Library

When reading the section in the *Suwen* (Basic Questions) stating "The qi of food enters the stomach, turbid qi returns to the Heart, and essence overflows into the vessels," I could not understand the phrase "turbid qi returns to the Heart." Reflecting on it, the Heart is the official of the sovereign, from which spirit and consciousness emerge.
If turbid qi were to return to the Heart, how could it remain empty, spiritual, and unobscured, possessing all principles and responding to all affairs? According to this reasoning, the character "Heart" must be a corruption of the character "Spleen" due to books transmitted for thousands of years. Examining the *Lingshu* (Spiritual Pivot) chapter "Yin-Yang Clear and Turbid," it states: "That which receives grain is turbid; that which receives qi is clear." It also states: "Ying (Nutritive) qi is the essence of water and grain, harmonized within the Five Zang organs, and distributed throughout the Six Fu organs." It further states: "Yin is clear, Yang is turbid." And again: "All Yin meridians are clear; only the Foot-Taiyin [Spleen] meridian alone receives the turbid." Since Fu organs are Yang and Zang organs are Yin, given that "all Yin meridians are clear," it is known that the Heart receives clear qi; given that "only the Foot-Taiyin [Spleen] meridian alone receives the turbid," then apart from turbid qi returning to the Spleen, no other Zang organ receives turbid qi. Thus, it can be concluded that turbid qi returns to the Spleen, which aligns perfectly with the original text of the Classics. I privately believe this is a single-character error and dare to submit it for discussion by those of superior insight.

What surges between heaven and earth, who promotes it, who nurtures it, is nothing but one Qi acting as the bellows (Tuoyue). Heaven generates all things through the Five Elements, and humans correspond to them through the Five Zang organs. Heaven One is Water; therefore, the two Kidneys are the root of congenital constitution (Xiantian). Heaven Five is Earth; therefore, the Spleen and Stomach are the resources for acquired constitution (Houtian). This is the theory of Li Dongyuan and Zhu Danxi, which later generations have risen to revere. However, Wang Lingyou alone advocated the primacy of the Heart, saying: "All diseases originate from the Heart; the Five Zang and Six Fu organs are all connected to the Heart." Just as Heaven has the Sun to divide day and night, order the four seasons, and generate all things; so too does the world have a Sovereign to establish rank, clarify status, and govern the multitude. The Heart is the official of the sovereign; in Heaven, the Sun is primary; in humans, the Heart is primary. His treatise spans tens of thousands of words, standing directly alongside the sages of old. His benefit to future generations cannot be slight! Yet, the theories of these three schools point respectively to the Spleen, the Kidney, and the Heart; thus, they still speak of the physical forms of the Zang organs. Qi is the root of form. After humans are endowed with form, Yang is called Qi, and Yin is called Blood. However, the congenital formless Qi governs before Yin-Yang, Blood, and Qi. Cultivators call it Ancestral Qi (Zuqi), which is the generative Qi of Heaven and Earth. The *Weishu* (Apocryphal Books) states: "All living beings exist within Qi. Humans carry Yin and embrace Yang; insects, animals, grass, and trees all sense this Qi to be born. Therefore, where Qi exists, form remains; where Qi departs, form decays." Confucius said: "When a child eats near its dead mother, after a short while, it flees as if abandoning her." What makes one love the mother is not loving her form, but loving that which gives shape to her. What gives shape to her? It is Qi. The *Shengqi Tongtian Lun* (Treatise on Vital Energy Connecting to Heaven) states: "The pure Qi of the Blue Heaven is clear and tranquil; when one aligns with it, will and intention are regulated, and following it solidifies Yang Qi." It also states: "Receiving the Qi of Heaven and connecting with Spirit and Enlightenment." The words of the *Lingshu* and *Suwen* are vast and profound, but their essential purport converges on the single concept of "Qi." Tears, saliva, fluids, essence, sweat, blood, and body fluids—these seven spiritual substances—all belong to Yin. Yin is dead matter; Qi is vital Yang. Medical formularies often use flesh-and-blood sentient substances as tools for mending the heavens (like the myth of Nüwa), unaware that our body's vital Yang Qi, being seemingly present yet absent, means this substantial form gradually approaches decay. To rely on such decaying substances to dispel disease and prolong life is indeed difficult. Therefore, to treat form, one must first treat Qi; form is merely the palace city of Qi. To treat Qi, one must first treat the Heart; the Heart is truly the master of Qi. The congenital planting of this form relies solely on Qi; the acquired command over this Qi relies solely on the Heart. As the handle of the Dipper attracts the Taiyang, and the inch-square [heart] mixes the Three Realms and Three Wonders, Ancestral Qi is what Mencius referred to as nourishing Qi and seeking the lost heart. The ancients said: "In practicing medicine, if one does not understand Qi, upon what basis does one treat disease?" Without this harmonious and ceaseless Qi, how could the Heart store Spirit? How could the Spleen bear tasks? How could the Kidney serve as the root of storage? The Classic says: "He who knows the essentials concludes with one word." This is precisely what is meant.