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The movement of the pulse qi involves twists and turns. The current *Fa Hui* (Explanation and Elaboration) states that the Foot-Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian originates from the outer canthus, making three bends: one bend from the outer canthus to the Wanggu point, another from the Wanggu point to the Jingming point, and a third from the Jingming point to the Fengchi point. This interpretation treats the twisting and obscure descriptions of meridians in the *Nei Jing* (Inner Canon) as straight lines.

Furthermore, examining the classics states: When food and water enter the Stomach, their qi is divided into three pathways. Thus, Zong Qi (Pectoral Qi) accumulates in the chest, exits through the throat, and governs respiration. Ying Qi (Nutritive Qi) secretes body fluids, injects them into the vessels, transforms them into blood, nourishes the four extremities, and internally irrigates the five zang organs and six fu organs, corresponding to the time measured by clepsydra. Wei Qi (Defensive Qi) arises from the fierce and rapid qi of food and water, circulating continuously between the four extremities, muscle intervals, and skin. It is also stated: Wei Qi originates from the Upper Jiao (Upper Burner), often accompanying Ying Qi. It circulates in the Yang aspects twenty-five circuits during the day and in the Yin aspects twenty-five circuits at night. Thus, upon dawn, having completed fifty circuits, it reunites with Ying Qi at the Hand-Taiyin Lung Meridian. This passage discusses the meeting of Wei Qi and Ying Qi, without mentioning Zong Qi. However, *Fa Hui* claims that after qi moves for 13,500 breaths and pulses travel 810 zhang, coinciding with the Yin hour, they reunite at the Hand-Taiyin Lung Meridian. This forcibly conflates the Zong Qi, which accumulates in the chest and meets Ying Qi during circulation with respiration, with the Wei Qi, which circulates day and night and meets Ying Qi only after fifty circuits. This contradicts the meaning of the classics; what greater fault could there be?

Yang qi is the qi of Heaven, governing the exterior; Yin qi is the qi of Earth, governing the interior. Therefore, the path of Yang tends toward fullness/excess, while the path of Yin tends toward emptiness/deficiency.
Yin within is the guardian of Yang; Yang without is the servant of Yin. (*Su Wen*, Chapter on Resemblance and Application)
Yin stores essence and rises urgently to respond; Yang guards the exterior and maintains consolidation. (*Ling Shu*, Chapter on Tian Tong)

[*Ling Shu*] There is Yin and Yang inside, and Yin and Yang outside. Inside, the five zang organs are Yin, and the six fu organs are Yang. Outside, the sinews and bones are Yin, and the skin and hair are Yang. (*Ling Shu*, Chapter on Longevity and Shortness of Life)

[*Su Wen*] The Foot-Taiyang Bladder Meridian and Foot-Shaoyin Kidney Meridian are exterior-interior pairs; Foot-Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian and Foot-Jueyin Liver Meridian are exterior-interior pairs; Foot-Yangming Stomach Meridian and Foot-Taiyin Spleen Meridian are exterior-interior pairs. These constitute the Yin-Yang of the feet. The Hand-Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian and Hand-Shaoyin Heart Meridian are exterior-interior pairs; Hand-Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian and Hand-Jueyin Pericardium Meridian are exterior-interior pairs; Hand-Yangming Large Intestine Meridian and Hand-Taiyin Lung Meridian are exterior-interior pairs. These constitute the Yin-Yang of the hands. (*Su Wen*, Chapter on Blood, Qi, Form, and Will)

