Insert when qi arrives, withdraw when it has gone: the discipline of waiting.
Nan Jing (难经)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.
Question: The classic speaks of entering as though seeing it appear, and withdrawing as though seeing it appear. What does this mean?
Answer: To enter as though seeing it appear means that when the left hand feels the qi arrive, only then is the needle inserted; and when, after insertion, the qi is felt to be exhausted, only then is the needle withdrawn.
This is what is meant by entering as though seeing it appear and withdrawing as though seeing it appear.
ORIGINAL是谓有见如入，有见如出也。
shì wèi yǒu jiàn rú rù，yǒu jiàn rú chū yě。
—— 《难经·八十难》
The eightieth difficulty is about timing inside a single treatment. The needle is inserted and then left in place until qi arrives; once it has arrived and been manipulated, the needle is withdrawn. Neither insertion nor withdrawal is to be hurried.
This is the classical justification for retaining the needle and for the practice of waiting at the point rather than inserting and immediately withdrawing. It also establishes that the arrival of qi, not the act of insertion, is what constitutes the treatment. All later discussion of deqi assumes this chapter.
ANNOTATION
See it appear, then enter (有见如入): 见 is read as 现; wait for the movement of qi to show itself before inserting.
Qi exhausted (气尽): the excess of qi has subsided, not that qi has been used up.
COMMENTARY
Very short, yet “wait for qi and then needle” states the core rhythm of the operation. Today retaining the needle for twenty or thirty minutes is treated as a rule; the ancients took the arrival and subsiding of qi as the measure. Each has its place, but the meaning of withdrawing when qi has subsided deserves reflection.