Opening the chapter
Loading the text. Please wait.
Huangdi Neijing · The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon
Suwen 23 · Clarifying the Five Qi
Read in English. Switch to Original for word notes, or select text to ask a question.
The five flavors enter their respective organs: sour enters Liver, acrid Lung, bitter Heart, salty Kidney and sweet Spleen. These are called the five entries.
The illnesses produced by the five qi: Heart produces belching; Lung cough; Liver speech; Spleen swallowing; Kidney yawning and sneezing. Stomach produces counterflow qi, retching and fear; Large and Small Intestines produce diarrhea. Overflow of the lower burner produces water accumulation. Failure of Bladder flow produces retention; failure to restrain produces involuntary urination. Gallbladder produces anger. These are called the five illnesses.
Reading note: The supplied Stomach term 恐, fear, is retained.
When essential qi converges in Heart there is joy; in Lung, grief; in Liver, worry; in Spleen, apprehension; in Kidney, fear. These are called the five convergences, arising when deficiency allows qi to converge from one to another.
The five zang organs’ aversions: Heart dislikes heat, Lung cold, Liver wind, Spleen dampness and Kidney dryness. These are called the five aversions.
The five zang organs transform fluids: Heart produces sweat; Lung nasal mucus; Liver tears; Spleen thin saliva; Kidney spittle. These are called the five fluids.
The five flavor restrictions: acrid goes to qi, so in qi illness do not eat much acrid food. Salty goes to blood, so in blood illness do not eat much salty food. Bitter goes to bone, so in bone illness do not eat much bitter food. Sweet goes to flesh, so in flesh illness do not eat much sweet food. Sour goes to sinews, so in sinew illness do not eat much sour food. These are called the five restrictions: do not permit excessive eating of these flavors.
The five manifestations of illness: yin illness manifests in bone; yang illness in blood; yin illness in flesh; yang illness in winter; yin illness in summer. These are called the five manifestations.
The five disruptions by harmful influences: entry into yang produces frenzy; entry into yin produces painful obstruction. Striking yang produces dian illness; striking yin produces loss of voice. Yang entering yin brings quiet; yin emerging into yang brings anger. These are called the five disruptions.
The five appearances of harmful influences: an autumn pulse obtained in spring, a winter pulse in summer, a spring pulse in long summer, a summer pulse in autumn, or a long-summer pulse in winter. This is called yin emerging into yang. Illness tends toward anger and cannot be treated. These are called the five harmful influences, all sharing the same fate: death, beyond treatment.
The five zang organs store the following: Heart stores spirit; Lung the bodily soul, po; Liver the ethereal soul, hun; Spleen intent; Kidney resolve. These are what the five zang organs store.
The five zang organs govern the following: Heart governs vessels, Lung skin, Liver sinews, Spleen flesh and Kidney bone. These are called the five governances.
Prolonged looking injures blood; prolonged lying down injures qi; prolonged sitting injures flesh; prolonged standing injures bone; prolonged walking injures sinews. These are the injuries from the five prolonged activities.
The five pulse images correspond as follows: Liver is stringlike, Heart hooklike, Spleen intermittent, Lung hairlike and Kidney stonelike. These are the pulses of the five zang organs.
Use ← / → or swipe left or right to change chapters