The Foundation of the Spirit

The Yellow Emperor asked Qi Bo, saying: In all principles of acupuncture, the spirit of the patient must be taken as the root. Blood, vessels, constructive qi, qi, and spirit—these five things are stored by the five viscera. When they are excessively indulged and dissipated, leaving the five viscera, it leads to the loss of essence, the wandering of the hun and po, confusion of the will, and the departure of wisdom and planning from the body. What causes this? Is it the fault of heaven, or the error of man? What are virtue, qi, life, essence, spirit, hun, po, mind, intention, will, thought, wisdom, and planning? I ask for an explanation of these principles. Qi Bo replied: Heaven bestows upon us virtue; Earth bestows upon us qi. When virtue and qi flow and interact together, life is produced. Therefore, the initial source of life is called essence; the binding together of yin and yang essence is called spirit; that which moves and acts along with the spirit is called hun; that which enters and exits along with the essence is called po; that which undertakes and manages external things is the mind; what the mind remembers is called intention; what intention accumulates and retains is called will; what changes repeatedly according to the will is called thought; what pursues distant things due to thought is called planning; what handles things properly due to planning is called wisdom. Hence, the wise person in nourishing life always conforms to the changes of the four seasons and adapts to cold and heat, harmonizes joy and anger and settles in their dwelling place, regulates yin and yang and balances hardness and softness. In this way, evil qi cannot invade, and they can live long and enjoy their full natural lifespan.

Therefore, fear, dread, and excessive worry damage the spirit; when the spirit is damaged, one becomes fearful and restless, and fluids leak without ceasing. When grief harms the viscera, essence qi is exhausted and life is lost. When joy is excessive, spirit qi scatters and cannot be stored. When worry is excessive, qi becomes blocked and cannot move. When anger is great, it confuses the spirit and causes loss of order. When fear arises, spirit qi stirs and disperses, unable to be gathered.

The heart, if damaged by fear, dread, and excessive worry, harms the spirit; when the spirit is damaged, one becomes fearful and loses self-control. It causes the flesh to wither, the skin and body hair to become coarse, the complexion to be dull and dark, and death occurs in winter. The spleen, if worry is not relieved, harms intention; when intention is damaged, the chest becomes oppressed and disordered, the four limbs cannot be lifted, the skin and body hair become coarse, the complexion dull and dark, and death occurs in spring. The liver, if grief harms the viscera, damages the hun; when the hun is damaged, one becomes manic and forgetful, lacking clarity; lacking clarity, behavior becomes abnormal; the patient experiences contraction of the scrotum, spasms of the sinews, and the two rib sides cannot be raised; the skin and body hair become coarse, the complexion dull and dark, and death occurs in autumn. The lung, if joy is excessive without restraint, damages the po; when the po is damaged, one becomes manic; a manic person is unaware of others in their consciousness; the skin becomes dry, the body hair coarse, the complexion dull and dark, and death occurs in summer. The kidney, if great anger does not cease, damages the will; when the will is damaged, one easily forgets what they have said before, the lower back and spine cannot bend or extend, the skin and body hair become coarse, the complexion dull and dark, and death occurs in late summer. If fear persists for a long time without relief, it damages essence; when essence is damaged, the bones ache, become weak and cold, and essence fluid often leaks spontaneously. Thus, the five viscera are the organs that store essence qi; they must not be damaged. If damaged, essence qi is lost, leading to yin deficiency; yin deficiency means no qi, and without qi comes death. Therefore, the physician who uses acupuncture observes the patient's form to understand the presence or absence of essence, spirit, hun, and po, and the meaning of their gain or loss. If these five types of qi are all injured, acupuncture cannot treat them.

The liver stores blood; blood houses the hun. When liver qi is deficient, fear arises; when liver qi is excessive, anger arises. The spleen stores constructive qi; constructive qi houses intention. When spleen qi is deficient, the four limbs cannot be used, and the five viscera are not at peace; when spleen qi is excessive, the abdomen becomes distended, and urination and defecation are difficult. The heart stores blood and vessels; the vessels house the spirit. When heart qi is deficient, sadness arises; when heart qi is excessive, laughter continues without stop. The lung stores qi; qi houses the po. When lung qi is deficient, the nose becomes blocked and breathing is short; when lung qi is excessive, panting and coughing with reverse flow occur, and the chest is full with breathing upward. The kidney stores essence; essence houses the will. When kidney qi is deficient, the hands and feet become cold; when kidney qi is excessive, the abdomen becomes distended. The five viscera are not at peace. One must examine the disease patterns of the five viscera to understand the deficiency or excess of their qi, and carefully regulate it.