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Huangdi Neijing · The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon
Suwen 50 · Essentials of Needling
Read in English. Switch to Original for word notes, or select text to ask a question.
The Yellow Emperor asked: “I wish to hear the essentials of needling.”
Qi Bo replied: “Illness may be floating or sinking; needling may be shallow or deep. Each must reach the appropriate pattern without passing beyond its course. Going too far injures within; failing to reach produces obstruction outside, which harmful influence follows. Incorrect depth turns treatment into a great robber, disturbing the five zang organs within and producing serious illness later.”
Thus it is said: illness may be in fine hair and interstices, skin, flesh, vessels, sinews, bone or marrow.
In needling fine hair and interstices, do not injure skin. Skin injury disturbs Lung within; disturbed Lung brings warm intermittent fever in autumn, with shivering cold. In needling skin, do not injure flesh. Flesh injury disturbs Spleen; disturbed Spleen brings abdominal distention, vexation and lack of appetite in the seventy-two days belonging to the four seasonal-transition months.
In needling flesh, do not injure vessels. Vessel injury disturbs Heart and brings Heart pain in summer. In needling vessels, do not injure sinews. Sinew injury disturbs Liver and brings heat illness with slack sinews in spring. In needling sinews, do not injure bone. Bone injury disturbs Kidney and brings distention and waist pain in winter.
In needling bone, do not injure marrow. Marrow injury brings wasting, aching shins and bodily lassitude that does not leave.
Reading note: The supplied seventy-two-day/four-seasonal-month wording is retained. The irregular 鴬 and 解聡 follow the shin and lassitude readings used earlier.
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