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The *Yin Yang Ying Xiang Da Lun* (Great Treatise on Yin and Yang Corresponding to Images) states: Joy and anger injure Qi, while cold and heat injure the Form. Violent anger injures Yin, and violent joy injures Yang. The rebellious Qi ascends, filling the vessels and causing the Form to detach (referring to the dissipation of essence), because joy and anger are unregulated, and cold and heat invade excessively, thus the root of life becomes unstable. Therefore, extreme Yin transforms into Yang, and extreme Yang transforms into Yin.

The *Yu Ji Zhen Zang Lun* (Treatise on Jade Machine and True Viscera) states: If emotions such as worry, joy, grief, fear, and anger cannot be regulated in their proper order, they will cause severe illness in humans. If excessive joy leads to a great deficiency of Heart Qi, Kidney Qi will invade due to emptiness; worry causes Heart Qi to be invaded; anger causes Liver Qi to be invaded; grief causes Lung Qi to be invaded; and fear causes Spleen Qi to be invaded.

The *Ju Tong Lun* (Treatise on Pain) states: All diseases arise from Qi dynamics. Anger causes Qi to ascend; joy causes Qi to relax; grief causes Qi to dissipate; fear causes Qi to sink; cold causes Qi to contract; heat causes Qi to leak; shock causes Qi to become chaotic; fatigue causes Qi to be consumed; and contemplation causes Qi to knot. These nine types of Qi dynamics differ in the diseases they produce (see detailed text below).

The Classics state: A slippery pulse indicates abundant Blood and deficient Qi; a choppy pulse indicates deficient Blood and abundant Qi; a large pulse indicates abundant Qi and Blood; a pulse that is large and firm indicates excess in both Qi and Blood; a small pulse indicates deficiency in both Qi and Blood; a fine and slow pulse indicates deficiency in both Qi and Blood; an intermittent pulse (Dai Mai) indicates declining Qi; a fine pulse indicates deficient Qi; a floating pulse that cuts off upon pressure indicates scattered Qi; a large and slippery pulse with a short sensation in the middle indicates accompanying shortness of breath; a choppy and firm pulse at the Chi position indicates excess Blood and deficient Qi; a fine and weak pulse at the Chi position indicates deficiency in both Qi and Blood (etc., see detailed text below). Liu Lizhi, in his *Mai Li Xuan Yao* (Mysterious Essentials of Pulse Diagnosis), states: If the pulse feels deep upon palpation, one knows it is a Qi disorder; if extremely deep, it is hidden (Fu Mai); choppy and weak pulses are difficult to treat. If the pulse is deep and slippery, it indicates Qi disorder accompanied by phlegm-fluids.

