灵枢经·营气 Nutritive Qi
黄帝曰：营气之道，内谷为宝。谷入于胃，乃传之肺，流溢于中，布散于外，精专者，行于经隧，常营无已，终而复始，是谓天地之纪。故气从太阴出注手阳明，上行注足阳明，下行至跗上，注大指间，与太阴合；上行抵髀，从脾注心中；循手少阴，出腋下臂，注小指，合手太阳；上行乘腋，出䪼内，注目内眦，上巅，下项，合足太阳；循脊，下尻，下行注小指之端，循足心，注足少阴；上行注肾，从肾注心外，散于胸中；循心主脉，出腋，下臂，出两筋之间，入掌中，出中指之端，还注小指次指之端，合手少阳；上行注膻中，散于三焦，从三焦注胆，出胁，注足少阳；下行至跗上，复从跗注大指间，合足厥阴，上行至肝，从肝上注肺，上循喉咙，入颃颡之窍，究于畜门。其支别者，上额，循巅，下项中，循脊入骶，是督脉也；络阴器，上过毛中，入脐中，上循腹里，入缺盆，下注肺中，复出太阴。此营气之所行也，逆顺之常也。
Huangdi said: 'The way of nutritive qi (yingqi) is such that grain intake is its treasure. Grain enters the stomach and is thereupon transmitted to the lung; it overflows within and disperses without, and its refined and concentrated portion travels through the channel passageways, circulating constantly without cease, ending and beginning again — this is called the guiding thread of Heaven and Earth. Thus the qi emerges from the Taiyin and pours into the Hand Yangming; it ascends and pours into the Foot Yangming, descends to the instep, and pours into the cleft between the great toes, there joining with the Taiyin. It then ascends to reach the thigh, and from the spleen pours into the heart. Following the Hand Shaoyin, it emerges at the armpit, descends the arm, and pours into the little finger, joining with the Hand Taiyang. It ascends, rides over the armpit, emerges within the cheek beneath the eye, pours into the inner canthus, ascends to the vertex, descends the nape, and joins with the Foot Taiyang. It follows the spine, descends to the sacrum, descends further to pour into the tip of the little toe, follows the sole of the foot, and pours into the Foot Shaoyin. It ascends and pours into the kidney, and from the kidney pours outward into the heart, dispersing through the chest. Following the Pericardium vessel [Hand Jueyin], it emerges at the armpit, descends the arm, passes between the two sinews, enters the palm, emerges at the tip of the middle finger, then returns to pour into the tip of the ring finger, joining with the Hand Shaoyang. It ascends and pours into danzhong (the Center of the Chest), disperses through the triple burner, and from the triple burner pours into the gallbladder, emerges at the rib-side, and pours into the Foot Shaoyang. It descends to the instep, and once again from the instep pours into the cleft between the great toes, joining with the Foot Jueyin. It ascends to the liver, and from the liver rises to pour into the lung, ascends along the throat, enters the openings of the nasopharynx, and terminates at the nostril gate (xumen). Its branching offshoot ascends the forehead, follows the vertex, descends the middle of the nape, follows the spine and enters the sacrum — this is the Governing Vessel (Du Mai). It sends a network to the genitals, ascends past the pubic hair, enters the navel, rises along the interior of the abdomen, enters the Empty Basin (quepen), descends to pour into the lung, and once more emerges at the Taiyin. This is the course traveled by nutritive qi, the constant order of its forward and reverse flow.'