素问·灵兰秘典论 Treatise on the Secret Canon of the Numinous Orchid Chamber
黄帝问曰：愿闻十二藏之相使，贵贱何如。歧伯对曰：悉乎哉问也，请遂言之。心者，君主之官也，神明出焉。肺者，相傅之官，治节出焉。肝者，将军之官，谋虑出焉。胆者，中正之官，决断出焉。膻中者，臣使之官，喜乐出焉。脾胃者，仓廪之官，五味出焉。大肠者，传道之官，变化出焉。小肠者，受盛之官，化物出焉。肾者，作强之官，伎巧出焉。三焦者，决渎之官，水道出焉。膀胱者，州都之官，津液藏焉，气化则能出矣。
凡此十二官者，不得相失也。故主明则下安，以此养生则寿，殁世不殆，以为天下则大昌。主不明则十二官危，使道闭塞而不通，形乃大伤，以此养生则殃，以为天下者，其宗大危，戒之戒之.
至道在微，变化无穷，孰知其原；窘乎哉，消者瞿瞿，孰知其要；闵闵之当，孰者为良。恍惚之数，生于毫氂，毫氂之数，起于度量，千之万之，可以益大，推之大之，其形乃制。黄帝曰：善哉，余闻精光之道，大圣之业，而宣明大道，非斋戒择吉日，不敢受也。黄帝乃择吉日良兆，而藏灵兰之室，以传保焉。
Huangdi asked: I would like to hear about the mutual offices and relative rank of the twelve viscera — which are noble and which are lowly? Qibo replied: How thorough a question this is! Allow me to explain it fully. The heart is the office of the sovereign ruler; spirit and brightness issue from it. The lung is the office of the minister and mentor; regulation and moderation issue from it. The liver is the office of the general; planning and deliberation issue from it. The gallbladder is the office of impartial judgment; decision and decisiveness issue from it. The pericardium is the office of the minister-messenger; joy and delight issue from it. The spleen and stomach are the offices of the granary and storehouse; the five flavors issue from them. The large intestine is the office of transmission and conduction; transformation and change issue from it. The small intestine is the office of reception and abundance; the transformation of things issues from it. The kidney is the office of vigor and strength; skill and ingenuity issue from it. The triple burner is the office of the drainage channels; the waterways issue from it. The bladder is the office of the regional capital; the body fluids are stored there, and only through the transformation of qi can they be released.
In all, these twelve offices must not lose their proper relation to one another. Thus, when the sovereign is enlightened, those below are at peace; if one nurtures life on this basis, one will live long, free from danger to the end of one's days, and if one governs the empire on this basis, it will greatly flourish. When the sovereign is not enlightened, the twelve offices fall into danger, the pathways of communication become blocked and impassable, and the physical form is thereby gravely injured; if one nurtures life on this basis, calamity follows, and if one governs the empire on this basis, its very foundation is gravely imperiled. Be warned of this, be warned of this!
The utmost Way lies in the subtle and minute, and its transformations are without end — who can know its origin? How constrained and pressing it is! One who seeks to grasp it must be watchful and vigilant — who can know its essentials? Amid such deep and diligent concern, who is truly skilled? The reckoning of the vague and indistinct arises from the minutest hair's breadth; the reckoning of the hair's breadth arises from measurement; multiplied a thousand-fold, ten-thousand-fold, it may be extended ever greater, and by extending and enlarging it, its concrete form comes to be established. Huangdi said: Excellent indeed! I have heard that the Way of refined brightness and the enterprise of the great sages, in proclaiming and illuminating the great Way, is not to be received save through fasting, purification, and the choosing of an auspicious day. Huangdi thereupon chose an auspicious day and favorable omen, and stored this teaching in the Chamber of the Numinous Orchid, to be handed down and preserved.