铜人针灸经

Now, the orthodox channels of Huangdi are the transmitted teachings of the former sages and the exemplary models for later generations. Therefore, one must first clarify the flowing-injection of the acupoints, so that none fails to point to its source. If one carelessly follows heterodox theories, I fear it would violate the words of correct principle. As for the thirteen meridian vessels, all have shu-stream and yuan-source points; they are the junctions of yin and yang of the hands and feet, the pathways of the flow of blood and qi, outwardly nourishing the joints of the fingers, inwardly connecting with the zang-fu organs. Therefore the classic says: the three yang vessels of the hand run from the hand to the head; the three yin vessels of the hand run from the hand to the chest; the three yang vessels of the foot run from the foot to the head; the three yin vessels of the foot run from the foot to the chest. This is called the day-and-night circulation, the meeting and joining of yin and yang. It also says: in spring and summer needle shallowly; in autumn and winter needle deeply. This is because in spring and summer the yang qi is above, and the human qi is also above, so one should obtain it by shallow needling; in autumn and winter the yang qi is below, and the human qi is also below, so one should obtain it by deep needling. Thus in spring and summer each induces one yin, and in autumn and winter each induces one yang. Now, in spring and summer's warmth one must induce one yin: at first inserting the needle, sink it to the region of the kidney and liver; when qi is obtained, draw and hold it—this is yin. In autumn and winter's cold one must induce one yang: at first inserting the needle shallowly and floating it to the region of the heart and lung; when qi is obtained, press it inward—this is yang. This is what is meant by spring and summer must induce one yin, autumn and winter must induce one yang. As for the flowing-injection of all acupoints: that which emerges is the jing-well; that which flows is the ying-spring; that which pours is the shu-stream; that which passes is the yuan-source; that which moves is the jing-river; that which enters is the he-sea. This is the great method of needling: in spring needle the jing-well, in summer needle the ying-spring, in mid-summer needle the shu-stream, in autumn and winter needle the he-sea. The lung emerges at Shaoshang as jing-well, being the hand taiyin vessel; flows at Yuji as ying-spring; pours at Taiquan as shu-stream; passes at Lieque as yuan-source; moves at Jingqu as jing-river; enters at Chize as he-sea. The heart emerges at Zhongchong as jing-well, being the hand shaoyin vessel; flows at Laogong as ying-spring; pours at Daling as shu-stream; passes at Neiguan as yuan-source; moves at Jianshi as jing-river; enters at Quze as he-sea. The pericardium vessel, the hand jueyin vessel, emerges at Shaochong as jing-well; flows at Shaofu as ying-spring; pours at Shenmen as shu-stream; passes at Tongli as yuan-source; moves at Lingdao as jing-river; enters at Shaohai as he-sea. The large intestine emerges at Shangyang as jing-well, being the hand yangming vessel; flows at Erjian as ying-spring; pours at Sanjian as shu-stream; passes at Hegu as yuan-source; moves at Yangxi as jing-river; enters at Quchi as he-sea. The triple burner emerges at Guanchong as jing-well, being the hand shaoyang vessel; flows at Yemen as ying-spring; pours at Zhongzhu as shu-stream; passes at Yangchi as yuan-source; moves at Zhigou as jing-river; enters at Tianjing as he-sea. The small intestine emerges at Shaoze as jing-well, being the hand taiyang vessel; flows at Qiangu as ying-spring; pours at Houxi as shu-stream; passes at Wangu as yuan-source; moves at Yanggu as jing-river; enters at Shaohai as he-sea. Such is the flowing-injection of the three yin and three yang of the hand. The stomach emerges at Lidui as jing-well, being the foot yangming vessel; flows at Neiting as ying-spring; pours at Xiangu as shu-stream; passes at Chongyang as yuan-source; moves at Jiexi as jing-river; enters at Zusanli as he-sea. The gallbladder emerges at Qiaoyin as jing-well, being the foot shaoyang vessel; flows at Xiaxi as ying-spring; pours at Linqi as shu-stream; passes at Qiuxu as yuan-source; moves at Yangfu as jing-river; enters at Yanglingquan as he-sea. The bladder emerges at Zhiyin as jing-well, being the foot taiyang vessel; flows at Tonggu as ying-spring; pours at Shugu as shu-stream; passes at Jinggu as yuan-source; moves at Kunlun as jing-river; enters at Weizhong as he-sea. The spleen emerges at Yinbai as jing-well, being the foot taiyin vessel; flows at Dadu as ying-spring; pours at Taibai as shu-stream; passes at Gongsun as yuan-source; moves at Shangqiu as jing-river; enters at Yinlingquan as he-sea. The liver emerges at Dadun as jing-well, being the foot jueyin vessel; flows at Xingjian as ying-spring; pours at Taichong as shu-stream; passes at Zhongfeng as yuan-source; moves at Zhongdu as jing-river; enters at Ququan as he-sea. The kidney emerges at Yongquan as jing-well, being the foot shaoyin vessel; flows at Rangu as ying-spring; pours at Taixi as shu-stream; passes at Shuiquan as yuan-source; moves at Fuliu as jing-river; enters at Yingu as he-sea. Such is the flowing-injection of the three yin and three yang of the foot. It also says: one who knows the qi of welcoming and following can make the qi harmonious. The method of harmonizing qi must lie in yin and yang. Now, what is called welcoming and following is to know the movement of the nutritive