Suwen · On Regulating the Channels

The text

The Yellow Emperor asked: I have heard the words of the needling method: what has a remainder, drain it; what is insufficient, fill it. What is called a remainder? What is called insufficiency? Qi Bo answered: Remainder has five; insufficiency also has five. Which does the Emperor wish to ask? The Emperor said: I wish to hear them all. Qi Bo said: Spirit has remainder and has insufficiency; qi has remainder and has insufficiency; blood has remainder and has insufficiency; form has remainder and has insufficiency; will has remainder and has insufficiency. These ten in all — their qi are not equal. The Emperor said: A person has jing, qi, and the fluids; the four limbs and nine openings; the five zang and the sixteen regions; three hundred sixty-five joints — and from these the hundred illnesses are born. The birth of the hundred illnesses all has vacancy and repletion. Now you say remainder has five, and insufficiency also has five. How are they born? Qi Bo said: All are born from the five zang. The heart stores spirit; the lung stores qi; the liver stores blood; the spleen stores flesh; the kidney stores will — and thereby form is completed. Will and intent communicate, joining inward to the marrow, and complete the body's form and the five zang. The roads of the five zang all issue from the channel tunnels, so as to travel blood and qi. When blood and qi are not in accord, the hundred illnesses then change and are born. Therefore guard the channel tunnels. The Emperor said: Spirit with remainder and insufficiency — how is it? Qi Bo said: When spirit has a remainder, one laughs without rest. When spirit is insufficient, there is grief. Before blood and qi have joined, the five zang are at peace. Pathogen is a guest in the form; a shivering chill rises in the fine hairs, and it has not yet entered the channels and collaterals. Therefore it is named the slight of spirit. The Emperor said: Filling and draining — how is it? Qi Bo said: When spirit has a remainder, drain the blood of its small collaterals. Let the blood out; do not press deep; do not strike a great channel — then spirit-qi is even. When spirit is insufficient, look at its vacant collaterals; press and bring it there; needle and make it free. Do not let its blood out; do not leak its qi; open its channel — then spirit-qi is even. The Emperor said: Needling the slight — how is it? Qi Bo said: Massage and do not let go; set the needle and do not press. Move qi toward what is insufficient — then spirit-qi can be restored. The Emperor said: Good. Remainder and insufficiency — how is it? Qi Bo said: When qi has a remainder, there is panting and coughing. When qi above is insufficient, the breath is free but scant. Before blood and qi have joined, the five zang are at peace; the skin has a slight illness — it is named the slight leaking of white qi. The Emperor said: Filling and draining — how is it? Qi Bo said: When qi has a remainder, drain its channel tunnel. Do not injure its channel; do not let its blood out; do not leak its qi. When insufficient, fill its channel tunnel; do not let its qi out. The Emperor said: Needling the slight — how is it? Qi Bo said: Massage and do not let go. Withdraw the needle and look at it, and say: I am about to go deep. When it reaches the person they will surely startle; jing-qi hides of itself; pathogenic qi scatters and is in disorder, with no place to rest. Qi leaks at the interstices; then true qi finds itself. The Emperor said: Good. Blood with remainder and insufficiency — how is it? Qi Bo said: When blood has a remainder, there is anger. When insufficient, there is fear. Before blood and qi have joined, the five zang are at peace. When the minute collaterals overflow with water, the channels have retained blood. The Emperor said: Filling and draining — how is it? Qi Bo said: When blood has a remainder, drain its abundant channel and let its blood out. When insufficient, look at its vacant channel; enter the needle into the midst of its vessel; leave it long and look. When the vessel is large, swiftly withdraw the needle; do not let the blood leak. The Emperor said: Needling retained blood — how is it? Qi Bo said: Look at its blood collaterals; needle and let the blood out. Do not let malign blood enter the channels and complete the illness. The Emperor said: Good. Form with remainder and insufficiency — how is it? Qi Bo said: When form has a remainder, the belly swells and urine and stool do not move freely. When insufficient, the four limbs are of no use. Before blood and qi have joined, the five zang are at peace. The flesh creeps — it is named slight wind. The Emperor said: Filling and draining — how is it? Qi Bo