[*Ling Shu*] Huangdi asked Bo Gao: The *Mai Du* (Meridian Length) chapter discusses the lengths of meridians; how are they established? Bo Gao replied: First measure the size, breadth, length, and shortness of the bone joints, and the meridian lengths will be determined. Huangdi said: I wish to hear the measurements for ordinary people. For a person seven chi five cun tall, what are the dimensions of their bone joints? Bo Gao said: The circumference of the large bones of the head is two chi six cun; the chest circumference is four chi five cun; the waist circumference is four chi two cun. From the top of the skull covered by hair to the nape is one chi two cun; from below the hairline to the chin is one chi. For a gentleman, from below the knotted throat to the Quepen point is four cun; from Quepen to the Qigu (sternocostal angle) is nine cun. Exceeding this indicates a large lung; falling short indicates a small lung. From Qigu to the Tianshu point is eight cun. Exceeding this indicates a large stomach; falling short indicates a small stomach. From Tianshu to the Henggu (pubic bone) is six and a half cun. Exceeding this indicates a wide and long hui chang (descending colon); falling short indicates a narrow and short one. The Henggu is six and a half cun long. From the upper margin of the Henggu to the upper margin of the inner auxiliary bone is one chi eight cun; from the upper margin to the lower margin of the inner auxiliary bone is three and a half cun; from the lower margin of the inner auxiliary bone to the inner malleolus is one chi three cun; from the inner malleolus to the ground is three cun. From the popliteal fossa to the foot dorsum connection is one chi six cun; from the foot dorsum connection to the ground is three cun. Thus, if the bone circumference is large, it is excessive; if small, it is deficient. From the horn (temple area) to the pillar bone is one chi; the invisible part in the armpit is four cun; from the armpit to the costal margin is one chi two cun; from the costal margin to the Bitshu (hip joint) is six cun; from the Bitshu to the middle of the knee is one chi nine cun; from the knee to the outer malleolus is one chi six cun; from the outer malleolus to the Jinggu point is three cun; from Jinggu to the ground is one cun. Behind the ear at Wanggu, the width is nine cun; in front of the ear at Ermen, the width is one chi three cun. The distance between the two cheekbones is seven cun; the width between the two breasts is nine and a half cun; the width between the two thighs is six and a half cun. The foot is one chi two cun long and four and a half cun wide. From shoulder to elbow is one chi seven cun; from elbow to wrist is one chi two and a half cun; from wrist to the proximal phalanx of the middle finger is four cun; from the proximal phalanx to the tip is four and a half cun. From the neck hairline to the dorsal spine is two and a half cun. From the spinal bone to the coccyx, comprising twenty-one segments, is three chi. The upper segment is one cun and one-fourth plus one-sixteenth cun. The fractional part lies below. Thus, the upper seven segments to the spinal bone total nine cun and seven-eighths cun. These are the bone measurements of ordinary people, used to establish the lengths of meridians. (*Ling Shu*, Chapter on Bone Length). "KT" refers to Qigu (sternocostal angle).

From lips to teeth is nine fen; mouth width is two and a half cun. From behind the teeth to the epiglottis is three and a half cun deep, holding five he. The tongue weighs ten liang, is seven cun long, and two and a half cun wide. The pharynx gate weighs ten liang, is two and a half cun wide, and one chi six cun long to the stomach. The stomach is tortuous; when straightened, it is two chi six cun long, one chi five cun wide, five cun in diameter, and holds two dou five sheng. The small intestine attaches posteriorly to the spine, looping left, overlapping and accumulating. Its entry into the descending colon attaches externally to the umbilicus, looping upward sixteen times. It is two and a half cun wide, slightly less than one-fifth cun in diameter, and three zhang three chi long. The descending colon loops left around the umbilicus, leaf-like accumulation downward. It reverses sixteen loops, four cun wide, slightly less than one-third cun in diameter, and two zhang one chi long. The large intestine transmits along the spine, receiving the descending colon, looping left leaf-like against the spine up and down. It is eight cun wide, slightly more than two-thirds cun in diameter, and two chi eight cun long. From entrance to exit, the gastrointestinal tract totals six zhang four cun four fen. There are thirty-two curves. (*Ling Shu*, Chapter on Gastrointestinal Tract)

[*Nan Jing*] Where are the Seven Rush Gates? Answer: The lips are the Flying Gate; teeth are the Door Gate; epiglottis is the Inhaling Gate; stomach is the Cardia Gate; lower opening of Tai Cang (Stomach) is the幽门 (Pylorus/Gate of Darkness); junction of large and small intestines is the Lan Gate (Trespass Gate); the lowest extremity (anus) is the Po Gate (Corporeal Soul Gate). Hence, the Seven Rush Gates. (*Nan Jing*, Difficulty 44)

[*Su Wen*] Above the waist is Heaven; below the waist is Earth.

[*Nan Jing*] The Upper Jiao is below the heart, above the diaphragm, and at the upper opening of the stomach. It receives but does not discharge. Its treatment site is Danzhong (Conception Vessel 17), one cun six fen below Yutang, directly between the breasts in the depression. The Middle Jiao is in the middle of the stomach, neither high nor low, responsible for rotting and ripening food and water. Its treatment site is beside the umbilicus. The Lower Jiao is below the umbilicus, at the upper opening of the bladder. It separates clear from turbid, discharges but does not receive, serving conduction. Its treatment site is one cun below the umbilicus. (*Nan Jing*, Difficulty 31)

