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Huangdi Neijing · The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon
Suwen 5 · Yin, Yang and Their Correspondences
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The Yellow Emperor said: “Yin and yang are the Way of heaven and earth, the ordering threads of all things, the parents of transformation, the origin of life and death, and the dwelling of spiritual brightness. Treating illness must seek this root.
Accumulated yang forms heaven; accumulated yin forms earth. Yin is still and yang restless. Yang generates and yin grows; yang kills and yin stores. Yang transforms into qi and yin completes form. Extreme cold generates heat; extreme heat generates cold. Cold qi generates turbidity and hot qi clarity. Clear qi below produces diarrhea with undigested food; turbid qi above produces distention. This is yin and yang acting in reverse, the contrary or following course of illness.
Clear yang forms heaven and turbid yin earth. Earth’s qi rises as clouds and heaven’s qi descends as rain: rain comes from earth’s qi and clouds from heaven’s qi. Clear yang emerges through the upper openings and turbid yin through the lower. Clear yang spreads through the interstices and turbid yin travels to the five zang organs. Clear yang fills the four limbs and turbid yin returns to the six fu organs.
Water is yin and Fire yang; yang is qi and yin flavor. Flavor returns to form, form to qi, qi to essence and essence to transformation. Essence feeds on qi and form on flavor. Transformation generates essence, and qi generates form. Flavor injures form and qi injures essence. Essence transforms into qi, and qi is injured by flavor.
Yin flavor emerges through the lower openings and yang qi through the upper. Thick flavor is yin; thin flavor is yang within yin. Thick qi is yang; thin qi is yin within yang. Thick flavor drains, while thin flavor opens passage. Thin qi releases outward; thick qi produces heat. The qi of strong Fire declines; the qi of gentle Fire flourishes. Strong Fire consumes qi; qi feeds on gentle Fire. Strong Fire disperses qi; gentle Fire generates qi. Among qi and flavors, acrid and sweet disperse and are yang; sour and bitter surge and drain and are yin.
Yin prevailing makes yang ill; yang prevailing makes yin ill. Yang prevailing produces heat, and yin prevailing cold. Repeated cold turns to heat, and repeated heat to cold. Cold injures form; heat injures qi. Injury to qi brings pain; injury to form brings swelling.
Pain before swelling means qi has injured form. Swelling before pain means form has injured qi. Wind prevailing brings movement; heat prevailing swelling; dryness prevailing desiccation; cold prevailing floating swelling; dampness prevailing loose, watery discharge.
Heaven has four seasons and five phases, through which generation, growth, gathering and storage occur, and cold, summer heat, dryness, dampness and wind arise. People have five zang organs, transforming five qi and producing joy, anger, grief, worry and fear.
Joy and anger injure qi; cold and summer heat injure form. Violent anger injures yin and violent joy yang. Counterflow qi rises, fills the vessels and departs from the bodily form. When joy and anger lack measure, and cold and heat exceed their bounds, life is not secure. Thus repeated yin must become yang, and repeated yang yin.
Thus it is said: injury by cold in winter brings warm disease in spring; injury by wind in spring brings diarrhea with undigested food in summer; injury by summer heat brings intermittent fever in autumn; injury by dampness in autumn brings cough in winter.”
The Emperor asked: “I have heard that ancient sages discussed the order of the human form, distinguished zang and fu organs, arranged the network and channel vessels, and joined the six correspondences. Each follows its channel. The qi openings each have their named sites, and the valleys associated with bones their origins. The divisions, contrary and following courses, all have an order. Seasonal yin and yang have their governing threads; outer and inner correspondences all have exterior and interior. Is this truly so?”
