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Huangdi Neijing · The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon
Lingshu 29 · Transmission from Teachers
Read in English. Switch to Original for word notes, or select text to ask a question.
The Yellow Emperor said: “I have heard that earlier teachers held teachings in their hearts that were not written on tablets. I wish to hear and preserve them, follow and practice them: above, to care for the people; below, to care for myself. Let the common people be free of illness, those above and below live in harmony and affection, beneficent virtue flow downward, and descendants have no anxieties. Let the teaching pass to later generations without end. May I hear it?”
Qi Bo said: “Far-reaching is your question! Caring for the people and oneself, treating that person and this one, managing small and great matters, governing state and household—none can succeed by going against their course. One must accord with it. Accord does not concern only yin and yang vessels or the counterflow and favorable flow of qi. All the common people wish their intentions to be accommodated.”
The Yellow Emperor said: “How is one to accord with them?”
Qi Bo said: “Entering a state, ask about its customs. Entering a household, ask about its taboos. Ascending the hall, ask about its rites. Approaching a sick person, ask what brings comfort.”
The Yellow Emperor said: “How does one accommodate a sick person?”
Qi Bo said: “Internal heat and wasting heat find comfort in cold; internal cold finds comfort in warmth. Heat in the Stomach consumes grain, leaving the heart unsettled and the person frequently hungry, with hot skin above the navel. Heat in the intestines brings a yellow, gruel-like discharge and cold skin below the navel. Cold in the Stomach causes abdominal distension; cold in the intestines causes rumbling and diarrhea with undigested food. Cold Stomach and hot intestines cause both distension and diarrhea. Hot Stomach and cold intestines cause rapid hunger and painful lower-abdominal distension.”
The statement of cold skin below the navel is retained in the supplied sequence. Its wording and placement differ in older readings; it is not silently changed to hot skin.
The Yellow Emperor said: “The Stomach wants cold drinks and the intestines warm drinks. Their needs oppose each other: how can they be accommodated? Moreover, princes, high officials and rulers who eat sacrificial meat are proud and unrestrained, indulge their desires and belittle others, and no one can restrain them. Restraining them goes against their wishes; following them worsens their illness. How can they be accommodated, and what comes first in treatment?”
Qi Bo said: “In human nature, everyone dislikes death and delights in life. Explain what brings harm, speak of what brings benefit, guide them toward what suits them and open their understanding through what troubles them. Even a person without the Way—how could such a person fail to listen?”
The Yellow Emperor said: “How is treatment carried out?”
Qi Bo said: “In spring and summer, first treat the branch and then the root. In autumn and winter, first treat the root and then the branch.”
The Yellow Emperor said: “How does one accommodate what is mutually opposed?”
Qi Bo said: “To accommodate this, food, drink and clothing should suit cold and warmth. Cold should not make one shiver in distress, nor heat make one sweat. Food and drink should be neither scorching hot nor chillingly cold. With cold and warmth fittingly balanced, qi can sustain itself and harmful deviations do not arise.”
The Yellow Emperor said: “The teaching on the Root Zang uses bodily form, limbs, joints and fleshy masses to assess the size of the five zang and six fu. But when facing princes, high officials and rulers seated at court, who could palpate and follow their bodies before giving an answer?”
Qi Bo said: “Bodily form, limbs and joints are coverings of the zang and fu; they are not the same as inspecting the face.”
The Yellow Emperor said: “I already know how the qi of the five zang is inspected in the face. How can the limbs and joints be read to know them?”
Qi Bo said: “The Lung forms the cover of the five zang and six fu. Large shoulders and the hollow at the throat show its condition outwardly.”
The shoulder and throat phrase is compressed in this source; its observable features are retained without adding detailed organ measurements.
The Yellow Emperor said: “Good.”
Qi Bo said: “The Heart is ruler of the five zang and six fu. The collarbone hollow is its passage. The prominence of the named yan bone provides a sign by which to assess the breastbone tip.”
The first bone name is anomalously written “艶骨”; the final rare graphs refer to the breastbone-tip region. Older commentaries disagree about the first graph. No secure modern bone identification is substituted.
The Yellow Emperor said: “Good.”
Qi Bo said: “The Liver serves as general, charged with observing outwardly. To know its strength and firmness, inspect the size of the eyes.”
The Yellow Emperor said: “Good.”
Qi Bo said: “The Spleen serves as guard, charged with receiving provisions. Inspect the good or poor condition of lips and tongue to know favorable and unfavorable signs.”
The Yellow Emperor said: “Good.”
Qi Bo said: “The Kidney governs outward affairs and is charged with hearing at a distance. Inspect the good or poor condition of the ears to know its character.”
The Yellow Emperor said: “Good. I wish to hear the signs of the six fu.”
Qi Bo said: “Of the six fu, the Stomach is the sea. A broad frame, large neck and expanded chest allow the five grains to be contained. Long nasal passages provide a sign of the Large Intestine; thick lips and a long philtrum, of the Small Intestine. Large pouches beneath the eyes indicate a strong Gallbladder. Outwardly exposed nostrils indicate leakage of the Bladder. A raised center of the nasal bridge indicates a tightly contained Triple Burner. These are the means of assessing the six fu. When the upper, middle and lower divisions are equal, the zang are settled and sound.”
The literal “upper and lower, three equal divisions” is read as balanced upper, middle and lower proportions. The source’s physiognomic correspondences remain historical claims.
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