[*Ling Shu*] Huangdi said: I wish to know from where and by what path Ying and Wei Qi travel. Qibo answered: Ying Qi originates from the Middle Jiao; Wei Qi originates from the Upper Jiao. Huangdi said: I wish to know the origins of the Three Jiaos. Qibo answered: The Upper Jiao originates from the upper opening of the stomach, ascends with the throat, pierces the diaphragm, and spreads in the chest. It travels to the axilla, follows the Taiyin division, returns to the Yangming, ascends to the tongue, and descends to the Foot-Yangming. It often accompanies Ying Qi, circulating twenty-five circuits in Yang and twenty-five in Yin, constituting one cycle. Thus, after fifty cycles, it reunites at the Hand-Taiyin Lung Meridian. Huangdi said: I wish to know the origin of the Middle Jiao. Qibo answered: The Middle Jiao also resides in the stomach, emerging after the Upper Jiao. Here, the received qi separates dregs, steams fluids, transforms fine essences, and injects them upward into the lung vessels, thereby transforming into blood to nourish the body. Nothing is more precious; thus, it alone travels in the meridian tunnels, named Ying Qi. Huangdi said: Blood and Qi have different names but are of the same category. What does this mean? Qibo answered: Ying and Wei are refined essence; blood is divine qi. Thus, blood and Qi are different in name but same in category. Therefore, those who lose blood do not sweat; those who lose sweat do not have blood. A person dies from both blood loss and sweat loss simultaneously, but cannot survive if both are absent. Huangdi said: I wish to know the origin of the Lower Jiao. Qibo answered: The Lower Jiao separates from the descending colon, injects into the bladder, and permeates therein. Thus, food and water reside in the stomach, become dregs, and descend together to the large intestine, forming the function of the Lower Jiao. They permeate and descend together, filtering juices, following the Lower Jiao to permeate the bladder. Huangdi said: Excellent. I have heard: The Upper Jiao is like mist; the Middle Jiao is like foam; the Lower Jiao is like a ditch. This is what is meant. (*Ling Shu*, Chapter on Meeting of Ying and Wei Qi)

[Hai Zang (Zhang Yuansu/Li Dongyuan views)] Head to heart is Upper Jiao; heart to umbilicus is Middle Jiao; umbilicus to feet is Lower Jiao. These Three Jiaos are branches of the Foot-Taiyang. Also, *Ling Shu* states: From the bladder below the umbilicus to the feet is the Foot-Sanjiao. The Right-Hand Chi pulse diagnoses Mingmen (Gate of Life), diagnosed together with the Pericardium Meridian. This Pericardium is also called Sanjiao, acting as the Fire of Mingmen, roaming among the five zang organs, governing internal functions. Hand-Sanjiao governs the upper; Foot-Sanjiao governs the lower. Upper, Middle, and Lower Sanjiao form one qi, protecting the body externally. Since it is described as head-to-heart, heart-to-umbilicus, umbilicus-to-feet, it has form. Calling it Sanjiao gives it a name. Can we say it has no form? The classics state: Sanjiao is the pathway of food and water. It clearly has form. Why? Upper Jiao receives but does not discharge; Middle Jiao rots and ripens food and water; Lower Jiao discharges but does not receive. Hence, Upper Jiao like mist, Middle Jiao like foam, Lower Jiao like ditch. Hand meridians govern the upper; Foot meridians govern the lower; Mingmen governs the interior; Protection governs the exterior. Sanjiao True Qi is Father; Qi scatters to Pericardium, following Mother. They run parallel without separation, being Mother's true qi, thus gathering in the chest. Classics say: Danzhong is where Parents reside, the Sea of Qi, revered like Heaven and Earth, unrelated to the Five Elements. Clear pathogens attack Upper Jiao, named Clean, causing stiff neck and back pain. Turbid pathogens attack Lower Jiao, named Muddy, causing chills and involuntary urination/defecation. Exterior deficiency and Interior urgency mix Upper, Lower, and Middle Jiao. Upper Jiao stagnation causes organ qi to熏 (smolder/mix). Middle Jiao dysfunction causes Wei Qi to rush upward, Ying Qi to block, and blood to coagulate. If Wei Qi passes first, urine is red/yellow, clashing with heat, traveling via meridians, entering/exiting organs. If Yin Qi passes first, Yang Qi becomes weak later, Yin has no master, external pathogens enter internally, causing sneezing, hoarseness, throat obstruction, cold reversal, and heat congestion, inevitably leading to bloody stool. Yin and Yang both reverse, Spleen weakens, fluids leak. Lower Jiao fails to consolidate, clear stool becomes heavy/frequent/difficult, abdominal cramping pain ensues, life is endangered. This Mingmen pulse is diagnosed at the Right Chi. Classics say: Five Zang disharmony leads to failure of Five Fluids to descend, closure mechanisms fail, urination/defecation incontinence occurs, vital qi perishes, hence abdominal pain, so life is endangered. The former Three Jiaos enter from outside; the latter Three Jiaos emerge from inside. If Mist does not gather, wheezing/fullness results (out but not in). If Foam is not beneficial, retained fluid results, lingering to cause fullness, unable to enter above or exit below. If Ditch is not unblocked, edema/fullness results (enters above, does not exit below). This is Sanjiao failing to return. Sanjiao has Zang nature but no Fu organ. Internally it roams (Blood); externally it protects (Qi). Upper Jiao like Mist is Qi; Middle Jiao like Foam is Blood. Middle Jiao is the division of Blood and Qi. Lower Jiao is at the upper bladder opening below the umbilicus, separating clear/turbid, discharging not receiving, i.e., conduction, treated below the umbilicus. Named Sanjiao, its Fu is in the Qijie (Groin/Abiomen). Some say it has Zang but no Fu. Cheng Wuji says: Blood Chamber is where blood resides, where Ying/Wei stop, where meridians converge, namely Chong Mai. Chong Mai is one of the Extraordinary Vessels, originating below the kidney, exiting Qijie, ascending with Foot-Yangming alongside the umbilicus, dispersing in the chest, serving as the Sea of All Meridians.

