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Huangdi Neijing · The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon
Suwen 12 · Different Methods Suited to Different Regions
Read in English. Switch to Original for word notes, or select text to ask a question.
The Yellow Emperor asked: “Physicians use different treatments for the same illness, yet all bring recovery. Why?”
Qi Bo replied: “The conditions of the land make it so.
The east is where heaven and earth begin generation, a land of fish and salt beside the sea and water. People eat fish and favor salt, content with their dwellings and pleased with their food. Fish brings internal heat; salt overcomes blood. Thus their complexion is dark and their interstices open. Their illnesses are abscesses and sores, suited to treatment with stone instruments. Stone treatment therefore came from the east.
The west is a land of metals, jade, sand and stone, where heaven and earth gather and draw inward. People live on hills amid much wind; water and earth are firm and strong. They wear coarse wool and mats rather than ordinary clothing, eat rich food and are plump. Harmful influences therefore cannot injure their bodily form; illness arises within. Potent medicinals are suited to treatment. Potent medicinals therefore came from the west.
Reading note: Du yao, 毒藥, names the text’s potent medicinal category; it is not silently equated with modern poisons.
The north is where heaven and earth close and store. The land is high, with hill dwellings, cold wind and severe ice. People enjoy dwelling in the open and eating dairy food. Cold in the zang organs produces fullness disorders, suited to moxibustion. Moxibustion therefore came from the north.
Reading note: The supplied 灸倦 is read as 灸焫, burning moxa, following Wang Bing’s classical gloss recorded in the official character-variant dictionary.
The south is where heaven and earth nourish growth and yang is abundant. Its land is low, its water and soil yielding, and mist and dew gather there. People favor sour flavors and fermented food. Thus their interstices are close and complexion red. Their illnesses are contracture and painful obstruction, suited to fine needles. The nine needles therefore came from the south.
The central land is level and damp, where heaven and earth generate many things. People eat varied foods without much labor. Their illnesses are commonly wilting weakness, counterflow, cold and heat, suited to guiding and stretching exercises and pressing and lifting manipulation. These methods therefore arose from the center.
Sages combine the methods in treatment, each obtaining what suits it. Treatments differ yet illnesses recover because the nature of the illness is understood and the main principles of treatment known.”
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