Five Notes and Five Flavors

Right Zheng and Lesser Zheng treat the upper points of the right hand Taiyang channel. Left Shang and Left Zheng treat the upper points of the left hand Yangming channel. Lesser Zheng and Greater Gong treat the upper points of the left hand Yangming channel. Right Jiao and Greater Jiao treat the lower points of the right hand Shaoyang channel. Greater Zheng and Lesser Zheng treat the upper points of the left hand Taiyang channel. Zhong Yu and Lesser Yu treat the lower points of the right foot Taiyang channel. Lesser Shang and Right Shang treat the lower points of the right hand Taiyang channel. Zhi Yu and Zhong Yu treat the lower points of the right foot Taiyang channel. Lesser Gong and Greater Gong treat the lower points of the right foot Yangming channel. Pan Jiao and Lesser Jiao treat the lower points of the right foot Shaoyang channel. Di Shang and Upper Shang treat the lower points of the right foot Yangming channel. Di Shang and Upper Jiao treat the lower points of the left foot Taiyang channel.

Upper Zheng and Right Zheng belong to the same category. Their corresponding grain is wheat, livestock is sheep, fruit is apricot. They correspond to the hand Shaoyin channel, internally store the heart, color is red, flavor is bitter, and season is summer. Upper Yu and Greater Yu belong to the same category. Their corresponding grain is soybean, livestock is pig, fruit is chestnut. They correspond to the foot Shaoyin channel, internally store the kidneys, color is black, flavor is salty, and season is winter. Upper Gong and Greater Gong belong to the same category. Their corresponding grain is millet, livestock is ox, fruit is jujube. They correspond to the foot Taiyin channel, internally store the spleen, color is yellow, flavor is sweet, and season is late summer. Upper Shang and Right Shang belong to the same category. Their corresponding grain is broomcorn millet, livestock is chicken, fruit is peach. They correspond to the hand Taiyin channel, internally store the lungs, color is white, flavor is acrid, and season is autumn. Upper Jiao and Greater Jiao belong to the same category. Their corresponding grain is hemp, livestock is dog, fruit is plum. They correspond to the foot Jueyin channel, internally store the liver, color is green, flavor is sour, and season is spring. Greater Gong and Upper Jiao both belong to the upper part of the right foot Yangming channel. Left Jiao and Greater Jiao both belong to the upper part of the left foot Yangming channel. Lesser Yu and Greater Yu both belong to the lower part of the right foot Taiyang channel. Left Shang and Right Shang both belong to the upper part of the left hand Yangming channel. Jia Gong and Greater Gong both belong to the upper part of the left foot Shaoyang channel. Zhi Pan and Greater Gong both belong to the lower part of the left hand Taiyang channel. Pan Jiao and Greater Jiao both belong to the lower part of the left foot Shaoyang channel. Greater Yu and Greater Jiao both belong to the upper part of the right foot Taiyang channel. Greater Jiao and Greater Gong both belong to the upper part of the right foot Shaoyang channel. Right Zheng, Lesser Zheng, Zhi Zheng, Upper Zheng, Pan Zheng, Right Jiao, Di Jiao, Upper Jiao, Greater Jiao, Pan Jiao. Right Shang, Lesser Shang, Di Shang, Upper Shang, Left Shang. Lesser Gong, Upper Gong, Greater Gong, Jia Gong, Left Jiao Gong. Zhong Yu, Zhi Yu, Upper Yu, Greater Yu, Lesser Yu.

The Yellow Emperor asked: Why do women have no beard? Is it because they lack blood and qi? Qi Bo answered: The Chong and Ren channels both originate in the uterus, ascend along the inner side of the spine, and are the sea of channels and vessels. Those that float on the surface ascend along the right side of the abdomen, meet at the throat, and then branch out to encircle the lips. When blood and qi are abundant, the skin is full and the flesh is warm. If blood is particularly abundant, it seeps into the skin and generates fine body hair. Now in the physiological characteristics of women, they have excess qi but insufficient blood, because they lose blood each month. The Chong and Ren channels cannot nourish the lips, and therefore no beard grows.

The Yellow Emperor asked: If a man injures his genitals, causing the yin qi to be severed such that he cannot have an erection and the genitals are unusable, why does his beard not fall out? And why is it that eunuchs alone have no beard? I wish to hear the reasoning behind this. Qi Bo answered: When a eunuch has his testicles removed, his Chong channel is damaged. The blood leaks out and cannot be restored. The interior of the skin becomes congested, and the lips receive no nourishment, so no beard grows.

The Yellow Emperor asked: There are men who are naturally beardless, who have never been injured and have never lost blood, yet their beards do not grow. What is the reason? Qi Bo answered: This is due to an inherent constitutional deficiency. Their Ren and Chong channels are not full, their testicles are underdeveloped. They have qi but no blood, and the lips receive no nourishment, so no beard grows.

The Yellow Emperor said: Excellent! The sage can understand the principles of all things, like the light and shadow of the sun and moon, or the echo of a drum. Hearing a sound, he knows its form. If it were not for you, sir, who could comprehend the subtlety of things? Therefore, when the sage observes a person's complexion, those with a yellow-red color have much heat qi, those with a green-white color have little heat qi, and those with a black color have much blood and little qi. Those with fine eyebrows have much blood in the Taiyang channel. Those with extremely long sideburns have much blood in the Shaoyang channel. Those with a fine beard have much blood in the Yangming channel. This is as it stands.

The constant norm of the human body is: The Taiyang channel often has much blood and little qi, the Shaoyang channel often has much qi and little blood, the Yangming channel often has much blood and much qi, the Jueyin channel often has much qi and little blood, the Shaoyin channel often has much blood and little qi, the Taiyin channel often has much blood and little qi. This is the constant norm of nature.