Qixuanzi (Wang Bing) says: Chong is the Sea of Blood, where all meridians converge. In men, it moves and circulates; in women, it stops and halts. All are called Blood Chamber. *Nei Jing* states: Ren Mai connects with Chong Mai. Men circulate; women stop. Circulation means no accumulation, not full, dynamic. Stopping means accumulation, able to fill, static. Not full is Yang, Qi. Able to fill is Yin, Blood. Thus, filling overflows periodically, indicating motion. Dry Dao creates Man, Kun Dao creates Woman. Thus, circulation is symbol of Yang; stopping is symbol of Yin. Blood, Qi, Ying, Wei exist in both sexes. Internal/external harmony, pulses diagnosed similarly. Pulse is the House of Blood, hence House of Blood/Qi, storage vessel, also called Fu. Sanjiao Fu is in Qijie, the Fu of Male/Female Blood Seas. Classics also say: Has Zang but no Fu, speaking of formlessness. Has Zang and Fu, speaking of form. Injury by clear/turbid pathogens affects all Three Jiaos, similar to simultaneous contraction of exterior and interior. Classics state: Pericardium Meridian emerges from chest, descends through diaphragm, connects sequentially with Sanjiao. This is why it runs parallel with Ministerial Fire and is diagnosed at Right Chi with Mingmen. Dongyuan (Li Dongyuan) says: Sanjiao has name but no form, governing all Qi, resembling the Three Powers (Heaven, Earth, Human). Thus, respiration, ascent/descent, food/water transit depend on it for passage. Hence, Upper Jiao below heart, receives not discharges; Middle Jiao in stomach, rots/ripens food/water; Lower Jiao below umbilicus, separates clear/turbid, discharges not receives. Generally, the use of Three Powers originates in Middle Jiao. Middle Jiao is the stomach, inheriting the衝 (rushing) qi of Heaven/Five, dividing Yin/Yang/Clear/Turbid, initiating Twelve Meridians. If imbalance occurs, Cold/Heat prevail, Deficiency/Excess differ, Ying/Wei stagnate, Clear/Turbid mix, generating diseases. Hence, Qi converges at Sanjiao. Hand-Shaoyang Meridian connects to Danzhong. Danzhong is the Official of Envoy, Sea of Qi. Understanding this reveals Sanjiao is the root of Harmony. Sanjiao Ministerial Fire and Pericardium Meridian are Human Yuan Qi, present everywhere, functioning as Ministerial Fire, governing Yin/Yang Qi, residence of Spirit.

