肾者精神之舍,性命之根,外通于耳,男以闭精,女以包血,与膀胱为表里,足少阴太
阳是其经也。凡肾气绝,则不尽其天命而死。王于冬,其脉沉濡曰平,反此者病。其脉弹石,
名曰太过,病在外。其去如数者为不及,病在内。太过则令人体瘠而少气,不欲言。不及则
令人心如悬,小肠腹满,小便滑,变黄色。又肾脉来喘喘累累如钩,按之坚曰平。又来如引
葛,按之益坚曰病。来如转索,辟辟如弹石曰死。又肾脉但石,无胃气亦死。肾有水则腹大
脐肿,腰重痛不得溺,阴下湿。如牛鼻头汗出,是为逆寒,大便难。肾病手足冷,面赤目黄,
小便不禁,骨节烦痛,小腹结痛,气上冲心,脉当沉而滑,今反浮大缓;其色当黑,今反黄
;其翕翕少气,两耳若聋,精自出,饮食少,便下清,脉迟可治。冬则脉沉而滑曰平,反大
而缓,是土克水,不可治。反浮涩而短,肺乘肾,易治。反弦而长者,肝乘肾,不治自愈。
反浮大而洪,心乘肾,不为害。肾病腹大体重满,咳嗽汗出憎风,虚则胸中痛,阴邪入肾,
则骨痛腰痛,上引脊背疼,遇房汗出,当风浴水,久立则肾病。又其脉急甚,则肾痿瘕疾,
微急则沉、厥、奔豚、足不收;缓甚则折脊,微缓则洞泄食不化,入咽还出。大甚则阴痿,
微大则石水起脐下,其肿 而上至胃者死;小甚则洞泄,微小则消瘅,滑甚则癃 ,微滑
则骨痿,坐弗能起,目视见花。涩甚则大壅塞,微涩则痔疾。又其脉之至上坚而大,有脓气
在阴中及腹内,名肾瘅,得之因浴冷水,脉来沉而大,坚浮而紧,手足肿厥,阴痿腰背疼,
小肠心下有水气,时胀满洞泄,此皆浴水中身未干而合房得。虚梦船溺人得,其时梦伏水中,
盛实则梦临深投水中。肾胀则腰痛满引背,帙帙然腰痹痛。肾病夜半愈,日中甚,晡则静。
肾生病则口热舌干,咽肿上气,噎干及烦而痛。黄胆肠病久不愈,则腿筋痛,小便闭,两胁
胀满目盲者死。肾之精彻脊与腰相引而痛,饥见饱减。又肾中寒结在脐下也,肾脉来而细软,
附于骨者是也。又目黑目白,肾已内伤,八日死。又阴缩小便不出,或不快者亦死。又其色
青黄,连耳左右,其人年三十许,百日死。若偏在一边,一日死。实则烦闷,脐下重。热则
舌干口焦,而小便涩黄。寒则阴中与腰背俱疼,面黑而干,哕而不食,或呕血是也。又喉鸣
坐而喘咳血出,亦为肾虚,寒气欲绝也。寒热虚实既明,稍详调救,即十可治十,全生之道
也。
The Kidney is the residence of spirit and the root of life. Externally, it connects with the ears; in males, it stores essence, and in females, it contains blood. It forms an interior-exterior relationship with the Bladder, with the Foot Shaoyin and Foot Taiyang meridians being their respective channels. When Kidney Qi is exhausted, death occurs before the natural lifespan is completed. The Kidney governs Winter; a normal pulse is deep and soft (Chen Ru). Deviations indicate disease. A pulse like striking stones indicates Excess (Tai Guo), with pathology external. A pulse departing rapidly resembles Shu (Rapid) and indicates Deficiency (Bu Ji), with pathology internal. Excess causes emaciation, shortness of breath, and reluctance to speak. Deficiency causes a sensation of emptiness in the heart as if suspended, fullness in the Small Intestine and abdomen, slippery urination, and yellowish complexion. Furthermore, a Kidney pulse that comes "chuan chuan lei lei" like a hook and feels firm upon pressure is normal. A pulse coming like pulling vines, becoming firmer upon pressure, indicates disease. A pulse coming like a turning rope or sounding like striking stones indicates death. A Kidney pulse showing only Stone characteristics without Stomach Qi also indicates death. Water retention in the Kidney causes abdominal distension, umbilical swelling, heavy painful lower back, inability to urinate, and dampness in the genitals. Sweating like on a cow's nose indicates Reverse Cold (Ni Han) and difficult defecation. Kidney disease presenting with cold hands and feet, red face, yellow eyes, urinary incontinence, vexing pain in bone joints, knotting pain in the lower abdomen, and Qi rushing up to the heart: the pulse should be Deep and Slippery but is instead Floating, Large, and Slow; the color should be Black but is instead Yellow; with slight Qi deficiency, deafness, spontaneous seminal emission, poor appetite, and clear loose stools: a Slow pulse here is treatable. In Winter, a Deep and Slippery pulse is normal; a Large and Slow pulse indicates Earth overcoming Water (Tu Ke Shui), which is untreatable. A Floating, Choppy, and Short pulse indicates Lung overcoming Kidney (Fei Cheng Shen), which is easy to treat. A Wiry and Long pulse indicates Liver overcoming Kidney (Gan Cheng Shen), which will heal