and defensive qi and the coming and going of the meridians and collaterals; one obtains it according to its favorable or adverse direction, hence it is called welcoming and following. That the method of harmonizing qi must lie in yin and yang means knowing the exterior and interior and harmonizing according to yin and yang, hence it is said the method of harmonizing qi must lie in yin and yang. Now, one who uses acupuncture must clearly know the acupoints, tonify deficiency and reduce excess, send away the hard and give to the soft, use urgency to follow slowness, so that nutritive and defensive qi constantly move without losing their principle. Therefore the classic says: the deficient are tonified, the excess are reduced; where there is neither deficiency nor excess, take [treatment] from the channel. Now, for the deficient, tonify its mother; for the excess, reduce its son. One should first tonify and afterward reduce. Where there is neither excess nor deficiency, take the acupoint from the channel: this means that when other pathogens are in the orthodox channel, one should take from that channel itself, hence it is said to take from the channel. It also says: when needling the nutritive, do not injure the defensive; when needling the defensive, do not injure the nutritive. Now, when needling yang, lay the needle and insert it; when needling yin, first with the left hand twist and press the place of the nutritive shu-point to be needled, wait until the qi disperses, then insert the needle. This is what is meant by needling the nutritive without injuring the defensive, and needling the defensive without injuring the nutritive. It also says: when the east is excess and the west is deficient, reduce the south and tonify the north—this means that metal, water, wood, fire, and earth should be balanced. Since the east is wood and the west is metal, when wood is about to become excess, metal should balance it; when fire is about to become excess, water should balance it. The east is the liver, so one knows the liver is excess; the west is the lung, so one knows the lung is deficient. Reducing the south and tonifying the north: the south is fire, fire is the son of wood; the north is water, water is the mother of wood. Water conquers fire; the son can make the mother excess, the mother can make the son deficient. Therefore reduce fire and tonify water, wishing to make metal unable to balance wood. The classic says: if one cannot treat the deficiency, what need ask about the rest? This is what it means. It also says: what is called qi excess is heat; qi deficiency is cold. For needling excess, hold the needle with the right hand and with the left hand twist and press to open the needle hole in order to reduce it; for deficiency, close the needle hole with the left hand in order to tonify it. At the time of tonifying and reducing, respond to the opening and closing of qi—this is what is meant by the needle accommodating one bean, the principle of tonifying and reducing. It also says: for deficiency, be slow and then rapid; for excess, be rapid and then slow. Slowness is reducing, rapidity is tonifying; the method of tonifying and reducing follows this entirely. When inserting the needle, pinch and take the acupoint, place the needle on the nutritive [point] for thirty-six breaths; with the left hand pinch the acupoint to fix it, keeping the ground unmoving; with the right hand hold the needle, imitating heaven and revolving it. At these thirty-six breaths, then fix and obtain the needle; with the right hand keep the intention of twisting the needle, with the left hand pinch the acupoint, [the pressure] may be as heavy as five liang or so; count the needle as if turning and as if not turning, slowly lower it. If pain is felt, it may be as heavy as two liang; if no [pain] is felt, lower it along the channel. Entering the human nutritive and reaching the defensive, when the disease obtains qi like a sturgeon taking the bait, then the disease qi is obtained. Measure its lightness and heaviness and take it according to the channel; this is called rapid and slow: when reaching the disease, qi is at once obtained. When about to withdraw the needle, at zi and wu slowly withdraw it to draw out the disease qi without interruption—this is called slow. Having drawn the qi, it is uniformly without tonification, and is called reduction. Question: when inserting the needle, how is it best? Answer: slowly lower it, hold it firmly as excess. Whenever inserting the needle, first hold the needle firmly and obtain steadiness; do not [do it] on a full stomach, nor on an empty stomach. If the patient wishes to be needled—some come by carriage, some come on foot—if one has walked about ten li, one must let him sit and rest, calm the spirit and settle the qi; if by carriage, about three li, let the patient sit quietly without speaking, sit at ease, wait until the qi and pulse are settled, and only then may the needle be inserted. It also says: one who needles must not [let] the chest, body, mind, and mouth be like holding a rope in the mouth; one should look inward and observe the qi, and must not recklessly insert the needle. When the needle enters one fen, one knows the qi of heaven and earth; when it enters two fen, one knows the qi of breathing; when it enters three fen, one knows the qi of adverse and favorable. When needling the skin and hair, do not injure the muscles; when needling the muscles, do not injure the sinews and vessels; when needling the sinews and vessels, do not injure the bone marrow; when needling