Zhang Hezi states: The Qi of Heaven and Earth, in its normal state, brings peace; in its altered state, it brings disease. How much more so for humans who inherit the Qi of Heaven and Earth, subject to the alternating invasion of the Five Movements externally and the internal conflict of the Seven Emotions? Thus, sages cherish Qi as if holding a supreme treasure, while fools throw it away and harm the Great Harmony. This is why Xuanyuan and Qibo discussed that all pain arises from Qi, and all diseases are born from Qi, leading to the theory of the Nine Qi differences. Qi is originally one, but divided into nine due to different triggers: anger, joy, grief, fear, cold, heat, shock, contemplation, and fatigue. They said: Anger causes Qi to rebel; severely, it leads to vomiting blood and undigested stool diarrhea, so Qi rebels upward. Wang Taipu (Wang Bing) stated: Anger causes Yang Qi to rebel upward, and Liver Wood invades Spleen Earth, hence severe cases involve vomiting blood and undigested stool diarrhea. Joy causes Qi to harmonize, will to reach, and Ying-Wei to flow freely, so Qi relaxes. Grief causes the Heart Tie to tighten, Lung leaves to spread and rise, Upper Jiao to become blocked, Ying-Wei to stagnate, and heat to remain in the center, so Qi dissipates. Fear causes Essence to retreat; retreat leads to Upper Jiao closure; closure causes Qi to return; returning Qi causes Lower Jiao distension, so Qi does not move. Taipu said: Fear injures Essence; Essence retreats without flowing up or down; Lower Jiao Yin Qi returns and does not disperse, gathering to cause distension. However, since the Upper Jiao is sealed and Lower Jiao Qi returns, Qi moves downward. Cold closes the Couli (pores), blocking Qi flow, so Qi contracts. Taipu said: When the body is cool, Wei Qi sinks; thus skin texture and sweat pores close tightly, Qi does not circulate, and Wei Qi converges internally without dispersing. Heat opens the Couli, allowing Ying-Wei to flow freely and sweat profusely, so Qi leaks. Taipu said: Humans feel comfortable in Yang/heat and miserable in Yin/cold; thus heat opens skin and Couli, allowing Ying-Wei to flow widely and fluids to sweat out. Shock leaves the Heart without support, Shen (Spirit) without refuge, and thoughts without focus, so Qi becomes chaotic. Fatigue causes panting and sweating, with internal and external Qi escaping, so Qi is consumed. Taipu said: Labor and exertion make Qi rush; rushing Qi causes Yang to emit externally, leading to sweating; internal and external Qi exceed normal limits, so Qi is depleted. Contemplation keeps the Heart focused and Shen returned, causing Zheng Qi to stay and not move, so Qi knots. Taipu said: Since the Heart tie does not scatter, Qi also stays. This is the discussion of Nine Qi in the *Su Wen*; its variations are detailed, and its principles are clear. However, the diseases caused by the Nine Qi are discussed briefly, mentioning only vomiting blood and undigested stool diarrhea, ignoring others. Only the *Ling Shu* discusses diseases from contemplation, grief, joy, sorrow, excessive anger, and fear: Contemplation injures Shen; Shen injury leads to self-fear, muscle wasting, hair deterioration, premature death in winter, associated with Spleen; unresolved worry injries Yi (Intellect); Yi confusion leads to dizziness and immobility of limbs, hair deterioration, premature death in spring, associated with Liver; grief moving internally injures Hun (Ethereal Soul); Hun injury leads to madness and lack of precision, improper behavior, Yin retraction and tendon cramping, immobility of two hypochondria, hair deterioration, premature death in autumn, associated with Lung; endless joy injures Po (Corporeal Soul); Po injury leads to madness and loss of intent, hair scorching, hair deterioration, premature death in summer, associated with Kidney; unceasing excessive anger injures Zhi (Will); Zhi injury leads to forgetfulness, inability to flex/extend waist and spine, hair deterioration, premature death in late summer; unresolved fear injures Jing (Essence); Jing injury leads to bone萎 (atrophy/withering) and jue (cold extremities), spontaneous leakage of essence. Thus, the Five Zang store Essence and must not be injured; injury leads to loss of control and Yin deficiency; deficiency leads to lack of Qi; lack of Qi leads to death. The *Ling Shu* discusses diseases governed by Shen, Yi, Hun, Po, Zhi, and Jing, but omits cold, heat, shock, and fatigue. I deduce and expand upon this: Anger can lead to vomiting blood, undigested stool diarrhea, Jian Jue (boiling collapse), Bo Jue (thin collapse), Yang Jue, chest fullness and hypochondriac pain, postprandial Qi rebellion, panting/thirst/irritability, Dan jaundice, Fei Qi (mass), sudden blindness, sudden deafness, tendon flaccidity, and external carbuncles. Joy can lead to continuous Qi rising, hair scorching, flesh disease, failure of Yang Qi to secure, and severe madness. Grief can lead to Yin retraction, tendon cramping, Muscle Bi, Mai痿 (vessel atrophy), frequent hematuria in men, metrorrhagia in women, sour nose/sinus issues, blurred vision, shortness of breath, arm numbness when crying. Fear can lead to muscle wasting, bone