spontaneously. A Floating, Large, and Surging pulse indicates Heart overcoming Kidney (Xin Cheng Shen), causing no harm. Kidney disease with abdominal distension, heavy body, fullness, coughing, sweating, and aversion to wind; Deficiency causes chest pain. Yin pathogen entering the Kidney causes bone and lower back pain radiating to the spine. Sweating after intercourse, exposure to wind, bathing in cold water, or standing for long periods can cause Kidney disease. An urgent pulse severely indicates Kidney Wei and Jia diseases; mildly urgent indicates Chen (Depression), Jue (Cold Extremities), Ben Tun (Running Piglet), and inability to hold the legs. A relaxed pulse severely indicates broken spine; mildly relaxed indicates Dong Xie (profuse diarrhea) with undigested food regurgitated from the throat. A large pulse severely indicates impotence; mildly large indicates Shi Shui (Stone Water) arising from below the navel, swelling up to the stomach indicating death. A small pulse severely indicates Dong Xie; micro-small indicates Xiao Dan (Wasting-Thirst); slippery severely indicates Long Bi (difficulty urinating); micro-slippery indicates Bone Wei (Bone Atrophy) with inability to rise from sitting and visual hallucinations. Choppy severely indicates major obstruction; micro-choppy indicates hemorrhoids. A pulse upper part that is hard and large indicates pus in the Yin region and abdomen, named Ren Dan (Kidney Fever), caused by bathing in cold water. The pulse is Deep and Large, Hard, Floating, and Tight, with swollen/cold extremities, impotence, back pain, fluid retention in the Small Intestine and epigastrium, bloating, and diarrhea; this results from sexual activity while wet after bathing. Deficient dreams involve boats and drowning people, lying in water; Excess dreams involve facing deep water and diving. Kidney Zhang causes lower back pain radiating to the back, with numbness and pain. Kidney disease heals at Zi hour (midnight), worsens at Wu hour (noon), and quiets at You hour (5-7 PM). Kidney pathology causes hot mouth, dry tongue, swollen throat, ascending Qi, dysphagia, vexation, and pain. Chronic jaundice and intestinal disease causing leg tendon pain, urinary closure, hypochondriac distension, and blindness leads to death. Kidney essence connecting through the spine and waist causes pain, worsening when hungry and improving when full. Cold stagnation in the Kidney below the navel presents with a fine, soft pulse adhering to the bone. Black eyes and turbid whites indicate internal Kidney injury, leading to death in eight days. Constricted Yin and urinary retention or difficulty indicate death. Green-yellow complexion extending to both ears in a thirty-year-old indicates death in one hundred days; unilateral discoloration indicates death in one day. Excess causes vexation and heaviness below the navel. Heat causes dry tongue, scorched mouth, and scanty yellow urine. Cold causes pain in the Yin and lower back, black/dry face, hiccups, anorexia, or hematemesis. Throat rattling, sitting wheezing, coughing, and hemoptysis indicate Kidney Deficiency and impending Cold exhaustion. Once Cold, Heat, Excess, and Deficiency are clarified, detailed regulation and rescue can achieve ten cures out of ten, which is the way to preserve life.