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Huangdi Neijing · The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon
Lingshu 78 · Discussion of the Nine Needles
Read in English. Switch to Original for word notes, or select text to ask a question.
The Yellow Emperor said: “I have heard much and broadly about the nine needles from you, yet still cannot understand. I dare ask where they arose and why they have their names.”
Qi Bo said: “The nine needles are the great numbers of heaven and earth, beginning with one and ending with nine. Thus one models heaven, two earth, three the person, four the seasons, five the tones, six the pitch standards, seven the stars, eight the winds and nine the fields.”
The Yellow Emperor said: “How do the needles correspond to the nine numbers?”
Qi Bo said: “The sage establishes them through heaven and earth’s numbers. Extending one to nine establishes the nine fields; nine extended by nine, nine times nine making eighty-one, establishes the number of Huangzhong. The needles correspond to these numbers.”
“One is heaven, which is yang. Among the five zang, the Lung answers heaven and covers the five zang and six fu. Skin joins the Lung and is the person’s yang. Its needle therefore has a large head and sharp end, preventing deep entry while allowing yang qi to emerge.
“Two is earth. Flesh is how people answer Earth. Its needle has a cylindrical body and rounded end, preventing injury to the divisions of flesh, since such injury can exhaust qi.
“Three is the person. Blood vessels form human life. Its needle has a large body and rounded end, allowing pressure on vessels without sinking in, bringing qi so harmful qi alone emerges.
“Four is the seasons. The four seasons and eight winds lodge in channels and networks and form persistent swellings. Its needle has a cylindrical body and pointed end to drain heat and draw blood until fixed illness is exhausted.
“Five is tone. Winter and summer divide at Zi and Wu; yin and yang separate, cold and heat contend and the two qi strike together into abscess and pus. Its needle has an end like a sword edge to address great pus accumulations.
“Six is the pitch standards, regulating yin and yang and the four seasons to join the twelve channels. Empty harmful influence lodges in them and produces sudden obstruction. Its needle has a tip like a strong hair, round and sharp, with the middle body slightly larger, to address sudden qi.
“Seven is the stars, corresponding to the seven openings. Harmful influence lodges in channels and networks and produces painful obstruction. Its needle has a tip like a mosquito’s beak, advancing quietly and slowly and remaining subtly for a long time. Proper qi follows it; true and harmful qi go together. Withdrawal is followed by nourishing care.
“Eight is wind, corresponding to the eight joints of thighs and arms. Empty winds from the eight proper directions injure people, lodging deeply between bone joints, waist and spine and joint interstices, producing deep obstruction. Its needle has a long body and pointed end to address deep harmful influence and distant obstruction.
“Nine is the fields, corresponding to spaces among joints and skin. Excessive harmful influence flows through the body like wind-water, pooling and unable to cross major joints. Its needle has a staff-like tip and a slightly rounded point to address great qi that cannot pass the joints.”
The mosquito graph is anomalous in the source. All nine designs, including the supplied true-and-harmful-qi-together statement, remain without modern fabrication specifications or a reconstructed clinical method.
The Yellow Emperor said: “Are there numerical measures for the needles’ lengths?”
Qi Bo said: “First, the chan needle models a cloth needle, with its last one and a half cun abruptly sharpened. Its length is one cun and six fen; it governs heat in head and body.
“Second, the round needle models a floss needle, with a cylindrical body and egg-shaped point. It is one cun and six fen long and governs qi between divisions of flesh.
“Third, the di needle models the point of millet grain. It is three and a half cun long and presses vessels to obtain qi, allowing harmful influence to emerge.
“Fourth, the pointed needle models a floss needle, with a cylindrical body and sharp end. It is one cun and six fen long and governs abscess heat by drawing blood.
“Fifth, the blade-edged needle models a sword edge. It is two and a half fen broad and four cun long and governs great abscess pus where two heats contend.
“Sixth, the round-sharp needle models the strong-hair needle, making its end slightly larger and its body correspondingly smaller to allow deep entry. It is one cun and six fen long and governs abscess obstruction.
“Seventh, the fine needle models fine hair. It is one cun and six fen long and governs cold, heat and painful obstruction in the networks.
“Eighth, the long needle models the qi needle. It is seven cun long and governs deep harmful influence and distant obstruction.
“Ninth, the great needle models the pointed needle but has a slightly rounded point. It is four cun long and governs great qi unable to leave the joints. The needle forms are complete. These are the standards for the sizes and lengths of the nine needles.”
All nine measures, widths and stated uses follow this chapter, including its fine-needle length and round-sharp end/body proportions, which differ from other descriptions. The qi needle is the supplied model name, not qi as vital activity. No modern-unit or instrument-design correction is made.
The Yellow Emperor said: “I wish to hear how bodily form corresponds to the nine fields.”
