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Huangdi Neijing · The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon
Suwen 46 · Manifestations of Illness
Read in English. Switch to Original for word notes, or select text to ask a question.
The Yellow Emperor asked: “How should an abscess at the Stomach cavity be examined?”
Qi Bo replied: “In examining it, observe Stomach’s pulse. It should be sinking and fine. Sinking and fine means counterflow qi; with counterflow, Renying is extremely abundant. Extreme abundance means heat. Renying is Stomach’s vessel. Counterflow with abundance gathers heat at Stomach’s opening and prevents it from moving; thus an abscess forms at the Stomach cavity.”
The Emperor said: “Good. Why does a person sometimes feel uneasy when lying down?”
Qi Bo said: “A zang organ has been injured. When essence has somewhere to go and lodge, there is ease; thus a person cannot leave the illness suspended.
Reading note: The supplied positive 安, ease, and the suspended-illness wording are retained. Classical textual notes give other readings with uneasiness; they are not silently substituted here.”
The Emperor asked: “Why can a person not lie flat on the back?”
Qi Bo said: “Lung is the covering of the zang organs. Abundant Lung qi makes the pulse large; a large pulse prevents flat lying. This is discussed in Extraordinary and Constant Yin and Yang.”
The Emperor asked: “In counterflow illness, the right pulse is sinking and tight while the left is floating and slow. When the responses differ, where is the illness chiefly located?”
Qi Bo said: “Examined in winter, the right pulse should indeed be sinking and tight, corresponding to the seasons. A floating, slow left pulse opposes the seasons. On the left, the main illness should be in Kidney, with some involvement of Lung. Waist pain should be present.”
The Emperor asked: “Why do you say this?”
Qi Bo said: “The Shaoyin vessel passes through Kidney and networks with Lung. A Lung pulse is now obtained while Kidney is ill. Thus Kidney produces the illness of waist pain.”
The Emperor said: “Good. A neck abscess may be treated with stone lancets or with needles and moxa, and both approaches end it. Where does the true principle lie?”
Qi Bo said: “These share a name but differ in degree or kind. When abscess qi is accumulating, a needle should open and remove it. When qi is abundant and blood gathered, stone lancets should drain it. This is called different treatment for the same illness.”
The Emperor asked: “Where does illness with anger and frenzy arise?”
Qi Bo said: “It arises in yang.”
The Emperor asked: “How does yang make a person frenzied?”
Qi Bo said: “Yang qi is suddenly checked and cannot find release, so anger is frequent. The illness is called yang counterflow.”
The Emperor asked: “How is it recognized?”
Qi Bo said: “Yangming normally moves; Greater Yang and Shaoyang do not. When those normally still instead move greatly and rapidly, this is its sign.”
The Emperor asked: “How is it treated?”
Qi Bo said: “Reduce food and it ends. Food enters yin and increases qi in yang, so reducing food ends it. Give a drink prepared with sheng tie luo, raw-iron scales; these lower qi swiftly.”
The Emperor said: “Good. What illness causes bodily heat and lassitude, sweat as though bathing, aversion to wind and scant qi?”
Qi Bo said: “The illness is called liquor Wind.”
The Emperor asked: “How is it treated?”
Qi Bo said: “Combine ze xie and zhu, ten portions of each, with five portions of mi xian. Take a three-finger pinch before the following meal.
Reading note: The traditional ingredient names 澤瀉, 朮 and 麋銜 are retained without imposing a disputed modern species. Ten/ten/five portions and a three-finger pinch are the supplied quantities, not invented gram weights.”
What is called deep and fine strikes the hand like a needle. Rubbing and pressing reveal that gathered means firm, and broad means large. The Upper Canon speaks of qi communicating with Heaven. The Lower Canon speaks of illness changing and transforming. The Golden Chest determines life and death. Measuring and Assessing means palpating and measuring. Extraordinary and Constant speaks of extraordinary illnesses.
Extraordinary means an extraordinary illness need not reach death according to the four seasons; constant means death follows their seasonal timing. Assessing means seeking by palpation: seeking the pulse’s pattern. Measuring means finding the illness’s location and measuring it by the four seasons.
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