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Volume I · Su Wen (素问)

Separation and Union, True and Pathogenic Qi

How pathogenic qi enters the channels, and the detailed operation of tonification and reduction by breathing.

Su Wen (素问)General Principles of Needling
ENGLISH TRANSLATION

The English is translated from the Chinese vernacular. The original text and its pinyin sit beneath each sentence in smaller type; hide them whenever you prefer to read the translation alone.

When evil enters the vessels, cold makes the blood congeal and stagnate, heat makes the qi moist and slippery; the deficient evil takes advantage and lodges there, as river water is stirred by wind.

ORIGINAL夫邪之入于脉也,寒则血凝泣,暑则气淖泽,虚邪因而入客,亦如经水之得风也。

fū xié zhī rù yú mài yě,hán zé xuè níng qì,shǔ zé qì nào zé,xū xié yīn ér rù kè,yì rú jīng shuǐ zhī dé fēng yě。

Insert on the inbreath so that qi is not opposed; keep still and retain the needle so evil cannot spread; twirl on the inbreath, taking the arrival of qi as the aim; then draw the needle on the outbreath and withdraw as the breath ends, so that the great qi all leaves. This is called reduction.

ORIGINAL吸则内针,无令气忤;静以久留,无令邪布;吸则转针,以得气为故;候呼引针,呼尽乃去;大气皆出,故命曰泻。

xī zé nèi zhēn,wú lìng qì wǔ;jìng yǐ jiǔ liú,wú lìng xié bù;xī zé zhuǎn zhēn,yǐ dé qì wéi gù;hòu hū yǐn zhēn,hū jǐn nǎi qù;dà qì jiē chū,gù mìng yuē xiè。

First palpate and trace the point, press to disperse, push and smooth, flick to make the qi swell, pinch and insert, free the channel and take it; then draw the needle out and close the gate to keep the spirit in. Insert as the outbreath ends, still and long retained, taking the arrival of qi as the aim, as though waiting on an honoured guest and unaware that evening has come.

ORIGINAL必先扪而循之,切而散之,推而按之,弹而怒之,抓而下之,通而取之,外引其门,以闭其神,呼尽内针,静以久留,以气至为故,如待所贵,不知日暮。

bì xiān mén ér xún zhī,qiè ér sàn zhī,tuī ér àn zhī,dàn ér nù zhī,zhuā ér xià zhī,tōng ér qǔ zhī,wài yǐn qí mén,yǐ bì qí shén,hū jǐn nèi zhēn,jìng yǐ jiǔ liú,yǐ qì zhì wéi gù,rú dài suǒ guì,bù zhī rì mù。

When qi has arrived, guard it fittingly; draw the needle on the inbreath so qi cannot escape but stays in its place; then press the gate shut so spirit and qi remain and the great qi stays. This is called tonification.

ORIGINAL其气以至,适而自护,候吸引针,气不得出,各在其处,推阖其门,令神气存,大气留止,故命曰补。

qí qì yǐ zhì,shì ér zì hù,hòu xī yǐn zhēn,qì bù dé chū,gè zài qí chù,tuī hé qí mén,lìng shén qì cún,dà qì liú zhǐ,gù mìng yuē bǔ。

—— 《素问·离合真邪论》

Li He Zhen Xie Lun follows pathogenic qi as it enters the body and moves from the skin into the channels and then into the organs, and it identifies the moment at which treatment is most effective. It is the classical source for the practice of needling at the point where the pathogen has arrived but has not yet settled.

The chapter gives the most detailed early description of tonification and reduction coordinated with the patient breathing, including the timing of insertion, the direction of the needle and the moment of withdrawal. It also contains an unusually direct warning against needling when the qi is disordered, disturbed or depleted.

ANNOTATION

Moist and flowing (淖泽): 淖 is pronounced nào, soft and moist; summer heat makes blood and qi glossy and free-running.

Great qi (大气): here evil qi.

Pluck and enrage it (弹而怒之): to flick the point so that blood and qi fill and swell.

Push the gate shut (推阖其门): to press the needle hole closed.

COMMENTARY

Respiratory tonification and reduction is rarely performed strictly today, yet two principles here remain valid: that tonification and reduction must keep time with the opening and closing of qi, and that waiting for qi requires patience. “As though waiting upon an honoured guest, unaware that evening has come” is a sharp rebuke to those who rush the needle.

MY NOTES

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