Comments on the Nan-Ching- Su wen chap. 11

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Thomas, Z'ev,

 

The Nan Jing Question 30 concerns the production and distribution of ying

and wei qi:

 

Nan Jing 30:

" Does ying qi always travel side by side with defensive qi?

 

The answer may be presented as follows: According to Nei-Jing, man receives

qi from grains; when grains enter the stomach, they are transmitted to the

five viscera and the six bowels, so that the five viscera and the six bowels

will all receive qi. Clear qi is ying qi, while turbid qi is wei qi; ying

qi travels inside the meridians while wei qi travels outside the meridians;

both of them constantly circulate without stop, and a great meeting takes

place after each of them has completed fifty circulations. Yin (inside of

meridians) and yang (outside of meridians) are mutually connected with each

other like a ring with no end. Thus, we know that ying qi and wei qi travel

side by side. " (Henry Lu, Yellow Emperor's Classics and Difficult Classic,

2nd edition, 2004)

 

So, the question that Thomas brought up concerns the first line of the

answer. There must be a reference from the Nei Jing, as it is quoted in

this first line.

 

In the Suwen Chapter 11 " Wu Zang Bie Lun " , " A discerning treatise on five

viscera " , lines 8- 9 read:

 

" Yellow Emperor asked: How does the mouth of qi (the pulse at the

wrist) alone act as the master of five viscera? "

" Qi-Bo replied: The stomach is the sea of water and grains, it is the

grand source of nutrition for six bowels. The five flavors enter through

the mouth to be stored in the stomach for rejuvenating the qi of five

viscera. The mouth of qi is also call, greater yang of the foot. And thus,

the qi and flavors of five viscera and six bowels are all derived from the

stomach and then transformed to become visible at the mouth of qi. "

 

The mouth of qi is also known as the qi kuo pulse (radial artery pulse).

 

Thomas wrote: > However I am having a bit of trouble wrapping my brain

around the statements in Nan-Ching chapter 30 as of my first post and in

chapters 15/16, as you are referring to in regards to the presence of Stomach

Qi in the pulse as sign of health. The statements are pretty

straightforward: The ST distributes the

Qi to the Zang Fu and the healthy pulse must exhibit the St pulse quality -

however a great deal of questions arise: How does the ST distribute the Qi

to the Zang Fu in case it really does have this function as claimed by the

author of Nan-Ching - is it through the usual route of Qi

assimilation/distribution/metabolism with the Spleen's Yun Hua as absolute

primus motor, which I do not find any indications of, or could it be that it

is a more direct function of the ST involving the SJ through the Gao, Huang,

Gao Huang, the Cou anf the Li structures directly.

 

Henry Lu comments on this from the Su Wen Chapter 11 footnotes pg 111:

" After food and water enter through the mouth to be stored in the

stomach for digestion, the spleen can only distribute the nutrition

generated by the stomach, which is greater yin of foot (SP). On the other

hand, the lungs are greater yin of hand, and thus, the spleen and lungs have

the same yin-yang classification. Since the spleen and lungs play an

important role in the distribution of stomach qi to other organs, and since

the mouth of qi (qi kuo pulse) is a prime indication of the condition of

stomach qi, the mouth of qi is also called greater yin. "

 

Therefore, from this, we can ascertain that it is both the spleen and lungs

(tai-yin), which distribute qi from the stomach to all of the five viscera

and six-bowels.

Henry Lu also quotes

Gao Shi Zong, who says,

" Water and grains enter into the stomach so that the pulse starts to get

going, which is why it is said that the stomach is the sea of water and

grains, it is the grand source of nutrition for six bowels. When five

flavors enter the mouth, they are all stored in the stomach and rely on

greater yin of foot (spleen qi) to transport throughout the body to

rejuvenate qi of five viscera. Now, the mouth of qi (called qi kou to refer

ot the pulse-taking region in the wrist) is the master of five viscera, it

is on the lung meridian called greater yin. The qi and flavors of five

viscera of five viscera and six bowels are derived initially from the five

flavors that enter the mouth and stored in the stomach, to be transported

through spleen qi for distribution. The travel of pulse is inititated form

the qi and flavors of the stomach, from lower to the upper. That is why

when the qi of five viscera enters the nose, they travel from the heart to

the lungs, and they are stored in the heart and lungs. If the heart and

lungs are diseased, the nasal cavities will fail to function smoothly.

Thus, the text is meant to state that greater yin of foot (SP) is the master

of flavors of five viscera, that greater yin of hand (Lung) is the master of

the energy of five viscera, and that the mouth of qi (ST) is the master of

five viscera. " (Lu 2004, pg 111-112)

 

Hope this adds clarity to this physiological process.

 

My question is, going back to Nan Jing 30, where is this great meeting where

ying and wei qi meet after 50 circulations?

 

Is it Ren 12, the beginning of the traditional qi circulation of the Lung

channel?

Or UB 1, the point where the qi of the eyes open in the morning?

Or not sigularly localized?

 

Any clarification?

 

Also, it's interesting that the last 2 points on the LV channel, LV 13

Zhang Men " Completion Gate " is the Front Mu of the Spleen and Hui-meeting

point of the zang and

LV 14 Qi Men " Cycle Gate " is the Front Mu of the Liver. This is progressed

to the area of Ren 12 Zhong Wan " Middle Cavity " in the area of the stomach.

This is the Front Mu of the Stomach and Hui-meeting point of the Fu.

3 points in a row, all of importance in connecting the Spleen, Liver and

Stomach and re-generating the cycle of the 12 meridian flow. The Spleen Mu

(Hui meeting of Yin - Zang) and Stomach Mu (Hui meeting of Yang-Fu) are

virtually in progressive alignment with each other.

 

Further ideas?

Thanks, K.

 

 

 

On 12/15/06, <zrosenbe wrote:

>

> Thomas,

> I've been thinking a lot about this particular " difficult issue " ,

> and I must say I don't have a definitive answer at this point. It is

> entirely possible, in my readings, that the Nan Jing does not clearly

> distinguish stomach and spleen qi function in this manner, and that

> they are interchangeable to some degree as a result. The section in

> the Mai Jing seems more comprehensive on the relationship of spleen

> and stomach, but classical texts are known (like the Nan Jing) to

> leave some 'loose ends' at times. .

>

> I've also noted Xu Da-cun (Hsu Ta-ch'un)'s commentary on pg. 344

> of Unschuld's Nan Jing. He says the following: " following the

> sentence 'the grains enter the stomach' are the words 'which

> transmits them to the lung'. In the Nan Jing these words are

> omitted. How could the stomach introduce (anything) directly into

> the five depots and six palaces? This amounts to a distortion of the

> pattern of transmission of influences (qi) through the depots and

> palaces. "

>

>

>

>

>

>

 

 

 

--

'Freedom from the desire for an answer is essential to the understanding of

a problem.'

 

Jiddu Krishnamurti