said: When form has a remainder, drain its yang channels. When insufficient, fill its yang collaterals. The Emperor said: Needling the slight — how is it? Qi Bo said: Take the spaces of the divided flesh. Do not strike the channel; do not injure the collaterals. Wei-qi can be restored; pathogenic qi then thins away. The Emperor said: Good. Will with remainder and insufficiency — how is it? Qi Bo said: When will has a remainder, the belly swells and there is dawn diarrhea. When insufficient, there is reversal. Before blood and qi have joined, the five zang are at peace. The bone-joints have a movement. The Emperor said: Filling and draining — how is it? Qi Bo said: When will has a remainder, drain the blood of the burning sinew. When insufficient, fill returning-current. The Emperor said: Needling before they have joined — how is it? Qi Bo said: Take it at once. Do not strike the channel. Then the place of the pathogen can be made vacant at once. The Emperor said: Good. I have already heard the forms of vacancy and repletion. I do not know how they are born. Qi Bo said: When blood and qi have joined, yin and yang tilt against each other. Qi is disordered in wei; blood runs counter in the channels. Blood and qi leave their dwellings — one replete, one vacant. When blood joins in yin and qi joins in yang, it becomes fright and madness. When blood joins in yang and qi joins in yin, it becomes heat in the center. When blood joins above and qi joins below, the heart is vexed and given to anger. When blood joins below and qi joins above, there is disorder and a liking to forget. The Emperor said: Blood joins in yin, qi joins in yang — thus blood and qi leave their dwellings. Which is replete? Which is vacant? Qi Bo said: Blood and qi love warmth and hate cold. Cold, they weep and cannot flow; warmth, they melt and go. Therefore where qi joins, the blood is vacant; where blood joins, the qi is vacant. The Emperor said: What a person has is only blood and qi. Now you say that when blood joins there is vacancy, and when qi joins there is vacancy. Is there then no repletion? Qi Bo said: What is present is replete; what is absent is vacant. Thus when qi joins there is no blood; when blood joins there is no qi. Now blood and qi have lost each other — therefore it is vacant. The collaterals and the minute vessels all transport into the channels. When blood and qi join, it is then replete. When blood and qi join and run upward, it becomes a great reversal. In reversal there is sudden death. If qi returns, one lives; if it does not return, one dies. The Emperor said: By what road does repletion come? By what road does vacancy leave? The essential of vacancy and repletion — I wish to hear the reason. Qi Bo said: Yin and yang both have shu and meetings. Yang pours into yin; when yin is full it goes outward. When yin and yang are even, they fill the form; the nine indicators are as one — this is named a balanced person. The birth of pathogen: some are born in yin, some in yang. Those born in yang are obtained from wind and rain, cold and heat. Those born in yin are obtained from food and drink, dwelling and place, yin and yang, joy and anger. The Emperor said: How do wind and rain injure a person? Qi Bo said: When wind and rain injure a person, they first are guests in the skin, then pass into the minute vessels. When the minute vessels are full, they pass into the collateral vessels. When the collateral vessels are full, they transport into the great channel vessels. Blood, qi, and pathogen are guests together between the divisions and interstices. The vessel is firm and large — therefore it is called replete. The replete is firm and full without; it cannot be pressed; press it and there is pain. The Emperor said: How do cold and damp injure a person? Qi Bo said: When cold and damp strike a person, the skin does not gather, the flesh is firm and tight, ying-blood weeps, wei-qi leaves — therefore it is called vacant. The vacant is wrinkled and folded, the qi insufficient. Press it and qi is enough to warm it — therefore there is ease and no pain. The Emperor said: Good. How does yin give birth to repletion? Qi Bo said: When joy and anger are not kept in measure, yin-qi reverses upward. When it reverses upward, below is vacant. When below is vacant, yang-qi runs to it — therefore it is called replete. The Emperor said: How does yin give birth to vacancy? Qi Bo said: Joy, then qi descends. Grief, then qi thins. When it thins, the vessels are vacant and empty. Because of cold food and drink, cold qi steams and fills; then blood weeps and qi leaves — therefore it is called vacant. The Emperor said: The channels say: when yang is vacant there is outer cold; when yin is vacant there