Qi Bo replied: “The east generates Wind; Wind generates Wood; Wood generates sour; sour generates Liver; Liver generates sinews; sinews generate Heart. Liver governs the eyes. In heaven this is mystery, in people the Way, in earth transformation. Transformation generates the five flavors, the Way generates wisdom, mystery generates spirit. Spirit in heaven is Wind; in earth Wood; in the body sinews; among zang organs Liver; in color blue-green; in tone jue; in voice shouting; in movement grasping; in openings the eyes; in flavor sour; in intention anger. Anger injures Liver, but grief overcomes anger. Wind injures sinews, but dryness overcomes Wind. Sour injures sinews, but acrid overcomes sour.
The south generates Heat; Heat generates Fire; Fire generates bitter; bitter generates Heart; Heart generates blood; blood generates Spleen. Heart governs the tongue. In heaven this is Heat; in earth Fire; in the body vessels; among zang organs Heart; in color red; in tone zhi; in voice laughter; in changing movement worry; in openings the tongue; in flavor bitter; in intention joy. Joy injures Heart, but fear overcomes joy. Heat injures qi, but cold overcomes Heat. Bitter injures qi, but salty overcomes bitter.
The center generates Dampness; Dampness generates Earth; Earth generates sweet; sweet generates Spleen; Spleen generates flesh; flesh generates Lung. Spleen governs the mouth. In heaven this is Dampness; in earth Earth; in the body flesh; among zang organs Spleen; in color yellow; in tone gong; in voice singing; in changing movement retching; in openings the mouth; in flavor sweet; in intention thought. Thought injures Spleen, but anger overcomes thought. Dampness injures flesh, but Wind overcomes Dampness. Sweet injures flesh, but sour overcomes sweet.
The west generates Dryness; Dryness generates Metal; Metal generates acrid; acrid generates Lung; Lung generates skin and hair; skin and hair generate Kidney. Lung governs the nose. In heaven this is Dryness; in earth Metal; in the body skin and hair; among zang organs Lung; in color white; in tone shang; in voice crying; in changing movement cough; in openings the nose; in flavor acrid; in intention worry. Worry injures Lung, but joy overcomes worry. Heat injures skin and hair, but cold overcomes Heat. Acrid injures skin and hair, but bitter overcomes acrid.
The north generates Cold; Cold generates Water; Water generates salty; salty generates Kidney; Kidney generates bones and marrow; marrow generates Liver. Kidney governs the ears. In heaven this is Cold; in earth Water; in the body bones; among zang organs Kidney; in color black; in tone yu; in voice groaning; in changing movement trembling; in openings the ears; in flavor salty; in intention fear. Fear injures Kidney, but thought overcomes fear. Cold injures blood, but dryness overcomes Cold. Salty injures blood, but sweet overcomes salty.
Thus it is said: heaven and earth are the above and below of all things; yin and yang the female and male of blood and qi; left and right the pathways of yin and yang; Water and Fire their signs; yin and yang the enabling beginning of all things.
Thus it is said: yin within is yang’s guardian; yang outside is yin’s envoy.”
The Emperor asked: “How does one take yin and yang as a method?”
Qi Bo said: “Yang prevailing makes the body hot, closes the interstices and brings coarse panting with bending and lifting of the body. There is heat without sweat, dry teeth, distressed agitation and abdominal fullness, ending in death. It can endure winter but not summer. Yin prevailing makes the body cold and sweaty, persistently chilly, repeatedly shivering with cold. Cold brings counterflow, counterflow abdominal fullness, ending in death. It can endure summer but not winter. These are the changes of yin and yang alternately prevailing, the manifestations of illness.”
The Emperor asked: “How are these two regulated?”
Qi Bo said: “Knowing the seven depletions and eight benefits allows the two to be regulated. Not knowing how to use this brings early decline.
At forty, yin qi is naturally reduced by half and daily activity declines. At fifty the body is heavy, and eyes and ears lose clarity. At sixty, yin function withers, qi greatly declines and the nine openings work poorly: deficiency below, excess above, with mucus and tears flowing together.
