素问·刺禁论 Treatise on Needling Prohibitions
黄帝问曰：愿闻禁数。歧伯对曰：藏有要害，不可不察，肝生于左，肺藏于右，心部于表，肾治于里，脾为之使，胃为之巿。鬲肓之上，中有父母，七节之傍，中有小心，从之有福，逆之有咎。
刺中心，一日死，其动为噫。刺中肝，五日死，其动为语。刺中肾，六日死，其动为嚏。刺中肺，三日死，其动为咳。刺中脾，十日死，其动为吞。刺中胆，一日半死，其动为呕。
刺跗上，中大脉，血出不止，死。刺面，中溜脉，不幸为盲。刺头中脑户，入脑立死。刺舌下中脉太过，血出不止为喑。刺足下布络中脉，血不出为肿。刺郄中大脉，令人仆脱色。刺气街中脉，血不出，为肿鼠仆。刺脊闲，中髓为伛。刺乳上，中乳房为肿根蚀。刺缺盆中内陷，气泄令人喘咳逆。刺手鱼腹内陷为肿。无刺大醉，令人气乱。无刺大怒，令人气逆。无刺大劳人，无刺新饱人，无刺大饥人，无刺大渴人，无刺大惊人。刺阴股中大脉，血出不止，死。刺客主人内陷中脉，为内漏为聋。刺膝髌出液为跛。刺臂太阴脉，出血多立死。刺足少阴脉，重虚出血，为舌难以言。刺膺中陷中肺，为喘逆仰息。刺肘中内陷，气归之，为不屈伸。刺阴股下三寸内陷，令人遗溺。刺掖下脇间内陷，令人咳。刺少腹中膀胱溺出，令人少腹满。刺腨肠内陷为肿。刺匡上陷骨中脉，为漏为盲。刺关节中液出，不得屈伸。
Huangdi asked: I wish to hear the rules of prohibition in needling. Qibo replied: The viscera have their critical and vulnerable points, which must not go unexamined. The liver's qi arises on the left; the lung stores its qi on the right; the heart is positioned toward the exterior; the kidney governs the interior; the spleen acts as their envoy; the stomach serves as their marketplace. Above the diaphragm and the membrane source there lie the 'father and mother'; beside the seventh vertebra there lies the 'little heart.' Following these principles brings good fortune; going against them brings calamity.
If needling strikes the heart, death occurs within one day, and its sign is belching. If needling strikes the liver, death occurs within five days, and its sign is talkativeness. If needling strikes the kidney, death occurs within six days, and its sign is sneezing. If needling strikes the lung, death occurs within three days, and its sign is coughing. If needling strikes the spleen, death occurs within ten days, and its sign is swallowing. If needling strikes the gallbladder, death occurs within a day and a half, and its sign is vomiting.
If needling the instep strikes a large vessel, bleeding will not stop, and the patient dies. If needling the face strikes the liu vessel, the unfortunate result is blindness. If needling the head strikes the Naohu point and enters the brain, death is immediate. If needling beneath the tongue strikes the vessel too deeply, bleeding will not stop and causes muteness. If needling beneath the foot damages the connecting vessel and strikes the main vessel, and no blood emerges, swelling results. If needling the Xi-cleft point strikes a large vessel, it causes the patient to collapse and lose color. If needling the Qichong point strikes the vessel and no blood emerges, it causes swelling like a groin abscess. If needling between the vertebrae strikes the marrow, it causes hunching of the back. If needling above the breast strikes the breast tissue, it causes swelling that erodes at its root. If needling the Quepen point sinks in too deep, qi leaks out and causes the patient to pant and cough with rebellious qi. If needling the thenar eminence of the hand sinks in too deep, swelling results. Do not needle a person who is greatly intoxicated, for it will cause the qi to become disordered. Do not needle a person who is greatly enraged, for it will cause the qi to rebel. Do not needle a person who is greatly fatigued; do not needle a person who has just eaten to fullness; do not needle a person who is greatly hungry; do not needle a person who is greatly thirsty; do not needle a person who has been greatly frightened. If needling the inner thigh strikes a large vessel, bleeding will not stop, and the patient dies. If needling Kezhuren sinks in too deep and strikes the vessel, it causes internal leakage and deafness. If needling the kneecap causes fluid to escape, lameness results. If needling the Taiyin vessel of the arm causes excessive bleeding, death is immediate. If needling the Shaoyin vessel of the foot causes severe depletion through bleeding, it causes difficulty moving the tongue and speaking. If needling the chest sinks in too deep and strikes the lung, it causes panting, rebellious qi, and labored breathing with the head thrown back. If needling the elbow sinks in too deep, the qi gathers there, and the joint cannot bend or extend. If needling the inner thigh three cun below sinks in too deep, it causes incontinence of urine. If needling beneath the armpit, in the rib region, sinks in too deep, it causes coughing. If needling the lower abdomen strikes the bladder so that urine escapes, it causes fullness of the lower abdomen. If needling the calf sinks in too deep, swelling results. If needling above the eye socket strikes the vessel within the bony depression, it causes leakage of fluid and blindness. If needling a joint causes fluid to escape, the joint can no longer bend or extend.