Qi Bo said: “Let me describe the bodily correspondences to the nine fields. The left foot answers the Beginning of Spring, on Wu-Yin and Ji-Chou days. The left rib-side answers the spring equinox, on Yi-Mao. The left hand answers the Beginning of Summer, on Wu-Chen and Ji-Si. Chest, throat and head answer the summer solstice, on Bing-Wu. The right hand answers the Beginning of Autumn, on Wu-Shen and Ji-Wei. The right rib-side answers the autumn equinox, on Xin-You. The right foot answers the Beginning of Winter, on Wu-Xu and Ji-Hai. Waist, rump and lower openings answer the winter solstice, on Ren-Zi.
“The six fu and three zang below the diaphragm answer the central region. Their great prohibition—the great prohibition concerns the day where Taiyi is present and all Wu and Ji days. In these nine, carefully observe the eight proper directions and the regions governed, left and right, above and below. If treating bodily abscesses or swellings, do not open and treat them on the day assigned to that region. These are called heaven’s prohibited days.”
All supplied stem/branch pairs are preserved, including unexpected combinations. The repeated great-prohibition wording is retained without a modern calendar conversion.
Comfortable form with distressed intention produces vessel illness, treated by moxibustion and needling. Distressed form with comfortable intention produces sinew illness, treated by warming and guiding movement. Comfortable form and comfortable intention produce flesh illness, treated by needles and stone. Distressed form and distressed intention produce throat and loud-breathing illness, treated by sweet medicines. Repeated bodily fright blocks sinews and vessels and produces numbness, treated by massage and medicinal wine. These are the forms.
The throat/noisy-breath phrase is retained without substituting a variant disease name.
The five-zang qi: the Heart governs belching, Lung cough, Liver speech, Spleen swallowing and Kidney yawning.
The six-fu qi: Gallbladder gives anger; Stomach gives counterflow qi and retching; Large and Small Intestines give diarrhea; a Bladder that does not restrain gives involuntary urine; an overflowing lower burner gives water swelling.
The five flavors: sour enters Liver, acrid Lung, bitter Heart, sweet Spleen, salty Kidney and bland Stomach. These are called the five flavors.
The five gatherings: essential qi gathering in Liver gives anxiety, in Heart joy, in Lung anxiety, in Kidney fear and in Spleen dread. This is the qi of the five essences gathering in the zang.
The five aversions: Liver dislikes wind, Heart heat, Lung cold, Kidney dryness and Spleen damp. These are what the five-zang qi dislike.
The five fluids: Heart governs sweat, Liver tears, Lung nasal fluid, Kidney spit and Spleen drool. These are the sources of the five fluids.
The five labors: prolonged looking injures blood, lying down qi, sitting flesh, standing bone and walking sinews. These are the illnesses of the five prolonged labors.
The five courses: sour goes to sinews, acrid qi, bitter blood, salty bone and sweet flesh.
The five restraints: with sinew illness do not eat sour; qi illness, acrid; bone illness, salty; blood illness, bitter; flesh illness, sweet. Even when the mouth craves them, do not take much; restraint is necessary. These are called the five restraints.
The five manifestations: yin illness arises in bone, yang illness in blood, yin illness in flesh, yang illness in winter and yin illness in summer.
The five harmful influences: influence entering yang produces kuang; entering yin, blood obstruction. Entering yang and turning produces dian illness; entering yin and turning, loss of voice. Yang entering yin makes illness quiet; yin emerging into yang makes illness prone to anger.
The five zang: Heart stores spirit, Lung po, Liver hun, Spleen intention and Kidney essence and resolve.
The five governors: Heart governs vessels, Lung skin, Liver sinews, Spleen flesh and Kidney bone.
All series are kept, including the additional bland flavor under a fivefold heading, repeated anxiety for Liver and Lung, and all six clauses under the five-harmful-influences heading. The supplied seasonal manifestations and flavor–tissue pairings are not harmonized with other chapters.
Yangming has much blood and much qi; Taiyang much blood and little qi; Shaoyang much qi and little blood; Taiyin much blood and little qi; Jueyin much blood and little qi; Shaoyin much qi and little blood.
Thus needling Yangming releases blood and qi. Needling Taiyang releases blood and avoids qi; Shaoyang releases qi and avoids blood; Taiyin releases blood and avoids qi; Jueyin releases blood and avoids qi; Shaoyin releases qi and avoids blood.
In the feet, Yangming and Taiyin form an exterior–interior pair, Shaoyang and Jueyin a pair, Taiyang and Shaoyin a pair. These are the feet’s yin and yang. In the hands, Yangming and Taiyin form a pair, Shaoyang and the Heart Ruler a pair, Taiyang and Shaoyin a pair. These are the hands’ yin and yang.
The supplied Taiyin and Jueyin amounts and their corresponding release/avoidance rules are preserved, although other chapters give different amounts. No channel row is silently inverted.
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