the bone marrow, do not injure the various collaterals. The east, jia and yi, wood, governs the human sinews and membranes; the south, bing and ding, fire, governs the human blood vessels; the west, geng and xin, metal, governs the human skin and hair; the north, ren and gui, water, governs the human bone marrow; the center, wu and ji, earth, governs the human muscles. Needling that injures the sinews and membranes makes one stare in alarm and lose the hun; needling that injures the blood vessels makes one restless and lose the shen; needling that injures the skin and hair makes one have upward qi and lose the po; needling that injures the bone marrow makes one groan and lose the zhi; needling that injures the muscles makes the four limbs unable to contract and lose the intellect. If needling strikes the heart, death in one day; if it strikes the liver, death in five days; if it strikes the kidney, death in six days; if it strikes the lung, death in three days; if it strikes the spleen, death in ten days; if it strikes the gallbladder, death in one and a half days. It also says: do not needle when greatly drunk; do not needle when greatly angry; do not needle when greatly fatigued; do not needle when greatly full; do not needle when greatly hungry; do not needle when greatly thirsty; do not needle when greatly frightened. These are the profound prohibitions of antiquity. Again, Huangdi asked Qibo: I have heard the names of the nine needles correspond above to heaven and earth and the four seasons and yin and yang; I wish to hear their methods transmitted to later generations. Qibo replied: the nine needles are: first, the chanzhen; second, the yuanzhen; third, the dizhen; fourth, the fengzhen; fifth, the pizhen; sixth, the yuanlizhen; seventh, the haozhen; eighth, the changzhen; ninth, the dazhen. These are the names of the nine needles. What the nine needles correspond to: one heaven, two earth, three man, four seasons, five tones, six pitch-pipes, seven stars, eight winds, nine fields; the human body likewise corresponds to them. Each has what it is suited for: human skin corresponds to heaven; human flesh to earth; human vessels to man; human sinews to the four seasons; human voice to the tones; human yin and yang joined qi to the pitch-pipes; human teeth, face, and eyes to the stars; human outgoing and incoming qi to the wind; human nine orifices and three hundred sixty-five collaterals to the nine fields. Therefore the first needle [treats] the skin, the second the flesh, the third the vessels, the fourth the sinews, the fifth the bone, the sixth harmonizes yin and yang, the seventh benefits the essence, the eighth removes wind, the ninth opens the nine orifices and removes the qi of the three hundred sixty-five joints. This is what is meant by each having its established [use]. Huangdi asked: human life has form and does not depart from yin and yang; the qi of heaven and earth joins and is distinguished into nine fields, divided into four seasons; the moon has small and great, the day has long and short; the myriad things all arrive together and cannot be fully measured; deficiency, excess, opening and closing—may I ask their methods? Qibo said: wood, meeting metal, is felled; fire, meeting water, is extinguished; earth, meeting wood, is penetrated; metal, meeting fire, is deficient; water, meeting earth, is cut off. The myriad things are all thus and cannot be fully exhausted. Therefore needling has five [principles] suspended and displayed to the world, yet the common people, eating their fill, do not know them: first, treat the spirit; second, know nourishing the body; third, know the true nature of toxic drugs; fourth, control the size of the stone needles; fifth, know the diagnosis of the blood and qi of the zang-fu organs. When the five methods are all established, each has its priority. Now the needling of later ages: the deficient are made excess, the full are drained—this all physicians know in common. As for modeling heaven and following earth, moving in accord with responses, harmonizing like an echo, following like a shadow—the way has no ghosts or spirits; it goes alone. Huangdi said: I wish to hear its way. Qibo said: in all true needling, one must first treat the spirit; when the five zang are settled and the nine indicators are complete, only then keep the needle. When the many pulses are not seen and the many misfortunes are not heard, when outer and inner correspond and nothing is taken as form first, one may examine the coming and going, and only then apply it to man. Man has deficiency and excess; the five deficiencies should not be approached, the five excesses should not be avoided. When it is time to issue, there is no room for a blink; the hand moves as if engaged in work, the needle shines and is even; quietly observe the meaning and watch the changes of what is met. This is called profound and obscure, none knowing its form; one sees it darkly, sees it abundantly; one sees it fly, not knowing who it is. It lies like a drawn crossbow, rises like the release of a trigger. Huangdi said: how then to [treat] deficiency, how to [treat] excess? Qibo said: needling deficiency one must make it excess; needling excess one must make it deficient. Retain the qi; when it has arrived, carefully guard and do not lose it. Depth and shallowness lie in the intention; far and near are as one; as if approaching a deep abyss, the hand as if grasping a tiger, the spirit not occupied with other things. Now the acupoint charts are listed hereafter. Tongren Zhenjiu Jing, Volume One.