomach, black color, large bones, and the fleshy — all bear strong medicine. Therefore the thin, with a thin stomach, all cannot bear strong medicine.

The line

The Yellow Emperor asked Shao Yu: Sinew and bone strong or weak, flesh firm or brittle, skin thick or thin, interstices loose or tight — each unlike the other. How is it with the pain of needle, stone, and fire-cautery?

The note

The same needle and stone: one endures, one cannot. To speak of pain is to admit that skin and interstices were never even. Enduring pain is not a virtue.