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*Ling Shu: Fifty Cycles* Chapter (Full Text)

The Yellow Emperor said: I wish to hear about the principle of "Fifty Cycles" (Wushi Ying). Qibo replied: The heavens encompass twenty-eight mansions (Ershiba Xiu), each corresponding to thirty-six parts; the Qi of the human body circulates one cycle covering one thousand and eight parts. ("Fifty Cycles" refers to the number of times Ying Qi (Nutritive Qi) circulates in the body, totaling fifty cycles during day and night. Multiplying the twenty-eight celestial mansions by thirty-six parts per mansion yields one thousand and eight parts. The Qi of human meridians circulates one cycle over day and night, also conforming to this number.)

The sun travels through the twenty-eight mansions daily; the human meridians, including those above, below, left, right, front, and back, total twenty-eight vessels with a combined length of sixteen zhang and two chi, corresponding to the twenty-eight celestial mansions. The clepsydra (water clock) drips for one hundred ke (ke), dividing day and night. (The meaning of the twenty-eight mansions is seen in the previous chapter. The human body has twelve primary meridians; being symmetrical on left and right, they amount to twenty-four vessels. Adding the two Chong (Vigour) vessels, plus the Ren (Conception Vessel) and Du (Governing Vessel), totals twenty-eight vessels, corresponding to the twenty-eight celestial mansions and dividing the hundred ke of day and night. Details on the twenty-eight vessels and the length of sixteen zhang and two chi are found in Section Seventeen of the previous text.) Therefore, with each exhalation, the pulse beats twice, and Qi moves three cun; with each inhalation, the pulse also beats twice, and Qi moves three cun. Between the end of exhalation and inhalation (Ding Xi), Qi moves six cun. In ten breaths, Qi moves six chi, and the sun moves two fen. (Zong Qi (Pectoral Qi) accumulates in the chest, driving respiration and penetrating the meridians. One exhalation and one inhalation constitute one Xi (breath unit); Qi moves six cun per Xi, so in ten Xi, Qi moves six chi. Regarding the solar movement calculation: taking the daily total of one thousand and eight parts as the dividend and thirteen thousand five hundred Xi as the divisor, the sun moves only seven li, four hao, six si, and six hu per ten Xi. The statement here that the sun moves two fen is an error propagated over time. The following follows this pattern. Pulse beating twice per breath is detailed in *Mai Se Lei* Part Three, which should be cross-referenced.) At two hundred and seventy Xi, Qi moves sixteen zhang and two chi, circulating internally within the body, completing one cycle around the body, the water clock drops two ke, and the sun moves twenty-five fen. (Every one hundred and thirty-five Xi corresponds to the water clock dropping one ke; at this point, human Qi should be half-way around the body, moving eight zhang and one chi. Thus, at two hundred and seventy Xi, Qi completes one cycle around the body, the water clock drops two ke, and the sun should move exactly twenty fen, one li, and six hao.) At five hundred and forty Xi, Qi completes another cycle around the body, the water clock drops four ke, and the sun moves forty fen. (Qi moves two cycles, meridians move thirty-two zhang and four chi; the sun should move exactly forty fen, three li, and two hao. The previous text stating twenty-five fen was too much, and this section stating forty fen is too little; this is where the error lies.) At two thousand seven hundred Xi, Qi moves ten cycles around the body, the water clock drops twenty ke, and the sun moves five mansions and twenty fen. (Qi moves ten cycles, meridians move one hundred and sixty-two zhang; the sun should move exactly five mansions, twenty-one li, and six hao.) At thirteen thousand five hundred Xi, Qi performs fifty Ying (cycles) around the body, the water clock drops one hundred ke, the sun traverses the twenty-eight mansions, the water clock runs dry, and the meridian circulation ends. (This is the total count for one day and night of one hundred ke; human Qi also exhausts itself and begins anew.) What is meant by "Jiao Tong" (intercommunication/circulation) is that they proceed together with equal numbers. (This explains the meaning of "Jiao Tong" in the previous text. Proceeding together with equal numbers refers to the count of all twenty-eight vessels passing through one complete cycle together.) Therefore, when the fifty Ying are complete, one can attain the full lifespan of heaven and earth, having traveled a total of eight hundred and ten zhang. (If the number of fifty cycles is always complete and without error, then lifespan will be infinite, thus attaining the full lifespan of heaven and earth. Eight hundred and ten zhang is the total distance traveled by meridian Qi during fifty Ying cycles over day and night.)