黄帝曰。余闻九针九篇。余亲授其词。颇得其意。夫九针者。始于一而终于九然未得其要道也。夫九针者。小之则
无内。大之则无外深。不可为下。高不可为盖。恍惚无穷。流溢无极。余知其合于天道人事四时之变也。然余愿杂之毫
毛。浑束为一。可乎。岐伯曰。明乎哉问也。非独针道焉。夫治国亦然。黄帝曰。余愿闻针道。非国事也。岐伯曰。夫
治国者。夫惟道焉。非道何可小大深浅。杂合为一乎。黄帝曰。愿卒闻之。岐伯曰。日与月焉。水与镜焉。鼓与响焉。
夫日月之明。不失其影。水镜之察。不失其形。鼓响之应。不后其声。动摇则应和。尽得其情。黄帝曰。窘乎哉。昭昭
之明不可蔽。其不可蔽。不失阴阳也。合而察之。切而验之。见而得之。若清水明镜之不失其形也。五音不彰。五色不
明。五脏波荡。若是。则外内相袭。若鼓之应桴。响之应声。影之似形。故远者司外揣内。近者司内揣外。是谓阴阳之
极。天地之盖。请藏之灵兰之室。弗敢使泄也。
笔机清利而理无发明。但极称针法之神妙耳。
黄帝问于少俞曰。余闻百疾之始起也。必生于风雨寒暑。循毫毛而入腠理。或复还。或留止。或为风肿汗出。或为
消瘅。或为寒热。或为留痹。或为积聚奇邪淫溢。不可胜数。愿闻其故。夫同时得病。或病此。或病彼。意者天之为人
生风乎。何其异也。少俞曰。夫天之风者。非以私百姓也。其行公平正直。犯者得之。避者得无。殆非求人。而人自犯
之。黄帝曰。一时遇风。同时得病。其病各异愿闻其故。少俞曰。善乎哉问。请论以比匠人。匠人磨斧斤砺刀。削斫材
木。木之阴阳。尚有坚脆。坚者不入。脆者皮弛。至其交节。而缺斤斧焉。夫一木之中。坚脆不同。坚者则刚。脆者易
伤。况其材木之不同。皮之浓薄。汁之多少。而各异邪。夫木之早花先生叶者。遇春霜烈风。则花落而叶萎。久曝大旱。
则脆木薄皮者。枝条汁少而叶萎。久阴淫雨。则薄皮多汁者。皮溃而漉。卒风暴起。则刚脆之木。枝折杌伤。（杌通 字）
秋霜疾风。则刚脆之木。根摇而叶落。凡此五者。各有所伤。况于人乎。黄帝曰。以人应木奈何。少俞答曰。木之所伤
也。皆伤其枝。枝之刚脆而坚。未成伤也。人之有常病也。亦因其骨节皮肤腠理之不坚固者。邪之所舍也。故常为病也。
黄帝曰。人之善病风厥漉汗者。何以候之。少俞答曰。肉不坚。腠理疏。则善病风。黄帝曰。何以候肉之不坚也。少俞
答曰。 肉不坚而无分理者粗理。粗理而皮不致者腠理疏。此言其浑然者。黄帝曰。人之善病消瘅者。何以候之。少俞
答曰。五脏皆柔弱者。善病消瘅。黄帝曰。何以知五脏之柔弱也。少俞答曰。夫柔弱者。必有刚强。刚强多怒。柔者易
伤也。（此言脏气之相凌也）黄帝曰。何以候柔弱之与刚强。少俞答曰。此人薄皮肤而目坚固以深者。长冲直扬。其心刚。
刚则多怒。怒则气上逆。胸中蓄积。血气逆留。 皮充肌。血脉不行。转而为热。热则消肌肤。故为消瘅。此言其人暴
刚而肌肉弱者也。黄帝曰。人之善病寒热者。何以候之。少俞答曰。小骨弱肉者。（据下文此句缺色字一层）善病寒热。
黄帝曰。何以候骨之小大。肉之坚脆。色之不一也。少俞答曰。颧骨者。骨之本也。颧大则骨大。颧小则骨小。皮肤薄
而其肉无 。其臂懦懦然。其地色殆然。不与其天同色。污然独异。此其候也。然后臂薄者。其髓不满故善病寒热也。（地
地阁也天天庭也然后犹而又也寒热壬水云疟也据此可知疟邪之源流与治法矣）黄帝曰。何以候人之善病痹者。少俞答曰。
粗理而肉不坚者。善病痹。黄帝曰。痹之高下有处乎。少俞答曰。欲知其高下者。各视其部。（详后五色篇中）黄帝曰。
人之善病肠中积聚者。何以候之。少俞答曰皮肤薄而不泽。肉不坚而淖泽。如此肠胃恶。恶则邪气留止。积聚乃伤。脾
胃之间。寒温不次邪气稍至 积留止大聚乃起。（积聚多在胃小肠之外络由内伤饮食外感寒湿表里相迫血气以凝也凡暑天
形劳大渴饮冷最易成积以内血沸腾得冷乍遏故也）黄帝曰。余闻病形。已知之矣。愿闻其时。少俞答曰。先立其年。以
知其时。时高则起。时下则殆。（高下面骨之满陷也此即风鉴家面部分年之事也）虽不陷下。当年有冲通。其病必起。（冲
通流年克犯生命也此即星命家干支生克之事也先立其年谓先立其人之生年也）是谓因形而生病。五变之纪也。
专以形之坚脆论人之病。反复详明气充词沛。结笔推出时字。仍归到形字。笔力尤见遒劲。
Huangdi said: I have heard of the nine chapters regarding the Nine Needles. I personally received their words and roughly grasped their meaning. The Nine Needles, in their smallest aspect, have no internal limit; in their largest aspect, they have no external boundary. They are deep, unfathomable as the earth; high, unattainable as the sky. They are elusive and infinite, overflowing without limit. I know they accord with the Heavenly Dao, human affairs, and the changes of the four seasons. However, I wish to gather these myriad principles as finely as hairs and bind them into a single unity. Is this possible?
Qibo replied: Your question is clear indeed! This applies not only to the Way of Needling but also to governing a state.
Huangdi said: I wish to hear about the Way of Needling, not state affairs.
Qibo said: To govern a state, one must rely on the Dao. Without the Dao, how can small and large, deep and shallow be mixed and united into one?
Huangdi said: I am willing to hear it fully.