[*Su Wen*] Since ancient times, those connected to Heaven possess the root of life (These nine characters require careful contemplation. Wang Taipu says: Discussing Heaven refers to Yuan Qi, i.e., True Innocence), rooted in Yin and Yang. Within Heaven and Earth, within the Six Directions, the qi connects to Nine Provinces and Nine Orifices, Five Zang, Twelve Joints, all communicating with Heavenly Qi. Their generation is Five, their qi is Three. Violating these invites pathogenic qi, determining longevity or premature death. The Qi of Blue Heaven is pure and clear; thus, mind and intent are regulated. Following it consolidates Yang Qi. Even with hostile pathogens, harm is prevented, due to following seasonal order. Thus, sages conserve spirit, ingest Heavenly Qi, and communicate with Divine Intelligence. Losing this closes Nine Orifices internally, blocks muscles externally, scatters Wei Qi. This is self-injury, weakening of Qi. Yang Qi is like Heaven and Sun. Losing its proper place shortens life and obscures vitality. Thus, Heavenly motion relies on Sunlight. Therefore, Yang is superior and guards the exterior (Yang is active. All human perception, movement, hearing, seeing, speaking, smelling rely on Yang Qi warming skin, filling body, moistening hair, like mist/dew irrigation. If Yang Qi loses its place, it scatters and fails to warm/fill/moisten, causing orifice closure internally and muscle blockage externally, losing perceptual/spiritual faculties. Human Yang Qi is like Sunlight. Loss of Yang leads to loss of spiritual clarity and shortened life, just as Heaven losing light prevents万物 (all things) from arising). Affected by Cold, desire to move like a pivot, restlessness in daily life causes Shen Qi to float (Danxi says: "Desire to move like a pivot" and the following three sentences are interpolations. "Body like burning charcoal, sweating resolves it" should be moved here. Cold pathogen initially attacks muscle-surface, stagnates into heat, resembling burning charcoal resolved by sweat. This corresponds to Zhongjing's Mahuang Tang pattern). Affected by Summerheat, sweating, vexation causes panting/drinking, stillness causes excessive talking, body like burning charcoal, sweating resolves it (Danxi says: This is Lord Fire disease. Fire is active and dissipative, hence spontaneous sweating, vexation, panting, excessive talking). Affected by Dampness, head feels wrapped. If Damp-Heat is not removed, large sinews shorten, small sinews relax. Shortening causes spasm/cramping; relaxation causes flaccidity/paralysis (Danxi says: Dampness is turbid earth qi. Head is convergence of Yang Qi, high position, clear qi, empty constitution, hosting intelligence. Turbid qi steaming blocks clear pathways, causing heaviness/lack of clarity, as if covered. Untreated, damp stagnates into heat, heat lingers. Large sinew shortening: Heat injures blood, failing to nourish sinews, causing spasms. Small sinew relaxing: Damp injures sinews, failing to bind bones, causing flaccidity. "Affected by Dampness, head like wrapped" are three-character phrases. "Damp-Heat not removed" onwards are four-character phrases, structurally sound. Wang Taipu interpreted "Head wrapped by damp" differently, creating textual errors). Affected by Wind/Qi causes swelling. Four directions alternate suffering, Yang Qi exhausts. Yang Qi, when overworked, expands; essence depletes, accumulating bias. In Summer, this causes Jian Jue (Frying Reversal), blindness preventing sight, deafness preventing hearing, collapsing like a breached dam, unstoppable (Pi means bias. Yang is the substance of seeing/hearing/moving. Overwork without tranquility depletes the essence supporting these, leading to hemiplegia/bias, worsening in Summer. Hence blindness/deafness, collapse, uncontrollability. This matches Zhongjing's description of diseases worsening in Spring/Summer and improving in Autumn/Winter, commonly called "Summer Fever" or Zhu Xia. Some cite Zheng Kangcheng: Breathing is Hun; Hearing/Seeing is Po. Po is Yin Blood. Intelligence comes from Yin Blood. Why does classics say Yang overwork causes blindness/deafness? Answer: Comparing ears/eyes to nose/mouth, nose/mouth are Yang, ears/eyes are Yin. Comparing ears/eyes/nose/mouth to Zang-Fu, the orifices are Yang, Zang-Fu are Yin. Yang Qi circulates 25 circuits in Yang (exterior), energizing orifices for waking/perception. It circulates 25 circuits in Yin (interior), where orifices lack Yang movement, causing sleep. Intelligence is driven by Yang. Ears/eyes are like Moon substance; Moon needs Sunlight to shine. Ears/eyes need Yang Qi to be intelligent. If Ear/Eye Yin Blood is deficient, it cannot receive Yang Qi, losing intelligence. If Ear/Eye Yang Qi is deficient, Yin Blood cannot act, losing intelligence. Thus, intelligence requires both Yin Blood and Yang Qi). Yang Qi, in great anger, severs form and qi, causing blood to pool above, leading to Bo Jue (Thin Reversal/Syncope). Injury to sinews causes flaccidity, inability to control limbs, unilateral sweating, causing...