素问·宝命全形论 Discourse on Treasuring Life and Preserving the Bodily Form

Huangdi asked: Heaven covers and earth carries all things; the ten thousand things are all complete within this cosmos, yet nothing is more precious than man. Man is born from the qi of heaven and earth, and comes to maturity according to the pattern of the four seasons. Rulers and commoners alike all wish to preserve their bodily form intact, yet when disease afflicts the body, none understand its true nature; it lingers and spreads, growing deeper day by day, until it lodges in the bone marrow. This troubles my heart. I wish to use needling to remove such disease — how should this be done? Qibo replied: When salt has a salty flavor, its qi will cause the vessel containing it to seep moisture; when a bowstring is about to snap, its sound becomes hoarse and broken; when a tree is diseased, its leaves wither; when a person's disease is deep, his voice becomes broken and retching. When a person shows these three signs, this is called a ruined organ-system — potent drugs cannot treat it, and short needles cannot draw it out. In all these cases, the skin is severed and the flesh damaged, and blood and qi struggle and turn dark.

Huangdi said: I am troubled thinking of their suffering; my heart is thrown into confusion and distress over it, for the disease is only worsened and cannot be undone. When the common people hear of this, they take the physician for a maiming brigand. What is to be done? Qibo said: Man is born of the earth and his life is suspended from heaven; when the qi of heaven and earth combine, this is called man. One who can respond to the four seasons has heaven and earth as father and mother; one who understands the ten thousand things is called the Son of Heaven. Heaven has yin and yang; man has the twelve joints. Heaven has cold and heat; man has deficiency and excess. One who can trace through the transformations of yin and yang in heaven and earth will not lose step with the four seasons; one who understands the principles of the twelve joints cannot be deceived even by sage wisdom. One who can retain understanding of the changes of the eight movements of qi, by which the five phases' ascendancies alternately establish themselves, and who can penetrate the numerical patterns of deficiency and excess, moves alone and acts alone — even the faintest sigh or moan is perceived, and the finest hair of autumn is visible to his eye.

Huangdi said: Man's life has bodily form and cannot be separated from yin and yang. Heaven and earth combine their qi and differentiate into the nine regions, and divide into the four seasons; months have their short and long durations, days have their short and long lengths; the ten thousand things arrive together in such abundance that they cannot be fully measured, manifesting as deficiency and excess, sighing and moaning. May I ask about the method of treating this? Qibo said: Wood, meeting metal, is felled; fire, meeting water, is extinguished; earth, meeting wood, is penetrated; metal, meeting fire, is notched; water, meeting earth, is cut off. All the ten thousand things are thus, and this cannot be exhausted. Therefore there are five things about needling that hang displayed before all under heaven, as common as the leftover food shared among the common people, yet none understand them. The first is called governing the spirit; the second is knowing how to nourish the body; the third is knowing the true efficacy of medicinal substances; the fourth is knowing how to fashion stone probes of the proper size; the fifth is knowing how to diagnose the blood and qi of the bowels and viscera. When these five methods are all established, each has its priority. Now, in the needling practiced in this degenerate age, physicians merely supplement what is deficient and drain what is full — this is all that the multitude of practitioners commonly know. But as for modeling oneself on heaven and taking earth as one's law, moving in accord with what responds — true skill harmonizes as an echo answers a sound, and follows as a shadow follows a form; the Way has no ghosts or spirits in it, and the skilled physician comes and goes alone by his own understanding.

Huangdi said: I wish to hear about the Way of this. Qibo said: In all true needling, one must first govern the spirit. Once the state of the five viscera is determined and the nine indicators are complete, only then does one focus the mind on the needle — not distracted by the multitude of other pulses, not disturbed by hearing of the multitude of ill omens, exterior and interior brought into accord, without letting outward appearance take precedence. One may then observe the coming and going of qi, and only then apply the needle to the person. In man there is deficiency and excess: in the five deficiencies, do not approach carelessly; in the five excesses, do not hold back. When the moment for insertion arrives, there is no room even for the width of a hair between readiness and action. The hand moves as if intent on urgent work, the needle gleaming and even in its motion; with a calm mind, observe the meaning of the pulse, and watch for the changes indicating the proper moment. This is called the imperceptible and obscure — none can know its form. One sees it as crows gathering in a flock, one sees it swarming densely, one then sees it take flight, yet knows not what it is; at rest it is like a crossbow drawn and held level, in motion like the release of its trigger. Huangdi said: What is meant by deficiency, and what is meant by excess? Qibo said: In needling deficiency, one waits for the qi to become replete; in needling excess, one waits for it to become drained. Once the channel qi has arrived, guard it carefully and do not lose it. The choice of depth and shallowness lies in the intent of the physician; whether the site is far or near, the focus should be as one, undivided. Approach it as if overlooking a deep abyss; hold the hand as if grasping a tiger; let the spirit not be distracted by the multitude of other things.