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Huangdi Neijing · The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon
Lingshu 67 · Applying the Needle
Read in English. Switch to Original for word notes, or select text to ask a question.
The Yellow Emperor asked Qi Bo: “I have heard the nine needles from you and used them among the people. Their blood and qi differ. In some, spirit stirs and qi moves before the needle; in some, qi and needle meet; in some, the needle has emerged and qi travels alone; some respond only after repeated needling; in some, withdrawal brings counterflow; in some, repeated needling worsens illness. These six take different forms. I wish to hear their patterns.”
Qi Bo said: “In a doubled-yang person, spirit is easily stirred and qi easily moves.”
The Yellow Emperor said: “What is a doubled-yang person?”
Qi Bo said: “Such a person is ardent and high-spirited, speaks quickly and lifts the feet high. Heart and Lung zang qi are in excess; yang qi is slippery, abundant and rising. Thus spirit stirs and qi moves first.”
The Yellow Emperor said: “Why does spirit sometimes not move first in a doubled-yang person?”
Qi Bo said: “Such a person has a measure of yin.”
The Yellow Emperor said: “How can that measure of yin be known?”
Qi Bo said: “Much yang brings much joy; much yin brings much anger. Repeated anger is readily released, so it is called having a measure of yin. The separation and joining of yin and yang are difficult, so spirit cannot move first.”
The Yellow Emperor said: “What makes qi and needle meet?”
Qi Bo said: “Yin and yang are harmonious, blood and qi moist, slippery and free, so as the needle enters, qi emerges swiftly and meets it.”
The Yellow Emperor said: “What qi makes it travel alone after the needle has emerged?”
Qi Bo said: “Yin qi is plentiful and yang qi scant. Yin qi sinks and yang qi floats, yet is stored within. Thus only after the needle has emerged does qi follow behind, traveling alone.”
The floating-yang and inward-storage clause is compressed in the supplied text; it is not silently changed into a different distribution of qi.
The Yellow Emperor said: “What qi makes response occur only after repeated needling?”
Qi Bo said: “This person has much yin and little yang. Qi sinks and moves with difficulty, so response occurs only after repeated needling.”
The Yellow Emperor said: “What qi causes counterflow when the needle enters?”
Qi Bo said: “Counterflow and illness worsening after repeated needling do not arise from the yin or yang nature of qi or its floating or sinking tendency. They are failures of crude practice and losses of skill. There is no fault in the patient’s form and qi.”
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