is inner heat; when yang is abundant there is outer heat; when yin is abundant there is inner cold. I have already heard this. I do not know why it is so. Qi Bo said: Yang receives qi from the upper burner, so as to warm the spaces of the skin and the divided flesh. Now cold qi is without; then the upper burner does not communicate. When the upper burner does not communicate, cold qi stays alone without — therefore there is shivering cold. The Emperor said: Yin vacancy giving birth to inner heat — how is it? Qi Bo said: There has been labor and weariness; form-qi declines and is scant; grain-qi is not abundant. The upper burner does not travel; the lower stomach duct does not communicate. Stomach-qi is hot; hot qi steams the chest-center — therefore there is inner heat. The Emperor said: Yang abundance giving birth to outer heat — how is it? Qi Bo said: When the upper burner does not communicate freely, the skin is dense, the interstices are closed and blocked, the dark gates do not communicate, wei-qi cannot leak and pass over — therefore there is outer heat. The Emperor said: Yin abundance giving birth to inner cold — how is it? Qi Bo said: Reversal-qi runs upward; cold qi gathers in the chest-center and is not drained. When it is not drained, warm qi leaves; cold stays alone; then blood congeals and weeps. When it congeals, the vessels do not communicate. The vessel is large, abundant, and rough — therefore there is cold in the center. The Emperor said: When yin and yang have joined, blood and qi have joined, and the form of illness is complete — how does one needle it? Qi Bo said: To needle this, take the channel tunnels. Take blood from ying; take qi from wei. Use the form; follow the four seasons in more and less, high and low. The Emperor said: When blood and qi have joined, the form of illness is complete, yin and yang tilt against each other — filling and draining, how is it? Qi Bo said: To drain the replete: when qi is abundant, then enter the needle. The needle and qi enter together, so as to open its gate, as if freeing its door. The needle and qi come out together; jing-qi is not injured; pathogenic qi then descends. Do not close the outer gate, so as to let the illness out. Shake and enlarge its road, as if freeing its path — this is called the great drain. You must press and then withdraw; the great qi then yields. The Emperor said: Filling the vacant — how is it? Qi Bo said: Hold the needle and do not yet place it, so as to settle the intent. Wait for the exhalation and enter the needle; qi goes out as the needle goes in. The needle-hollow is closed on all four sides; jing has no road by which to leave. When it is just replete, swiftly withdraw the needle; qi enters as the needle comes out. Heat cannot return. Close and block its gate. Pathogenic qi is spread and scattered; jing-qi can then be kept. Move with the qi and wait for the hour. Nearby qi is not lost; distant qi then comes. This is called pursuing it. The Emperor said: You have said vacancy and repletion are ten, born from the five zang — the five zang are only five vessels. The twelve channel vessels all give birth to their illnesses. Now you speak only of the five zang. The twelve channel vessels all network the three hundred sixty-five joints. When a joint is ill, it must involve the channel vessels. Illness of the channel vessels all has vacancy and repletion. How do they join? Qi Bo said: The five zang already obtain the six fu as outer and inner. The channels, collaterals, branches, and joints each give birth to vacancy and repletion. Where the illness dwells, follow it and regulate it. Illness in the vessels: regulate the blood. Illness in the blood: regulate the collaterals. Illness in the qi: regulate wei. Illness in the flesh: regulate the divided flesh. Illness in the sinews: regulate the sinews. Illness in the bone: regulate the bone. The fire-needle and swift piercing: for what is below, and for what is tight. Illness in the bone: the quench-needle and medicinal ironing. Illness whose pain is not known: the two qiao are best. When the body's form has pain and the nine indicators have no illness, then use crossed needling. When the pain is on the left and the right vessel is ill: use great needling. You must examine the nine indicators with care. Then the Dao of the needle is complete.

The line

The Yellow Emperor asked: I have heard the words of the needling method: what has a remainder, drain it; what is insufficient, fill it. What is called a remainder? What is called insufficiency?

The note

What has a remainder, drain it; what is insufficient, fill it. To regulate the channels is to send what has gone too far and what has not gone far enough back onto the same road.