Qibo said: It is like the sun and moon, water and mirrors, drums and echoes. The brightness of the sun and moon does not fail to cast shadows; the clarity of water and mirrors does not distort forms; the response of drum and echo does not lag behind the sound. Movement elicits corresponding resonance, allowing one to fully grasp the truth.
Huangdi said: How profound! This luminous clarity cannot be obscured because it does not lose the principle of Yin and Yang. By synthesizing and observing, closely verifying, seeing and comprehending, it is like clear water and bright mirrors that do not lose the shape of objects. If the five tones are not manifest and the five colors are not bright, the Zang organs will be agitated. In such cases, the exterior and interior influence each other, just as a drumstick strikes a drum to produce an echo, sound generates resonance, and a shadow mimics a form. Therefore, from the exterior manifestations, one deduces the interior condition (Si Wai Chuai Nei); from the interior condition, one deduces the exterior manifestation (Si Nei Chuai Wai). This is called the ultimate of Yin and Yang, the canopy of Heaven and Earth. Please let me store it in the Linglan Chamber and dare not let it leak out.
The writing style is clear and agile, but the theory offers no new enlightenment; it merely extols the miraculous nature of needle therapy.
Huangdi asked Shaoyu: I have heard that all diseases begin when wind, rain, cold, or summer heat invade, entering through the hair follicles and into the Couli (skin pores and interstices). Some pathogens return inward, some remain stationary, some cause wind swelling and sweating, some develop into Xiao Dan (wasting-thirst disease), some present as alternating chills and fever, some become chronic Bi syndrome (obstruction), and some involve strange pathogens overflowing beyond measure, too numerous to count. I wish to understand the reason. Why do people exposed to the same pathogen at the same time suffer from different diseases? I wonder if Heaven creates wind specifically for humans? Why is there such variation?
Shaoyu replied: The wind of Heaven does not blow to favor any individual. It moves fairly and uprightly. Those who encounter it get sick; those who avoid it do not. It likely does not seek out humans, but humans inadvertently encounter it.
Huangdi said: Encountering wind at the same time and getting sick simultaneously, yet suffering different diseases, I wish to understand the reason.
Shaoyu replied: Excellent question! Let me explain using the analogy of a carpenter. A carpenter sharpens axes and knives to chop wood. Wood has yin and yang sides, and hardness and brittleness. Hard parts resist cutting; brittle parts have loose skin. At the joints, even axes may chip. Within a single tree, hardness and brittleness differ; hard wood is tough, while brittle wood is easily damaged. How much more so with different types of wood, varying bark thickness, and differing sap content, leading to different reactions to pathogens?
