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The human body maintains life and health through Qi (Vital Energy) and Blood. Qi is derived from Yang, and Blood is derived from Yin. At the beginning of life, possessing Yin and Yang means possessing Blood and Qi; Blood and Qi are the foundation of the human body. Why is Blood called Ying (Nutritive Qi)? Because Ying circulates within the vessels, signifying nourishment. Why is Qi called Wei (Defensive Qi)? Because Wei circulates outside the vessels, signifying protection. However, do Ying and Wei not have a source? It is said: Humans obtain Grain Qi from the Stomach. The Stomach is the sea of water and grain, irrigating the meridians, nurturing the bones, and providing Qi to the Zang-Fu organs. Thus, the clear part becomes Ying, and the turbid part becomes Wei. Ying and Wei circulate continuously without stopping, traversing the vessels fifty times in one day and night, reconvening at the Lung orifice at dawn. This is what is meant by Yin and Yang interconnecting like a circle without end; these two Qi types always accompany each other and never separate. As long as Ying and Wei flow smoothly, what disease could there be? Once obstructed, hundreds of diseases arise from this.

Qi-induced ailments manifest as alternating chills and fever, and emotions such as anger, joy, worry, and sorrow; they accumulate into masses, hernias, jia (soft masses), zheng (hard masses), and pi (lumps). Upward, they cause dizziness; in the middle, they cause the five Ge (diaphragmatic syndromes); downward, they cause moving Qi in the umbilical region, panting, or belching. Accumulation leads to abdominal fullness, reversal leads to cold feet. All these are caused by Qi. Blood-induced disorders include hematemesis and epistaxis when flowing recklessly, and consumptive disease when depleted. If blood stasis accumulates in the upper body, the person forgets; if it accumulates in the lower body, the person becomes manic. Encountering cold causes sinews to lack nourishment and become spasmodic; accompanying heat causes internal toxin stagnation and jaundice. Affecting urination, it becomes Lin syndrome (dysuria); affecting defecation, it becomes Chang Feng (intestinal wind/bloody stool). In women, menstruation may advance or retreat, with leakage or sudden heavy bleeding, presenting various pathologies. All these are caused by Blood.

Blood is likened to water, and Qi to wind; wind moving on water illustrates the relationship between Qi and Blood. Qi is the commander of Blood; where Qi moves, Blood moves; where Qi stops, Blood stops; where Qi is warm, Blood flows smoothly; where Qi is cold, Blood coagulates. If Qi fails to move for even an instant, Blood fails to flow for that same instant. Diseases originating in Blood can still be guided to their root by regulating Qi. If focusing only on Qi, what benefit does merely regulating Blood bring? Therefore, in regulating the body, regulating Qi is primary, and regulating Blood is secondary, reflecting the principle of prioritizing Yang over Yin. However, if blood败淤 (stagnant blood) blocks the meridians, the pathways of Qi will inevitably be obstructed. In such cases, one must assess priority and decisively remove the blood stasis. As the classics state, "remove the blood first, then regulate," but one must also understand flexibility.

Regulating Qi formulas can often benefit Blood regulation as well, whereas Blood-regulating formulas may conflict with Qi regulation. Herbs such as Muxiang (Aucklandiae Radix), Guongui (Cinnamomi Cortex), Xixin (Asari Radix et Rhizoma), Houpo (Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex), Wuyao (Linderae Radix), Xiangfu (Cyperi Rhizoma), Ezhu (Curcumae Rhizoma), and Sanleng (Sparganii Rhizoma) can treat both Qi and Blood disorders. Regarding Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix) and Dihuang (Rehmanniae Radix), none surpass them for treating Blood disorders. However, their nature is cloying and stagnant, often impairing Stomach Qi. Once Stomach Qi is deficient, the Qi of the Zang-Fu organs also weakens. Skilled practitioners adjust dosages and add adjuvants. (Generally, in treating disease, one must understand the root and branch. For example, if vomiting of phlegm-saliva and poor appetite due to Stomach deficiency lead to fever, using cooling agents to reduce fever will further weaken Stomach Qi, making the fever persist. One must prioritize strengthening the Stomach and stopping vomiting; the fever will subside naturally. Even if the fever persists, once Stomach Qi is restored, cooling agents can be administered. Similarly, in severe febrile disease from Cold Damage, if repeated use of cooling and purgative agents fails to resolve the fever, simply harmonizing and regulating Stomach Qi will resolve the issue.)

Although it is true that the Heart is the master of Blood, the Liver is the storehouse of Blood, the Lung is the master of Qi, and the Kidney is the storehouse of Qi, learners who know only that Blood originates from the Heart but not that it is stored in the Liver, or that Qi originates from the Lung but not that it is stored in the Kidney, will apply medicines ambiguously, going astray. For instance, in bloody dysentery, if one uses Wu Ling San (Five-Ingredient Powder with Poria) and Dongchong Xiacao (Ophiocordyceps) to promote Heart Qi, and Radix Euphorbiae Lathyris (Baidu) and Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (Dahuang) to purge accumulation, pain may persist because the Blood's storage site lacks nourishment. One must adjuvant with Chuanxiong (Ligustici Chuanxiong Rhizoma) or Xionggui Tang (Angelica and Ligusticum Decoction) to stop the pain. In asthma and cough with wheezing, if one uses Shengjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma), Juhong (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Zhike (Aurantii Fructus Immaturus), Jiegeng (Platycodonis Radix), Ziye (Perillae Folium), and Rougui (Cinnamomi Ramulus) to regulate Qi, and Tian Nanxing (Arisaematis Rhizoma Preparatum), Banxia (Pinelliae Rhizoma), and Xixin to resolve phlegm, but Qi fails to descend, it is because the Qi's storage site cannot grasp it. One must adjuvant with Buguzhi (Psoraleae Fructus) or Anshen Wan (Calming Kidney Pill) to return Qi to its origin. Disease has root and branch; treatment has sequence. Grasping the main thread allows the details to unfold. Alas! This is the crucial method passed down from heart to heart. Based on experience, how dare I not share this with fellow health-preservers? (The classics state: The Moving Qi in the Kidney region is the root of the Zang-Fu organs, the source of the twelve meridians, the gate of respiration, and the origin of vital energy.)