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Huangdi Neijing · The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon
Lingshu 52 · Defensive Qi
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The Yellow Emperor said: “The five zang store essence, spirit, hun and po. The six fu receive water and grain, transform them and move their products. Their qi reaches the five zang within and networks the limbs and joints outside. Floating qi that does not follow the channels is defensive qi. Essential qi traveling in the channels is nutritive qi. Yin and yang follow each other, outside and inside penetrate each other, like a ring without an end, steady and abundant—who can exhaust their course?
“Yet their yin and yang divisions each have places where root and branch, emptiness and repletion separate. Distinguishing yin and yang in the twelve channels reveals where illness arises. Observing where emptiness and repletion lie reveals its upper and lower location. Knowing the qi streets of the six fu reveals how to release knots and join connections at their gates. Knowing firmness and softness in emptiness and repletion reveals where supplementation and draining belong. Knowing the roots and branches of the six channels leaves one without confusion under heaven.”
Qi Bo said: “Broad indeed is the sage emperor’s discussion. Let me give its full meaning.
“Foot Taiyang’s root lies within five cun above the heel; its branch is at the two networks of Mingmen, the Gate of Life, which means the eyes. Foot Shaoyang’s root is between the Qiaoyin sites; its branch lies before the window-cage, meaning the ear. Foot Shaoyin’s root lies in the stated three-cun region above and below the inner ankle; its branch is at the back transporting site and the two vessels below the tongue. Foot Jueyin’s root lies about five cun above Xingjian; its branch at the back transporting site. Foot Yangming’s root is Lidui; its branch at Renying, the cheeks and beside the back of the nose and throat. Foot Taiyin’s root lies in the four-cun region forward and above Zhongfeng; its branch at the back transporting site and root of the tongue.
“Hand Taiyang’s root is behind the outer bony prominence; its branch one cun above the Gate of Life. Hand Shaoyang’s root is two cun above the interval beside the finger next to the little finger; its branch is behind the ear, below its upper corner and at the outer canthus. Hand Yangming’s root is within the elbow bone, extending above to Bieyang; its branch below the forehead, above the joining of the jaws. Hand Taiyin’s root is within Cunkou; its branch at the moving vessel inside the armpit. Hand Shaoyin’s root is the end of the pointed bone; its branch at the back transporting site. The Hand Heart Ruler’s root lies in the two-cun region between the two sinews behind the palm; its branch is three cun below the armpit.
“In observing these, emptiness below causes reversal, abundance below heat, emptiness above dizziness, and abundance above heat and pain. Thus interrupt and stop repletion; draw and raise emptiness.”
The compressed Shaoyin ankle phrase, Hand Yangming root, outer bony prominence and doubled “below” at the last armpit location remain as supplied, without inserting reconstructed point names or modern anatomical directions.
“Let me describe the qi streets. The chest, abdomen, head and shins each have a qi street. For qi in the head, settle it through the brain; in the chest, through the front chest and back transporting sites; in the abdomen, through the back transporting sites and the Chong vessel’s moving vessels beside the navel. For qi in the shins, settle it through Qijie and Chengshan, above and below the ankle.
“Use the fine needle at these sites. First press and establish the site, waiting for a sustained response to the hand; then needle and apply the method. What is treated includes headache, dizziness and collapse, abdominal pain, central fullness, sudden distension and new accumulations. Pain that can move is easy to end; an accumulation without pain is hard to end.”
The brain and street references remain the text’s broad pathways. No intracranial procedure or additional needle placement is supplied.
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