For instance, trees that flower early and leaf first, when encountering spring frost and fierce winds, lose flowers and wither leaves. Under prolonged drought and heat, brittle wood with thin bark loses sap and withers. During long rainy seasons, thin-barked, juicy trees suffer rotting and oozing bark. When sudden storms arise, both hard and brittle trees suffer broken branches and damaged trunks. In autumn frost and gales, hard and brittle trees shake at the roots and drop leaves. These five scenarios each cause specific damage; how much more so for humans?
Huangdi said: How does the human body correspond to wood?
Shaoyu replied: Damage to wood affects its branches. The hardness, brittleness, firmness, or weakness of branches causes no fundamental injury. Similarly, humans often suffer from common illnesses because their bone joints, skin, and Couli are not robust, providing a dwelling place for pathogens, thus frequently causing disease.
Huangdi said: How can one diagnose those prone to Feng Jue (wind-induced reversal) and profuse sweating?
Shaoyu replied: Those with non-firm muscles and loose Couli are prone to wind diseases.
Huangdi said: How does one diagnose non-firm muscles?
Shaoyu replied: Muscles that are non-firm and lack distinct striations are considered coarse-textured. Coarse texture combined with non-tight skin indicates loose Couli. This refers to general appearance.
Huangdi said: How can one diagnose those prone to Xiao Dan?
Shaoyu replied: Those with weak Zang organs are prone to Xiao Dan.
Huangdi said: How does one know if the Zang organs are weak?
Shaoyu replied: Weak constitution often accompanies a strong-willed temperament. Strong-willed individuals tend to anger easily, while the internally weak are easily injured. (This refers to the mutual suppression of Zang Qi.)
Huangdi said: How does one diagnose weakness versus strength?
Shaoyu replied: Such individuals have thin skin, deep and firm eyes, long straight eyebrows, and a rigid heart. Rigidity leads to anger; anger causes Qi to rebel upward, accumulating in the chest. Blood and Qi stagnate and reverse, causing skin distension and muscle tension, blocking blood vessels, transforming into heat. Heat consumes flesh and skin, resulting in Xiao Dan. This describes someone outwardly violent and rigid but inwardly muscularly weak.
Huangdi said: How can one diagnose those prone to alternating chills and fever?
Shaoyu replied: Those with small bones and weak muscles are prone to chills and fever. (Based on subsequent text, this sentence lacks a layer regarding complexion.)
Huangdi said: How does one diagnose bone size, muscle firmness/brittleness, and complexion variations?
Shaoyu replied: The zygomatic bone is the root of the skeleton. Large zygoma implies large bones; small zygoma implies small bones. Thin skin with flaccid muscles, weak arms, and a dark chin color that differs from the forehead indicates pathology. This is the sign. Furthermore, thin arms suggest insufficient marrow, predisposing one to chills and fever. ("Di" refers to the chin, "Tian" to the forehead. "Ranhou" means "furthermore." Chills and fever here may relate to malaria, revealing the source and treatment of malaria pathogens.)
Huangdi said: How does one diagnose those prone to Bi syndrome?
Shaoyu replied: Those with coarse texture and non-firm muscles are prone to Bi syndrome.
Huangdi said: Does Bi syndrome have specific locations?
Shaoyu replied: To know its location, observe each part of the body separately. (See the "Five Colors Chapter" later for details.)
Huangdi said: How does one diagnose those prone to intestinal accumulation masses?
Shaoyu replied: Thin, lusterless skin and non-firm, greasy muscles indicate poor gastrointestinal function. Poor GI function allows pathogens to linger, leading to accumulation and injury. Between the spleen and stomach, irregular cold and warmth allow pathogens to settle and accumulate, forming major masses. (Accumulations often occur in the collaterals outside the stomach and small intestine, caused by internal dietary injury and external cold-dampness, forcing interior and exterior, congealing Qi and blood. Summer labor with extreme thirst followed by drinking cold liquids easily causes accumulation due to boiling blood suddenly congealed by cold.)
Huangdi said: I know the disease forms. I wish to know the timing.
Shaoyu replied: First establish the year to know the timing. High timing brings onset; low timing brings danger. (High and low refer to facial bone fullness or depression, akin to physiognomy age-prediction methods.) Even without depression, if there is a clash or passage in the current year, disease will surely arise. (Clash and passage refer to annual pillars clashing with life pillars, akin to astrological stem-branch interactions. "Establishing the year" means establishing the birth year.) This is called generating disease based on form, the principle of the Five Changes.
The text focuses entirely on discussing disease based on the firmness or brittleness of the form, explaining repeatedly and clearly with abundant energy and fluent rhetoric. The conclusion introduces the concept of "time," returning finally to "form," demonstrating particularly vigorous writing power.