Manifestation of the Five Qi

The visceral destinations of the five flavors: sour enters the liver, acrid enters the lung, bitter enters the heart, salty enters the kidney, sweet enters the spleen. This is called the five entries. The disorders arising from disharmony of the five visceral qi: when heart qi is not smooth, it manifests as belching; when lung qi is impeded, it manifests as coughing; when liver qi is depressed and bound, it manifests as excessive talking; when spleen qi fails to transport, it manifests as acid regurgitation; when kidney qi is insufficient, it manifests as yawning and sneezing. When stomach qi rebels upward, it manifests as hiccough, and even a sense of fear. Disorders of the large and small intestines manifest as diarrhea. When water fluids of the lower burner overflow, it forms edema. When bladder qi transformation is impeded, it manifests as difficulty in urination (dysuria); when the bladder cannot restrain, it manifests as enuresis. When gallbladder qi is depressed and bound, it manifests as a tendency to anger. This is called the five disorders.

The emotional abnormalities arising from the merging of the five visceral essences and qi: when essence and qi merge and gather in the heart, there is incessant laughing and joy; when they merge in the lung, there is grief and sadness; when they merge in the liver, there is worry and anxiety; when they merge in the spleen, there is fear and timidity; when they merge in the kidney, there is terror and fright. This is called the five mergers, and it results from the deficiency and merging of the five visceral essences and qi.

The pathogenic factors abhorred by the five viscera: the heart abhors heat, the lung abhors cold, the liver abhors wind, the spleen abhors dampness, the kidney abhors dryness. This is called the five abhorrences.

The fluids transformed by the five viscera: the heart transforms into sweat, the lung transforms into nasal mucus, the liver transforms into tears, the spleen transforms into drool, the kidney transforms into spittle. This is called the five fluids.

The dietary prohibitions regarding the five flavors: acrid flavor moves the qi aspect; in qi disease, one should not eat much acrid flavor. Salty flavor moves the blood aspect; in blood disease, one should not eat much salty flavor. Bitter flavor moves the bone; in bone disease, one should not eat much bitter flavor. Sweet flavor moves the flesh; in flesh disease, one should not eat much sweet flavor. Sour flavor moves the sinews; in sinew disease, one should not eat much sour flavor. This is called the five prohibitions; the patient must not eat excessively.

The locations where disease arises: yin disease arises in the bone, yang disease arises in the blood, yin disease arises in the flesh, yang disease arises in winter, yin disease arises in summer. This is called the five occurrences.

The pathological changes caused by perverse qi disturbing: when perverse qi invades the yang aspect, it leads to mania; when perverse qi invades the yin aspect, it leads to bi (impediment) disorder; when perverse qi binds in the yang aspect, it leads to diseases of the vertex and head; when perverse qi binds in the yin aspect, it leads to loss of voice; when perverse qi enters the yin aspect from the yang aspect, the patient becomes calm; when perverse qi emerges from the yin aspect to the yang aspect, the patient becomes irritable. This is called the five disturbances.

The pulse manifestations seen when the five viscera are affected by perverse qi: in spring, the appearance of the autumn mao (furry) pulse; in summer, the appearance of the winter shi (stone) pulse; in long summer, the appearance of the spring xian (string-like) pulse; in autumn, the appearance of the summer gou (hook-like) pulse; in winter, the appearance of the long summer dai (intermittent) pulse. This is called yin emerging into yang, and the disease manifests as a tendency to anger. It is an incurable condition. This is called the five perverse qi, and though the disease names are the same, they are all fatal patterns that cannot be treated.

The spiritual activities stored by the five viscera: the heart stores the spirit (shen), the lung stores the corporeal soul (po), the liver stores the ethereal soul (hun), the spleen stores intention (yi), the kidney stores will (zhi). This is called what the five viscera store.

The tissues governed by the five viscera: the heart governs the blood and vessels, the lung governs the skin and body hair, the liver governs the sinews, the spleen governs the flesh, the kidney governs the bone. This is called the five governors.

The injuries caused by five kinds of overstrain: prolonged use of the eyes injures the blood, prolonged lying down injures the qi, prolonged sitting injures the flesh, prolonged standing injures the bone, prolonged walking injures the sinews. This is called the five overstrain injuries.

The correspondence of the five visceral pulses to the four seasons: the liver pulse is string-like (xian), the heart pulse is hook-like (gou), the spleen pulse is intermittent (dai), the lung pulse is furry (mao), the kidney pulse is stone-like (shi). This is called the pulses of the five viscera.