soreness/atrophy/jue, acute watery diarrhea, facial heat/tight skin, impotence, jaw dropping from fright. Shock can lead to salivary overflow, strabismus, mouth deviation, dementia/epilepsy, unconsciousness, stiff falling, and chronic Bi syndrome. Fatigue can lead to dysphagia, panting, coughing blood, lower back pain/bone atrophy, lung sounds, high bone destruction, impotence, spitting blood, dark vision, ear blockage, oligospermia in men, amenorrhea in women, and severe ulceration like a breached dam. Contemplation can lead to insomnia, hypersomnia, dizziness, epigastric fullness, Three Jiao blockage, throat obstruction, Gallbladder Bi with bitter regurgitation, tendon atrophy, Bai Yin (white discharge), relief after defecation/gas passage, and loss of appetite. Cold can lead to fluid accumulation above and below (see Cold section). Heat can lead to panting/vomiting acid, acute diarrhea with tenesmus (see Fire section). For these nine, the *Nei Jing* provides treatment methods based on the principle of Five Elements overcoming each other. For example, anger injures Liver (Wood); Qi gathers in Liver, injuring Spleen Earth; excess Wood injures Liver itself. Joy injures Heart (Fire); Qi gathers in Heart, injuring Lung Metal; excess Fire injures Heart itself. Grief injures Lung (Metal); Qi gathers in Lung, injuring Liver Wood; excess Metal injures Lung itself. Fear injures Kidney (Water); Qi gathers in Kidney, injuring Heart Fire; excess Water injures Kidney itself. Contemplation injures Spleen (Earth); Qi gathers in Spleen, injuring Kidney Water; excess Earth injures Spleen itself. Cold injures Form (Yin); Cold overcomes Heat, injuring Yang; excess Cold injures Yin itself. Heat injures Qi (Yang); Heat overcomes Cold, injuring Yin; excess Heat injures Yang itself. These seven mutually treat each other. Thus, grief can treat anger by evoking pity; joy can treat grief by providing amusement; fear can treat joy by threatening death; anger can treat contemplation by provoking insult; contemplation can treat fear by distracting attention. These five methods require cunning and strangeness to affect the senses. One without talent cannot use them. Heat treats cold; cold treats heat; rest treats fatigue; habituation treats shock. The Classics say: "Shock is treated by making it ordinary." Ordinary means familiar. Shock arises from the unexpected; familiarity removes the shock. The *Nei Jing* contains these principles, but mediocre doctors ignore them. Liu Hejian of the present era uniquely grasps the meaning beyond words regarding the Five Zhi (see later). Once, I treated a scholar who was overly fatigued, suffering from dry stool, reverse Qi coughing with sound, and vomiting fresh blood. I prescribed Bitter Detoxification Decoction with Mugwort and Han Fangji, taken frequently, followed by Mu Xiang Bing Lang Wan to drain rebellious Qi, resulting in recovery within a month. I once used a dancing witch/prostitute to treat emotional constriction from grief; I used acupuncture combined with music/dance to treat忧 (worry) causing heart pain; I made noise by knocking doors/windows to treat shock-induced fear and flying soul; I treated a woman with long-term contemplation insomnia by getting drunk and ignoring her, causing her to scold me in anger, which led to sleep that night; I used Suan Zao Ren Pill for those with excessive worry. However, fatigue consuming Qi and fear stealing Qi are difficult to treat. Joyful people rarely get sick because their vessels are relaxed. I heard Mr. Zhuang treat someone ill from excessive joy: he felt the pulse, feigned shock, said he needed to fetch medicine, and stayed away for days. The patient, grieving and saying goodbye to friends, thought he would die soon. Zhuang knew he would recover and comforted him. When asked why, Zhuang cited the *Su Wen*: "Fear overcomes Joy." This is truly understanding the secret gate.

Note: This discussion of Nine Qi pathogenesis is very detailed. However, the *Ju Fang* (Standard Formulary) often uses Qi-regulating herbs for Seven Emotion disorders. While correct, it fails to distinguish between accompanying heat, phlegm, deficiency, or excess. It also seems to cover cold/heat disorders comprehensively via Nine Qi and Qi herbs, which is flawed. Seven Emotion disorders vary by rebellion/collapse and individual circumstances. Thus, ancient sages used the Five Zhi overcoming principle. Drugs have their place for Wind-Cold/Warmth, but laypeople rely solely on drugs, neglecting the overcoming principle. Moreover, drugs are either hot or harsh, risking deficiency/excess errors. Hence, Liu Hejian and Dai Ren emerged, analyzing pathogenesis, focusing on calming Fire, combining Five Zhi overcoming, music, play, and even cunning methods, achieving great adaptability. My predecessors Dongyuan and Danxi further discussed Qi disorders as stagnation, fullness, rebellion, or blockage, using cold/hot/warm/cool herbs accordingly. For fatigue, they recommended Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang or nourishing Yin/supporting Yang, addressing concurrent pathogens, deeply preserving ancient wisdom. Alas, these paths failed to prevail due to the obstruction of the *Ju Fang*.