素问·风论 Discourse on Wind

Huangdi asked: When wind injures a person, it may become cold-heat disease, or heat in the center, or cold in the center, or li feng, leprous wind, or hemiplegia, or remain merely wind itself. The diseases differ from one another, and their names are not the same; sometimes the wind penetrates internally to the five viscera and six bowels. I do not understand the explanation for this and wish to hear it. Qibo replied: Wind qi lodges between the skin and its texture, unable to pass through internally or to be released externally. Wind is skilled at moving and frequently changes; when the interstices of the skin are open, one feels a sudden chill; when they are closed, there is heat and oppression. When there is cold, the appetite for food and drink declines; when there is heat, the flesh wastes away. Thus the person shivers uncontrollably and cannot eat — this is called cold-heat disease. When wind qi enters the stomach together with the yangming channel and follows the vessel upward to the inner canthus of the eye, if the person is fat, the wind qi cannot be released externally, and it becomes heat in the center, with yellowing of the eyes; if the person is thin, the wind qi is released externally and becomes cold, becoming cold in the center, with tearing of the eyes. When wind qi enters together with the taiyang channel and travels through the shu points of the various vessels, dispersing between the partitions of the flesh, it interferes with the defensive qi, so that its pathway is obstructed; this causes the flesh to swell up angrily and develop sores. Where the defensive qi becomes congealed and fails to move, the flesh becomes numb and insensate. In li, the nutritive qi becomes heated and putrid, its qi impure, causing the bridge of the nose to decay and the complexion to become ruined, with the skin ulcerating and festering. When wind-cold lodges in the vessels and does not depart, it is called li feng, leprous wind, or also called cold-heat.

One injured by wind in spring, on the days jia and yi, develops liver wind; one injured by wind in summer, on the days bing and ding, develops heart wind; one struck by pathogenic qi in late summer, on the days wu and ji, develops spleen wind; one struck by pathogenic qi in autumn, on the days geng and xin, develops lung wind; one struck by pathogenic qi in winter, on the days ren and gui, develops kidney wind. When wind strikes the shu points of the five viscera and six bowels, this too becomes wind of the corresponding viscus or bowel; entering by whichever gate it strikes, it becomes one-sided wind. When wind qi follows the fengfu point upward, it becomes brain wind; when wind enters the connections of the head, it becomes eye wind with cold eyes; when one drinks wine and is struck by wind, it becomes leaking wind; when one enters the bedchamber, sweats, and is struck by wind, it becomes internal wind; when one has just washed the hair and is struck by wind, it becomes head wind; when wind persists long and enters the interior, it becomes intestinal wind with undigested-food diarrhea; when it remains outside in the interstices of the skin, it becomes discharging wind. Thus wind is the chief cause of the hundred diseases; as it transforms and changes, it gives rise to other diseases, without a fixed pattern — yet in every case it is brought about by wind qi.

Huangdi said: Why do the forms and appearances of wind in the five viscera differ? I wish to hear of their diagnostic signs and clinical manifestations. Qibo said: The signs of lung wind are: profuse sweating, aversion to wind, a pale whitish complexion, occasional coughing and shortness of breath, improving during the day and worsening in the evening; the diagnostic sign is above the eyebrows, where the color is white. The signs of heart wind are: profuse sweating, aversion to wind, a parched and depleted look, irritability and a tendency to startle others in anger, a red complexion; when the disease is severe, speech becomes impaired; the diagnostic sign is at the mouth, where the color is red. The signs of liver wind are: profuse sweating, aversion to wind, a tendency to sorrow, a faintly greenish complexion, dryness of the throat, irritability, and at times an aversion to women; the diagnostic sign is below the eyes, where the color is green. The signs of spleen wind are: profuse sweating, aversion to wind, bodily lassitude, disinclination to move the limbs, a pale, faintly yellowish complexion, and lack of appetite; the diagnostic sign is on the nose, where the color is yellow. The signs of kidney wind are: profuse sweating, aversion to wind, a puffy, swollen face, aching of the spine such that one cannot stand upright, a sooty-black complexion, and difficulty with the private functions; the diagnostic sign is on the flesh over the kidney region, where the color is black. The signs of stomach wind are: profuse sweating at the neck, aversion to wind, inability to swallow food and drink, obstruction of the diaphragm, frequent abdominal fullness, distension when insufficiently clothed, and diarrhea upon eating cold food; the diagnostic sign is a thin body with a large abdomen. The signs of head wind are: profuse sweating of the head and face, aversion to wind; a day before the wind arrives, the disease grows severe with unbearable headache, so that one cannot go outdoors; when the day of the wind itself arrives, the disease eases somewhat. The signs of leaking wind are: profuse sweating at times, such that one can never wear thin clothing; sweating upon eating, and in severe cases sweating over the whole body, panting and aversion to wind, clothes constantly damp, dryness of the mouth with frequent thirst, and inability to perform labor. The signs of discharging wind are: profuse sweating, with sweat soaking through the clothing, dryness of the mouth with moisture above the lip, inability to perform labor because of this wind, and, when the whole body aches, a sensation of cold. Huangdi said: Good.