Thus knowledge brings strength and ignorance aging: people share an origin but acquire different names. The wise observe what is shared, the foolish what differs. The foolish lack, the wise have a surplus. With a surplus, eyes and ears are clear and the body light and strong; the old regain vigor and the vigorous become better regulated. Therefore sages undertake the affairs of nonaction and delight in tranquil capacity. Desire and intention find satisfaction within the guarding of emptiness. Their life is inexhaustible and endures with heaven and earth: this is the sage’s care of the body.
Heaven is incomplete in the northwest, so the northwest is yin, and people’s right eye and ear are less clear than the left. Earth is incomplete in the southeast, so the southeast is yang, and the left hand and foot are less strong than the right.”
The Emperor asked: “Why is this so?”
Qi Bo said: “The east is yang. Yang’s essence gathers above: the upper part is clear and the lower deficient. Thus eyes and ears are keen but hands and feet less effective.
The west is yin. Yin’s essence gathers below: the lower part flourishes and the upper is deficient. Thus eyes and ears lack clarity but hands and feet are effective. When both sides encounter harmful influences, the right is worse above and the left worse below. Heaven, earth, yin and yang cannot be complete in every respect, so harmful influences lodge there.
Heaven has essence and earth form. Heaven has eight governing divisions and earth five regions; thus they can be the parents of all things. Clear yang rises to heaven and turbid yin returns to earth. Spiritual brightness orders heaven and earth’s movement and stillness, enabling generation, growth, gathering and storage to end and begin anew.
The worthy align above with heaven to nourish the head, model earth below to nourish the feet, and attend to human affairs between to nourish the five zang organs. Heaven’s qi communicates with Lung; earth’s qi with the throat; Wind qi with Liver; Thunder qi with Heart; valley qi with Spleen; rain qi with Kidney. The six channels are rivers and the intestines and stomach a sea; the nine openings are where qi pours like water.
Take heaven and earth as their yin and yang. Yang’s sweat is named after heaven and earth’s rain; yang’s qi after their swift wind. Violent qi resembles thunder and counterflow qi resembles yang. Thus treatment that does not model heaven’s order or use earth’s principles brings calamity.
Reading note: The supplied final comparison is to yang, 陽; another natural phenomenon is not silently inserted.
Harmful wind arrives as swiftly as wind and rain. The most skilled treat skin and hair; next the flesh and skin; next sinews and vessels; next the six fu organs; and next the five zang organs. At the zang-organ level there is half death and half life. Heaven’s harmful qi injures the five zang organs when it affects people. Cold and heat from water and grain injure the six fu organs. Earth’s damp qi injures skin, flesh, sinews and vessels.
Those skilled with needles draw yang through yin and yin through yang. They treat the left through the right and the right through the left, know the other through themselves, and know the interior through the exterior. Observing the principles of excess and insufficiency, they perceive the slight and detect what has gone wrong; applying this does not endanger.
A skilled diagnostician observes color and presses the pulses, first distinguishing yin and yang. Examining clarity and turbidity reveals the affected divisions. Observing respiration and listening to the voice reveals suffering. Observing balance, weight, compass and square reveals what governs the illness. Press the cun and chi pulse positions and observe floating, sinking, slippery and rough qualities to know where illness arises. Treatment then avoids error, and diagnosis does not miss its mark.
Thus it is said: at illness’s beginning, needling can end it; at its height, wait for decline before ending it. Lift what is light, reduce what is heavy, and make evident what has declined. When bodily form is insufficient, warm it with qi; when essence is insufficient, supplement with flavor. What is high should be expelled upward; what is low drawn down and exhausted. Fullness within is drained internally. Where harmful influences are present, immerse the body to induce sweat; what is in the skin is released through sweat. What is fierce and forceful is pressed and restrained; what is excessive dispersed and drained. Examine yin and yang to distinguish soft and hard. Treat yang illness through yin and yin illness through yang. Set blood and qi so each keeps its own domain. Excess blood should be opened and released; deficient qi should be drawn and guided.”
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