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(From *Ling Shu: Guan Neng* [Spiritual Pivot: Official Functions])

The Yellow Emperor asked Qibo: I have heard from you about the Nine Needles; the content is abundant and innumerable. I have deduced and discussed it, considering it can be summarized as one cycle (Yi Ji). I will recite it, and you listen to its principles. If there are errors, please tell me, so that I may correct the proper way, allowing it to be passed down for a long time, ensuring no disasters for future generations. It should be transmitted only to those who are worthy; do not speak of it to those who are not. Qibo bowed twice with his head on the ground and said: Please let me hear the Way of the Sage King. (Yi Ji refers to the collection of words.)

The Yellow Emperor said: The principle of using needles must know the location of form and Qi, including left and right, above and below, (the meaning is as described in Pulse and Color Category, items 32-33,) Yin and Yang, exterior and interior, and the abundance or scarcity of blood and Qi. (For details, see Meridian Category, item 20.) The逆行 and順行 (reverse and smooth flow) of their movement, (Yin Qi moves upward from the feet to the head and then downward along the arms; Yang Qi moves upward from the hands to the head and then downward to the feet. Therefore, diseases of Yang reach their peak upward and then descend, while diseases of Yin reach their peak downward and then ascend. Deviating from this is called reverse.) The convergence of entry and exit, planning to attack where there is excess. (Meridian Qi emerges from the interior and enters from the exterior; acupoints differ. For details, see Meridian Category, chapters 14 and 16. Knowing their entry and exit allows one to attack the excess based on these paths. The character "He" [convergence] is written as "Hui" [meeting] in another version.)

Know how to untie knots, (for details, see later in this category, item 35.) Know tonifying deficiency and reducing excess, understand the concept of upper and lower Qi gates, (The meaning of tonifying deficiency and reducing excess is seen earlier. Upper and lower Qi gates refer to the meaning of Biao-Ben [root and branch] and Qi Jie [Qi streets] of various meridians in the Meridian Category. One interpretation is that hand meridians are upper, foot meridians are lower, and places where Qi and pulses must pass are called gates. This interpretation is also valid.) Clearly understand the Four Seas, (The Four Seas of the human body, for details, see Meridian Category, item 32.) Examine their locations. For cold, heat, and conditions caused by rain and dew, treat them at different acupoints depending on the condition, (Rain and wind affect different parts; when pathogens invade different areas, one must examine which meridian is involved. The meaning of Lin Lu [rain and dew] is also found in the Luck Category, item 35.) Be prudent in regulating Qi, clearly understand the Meridian Tunnels, and fully know the convergence points of the left and right limb collaterals. (Regulating Qi means observing the coming and going of deficiency and excess and harmonizing them. The meanings of the branches of Meridian Tunnels and the convergence of various meridians are detailed in Meridian Category, item 2.)

When cold and heat contend, be able to harmonize them comprehensively; (Harmonize Yin and Yang to achieve balance.) When deficiency and excess are adjacent, know how to resolve and unblock them; (Lin [adjacent] means near. Nearness leads to doubt; doubt leads to mistaking the false for the true, like ice and charcoal being opposite. Thus, one must know how to resolve and unblock.) If left and right are unharmonized, grasp the limb and apply Miao Ci [counter-puncture]. (When pathogenic factors lodge in the large collaterals, Qi from the left flows to the right, and from the right to the left. Grasping and moving refers to Miao Ci. For details, see later, item 30. The character "Ba" [grasp] is written as "Fan" [offend] in another version.)

Understand reverse and smooth flow to know what is treatable; (Smooth cases are treatable; reverse cases are not. Examples include death signs and times in the Pulse and Disease Category, and needle prohibitions and harms in this category, all of which are reverse.) When Yin and Yang do not encounter abnormal pathogens, one knows the time of onset. (Qi [abnormal] means not encountering. Not encountering abnormalities implies harmony, thus knowing the onset time. Qi is pronounced "Ji".)

Be prudent regarding root and branch, observe cold and heat, know the location of the pathogen, and ten thousand needle insertions will be without danger. Knowing the functions of the Nine Needles completes the Dao of needling. (Root and branch refer to Ben and Biao. Cold and heat refer to Yin and Yang. Location refers to the pulse sites of the Three Regions and Nine Probes. Guan [function] means duty. The Nine Needles differ, each having its suitability. Knowing the above methods and applying them completes the Dao of needling.)

Understand the Five Shu points, the locations of slow and fast techniques, flexion, extension, entry, and exit, all following order. (Here, the discussion of needling theory continues. Five Shu refers to Jing-Well, Ying-Spring, Shu-Stream, Jing-River, and He-Sea points. Xu and Ji refer to needling methods. Qu, Shen, Chu, Ru refer to the movement of meridians.) Discuss Yin and Yang, conforming to the Five Elements. The Zang and Fu organs also have their respective stores. (The transformation of Yin and Yang constitutes the Five Elements; what the Zang and Fu store is precisely this.) The four seasons and eight winds all possess Yin and Yang attributes. (The Yin and Yang of the Heavenly Dao.) Each occupies its proper position, corresponding to the Ming Tang [face diagnosis], examining the color regions. Observe the pain of the Zang and Fu organs, left and right, above and below, knowing their cold or warmth and which meridian they belong to. (Pathogens in the interior manifest in color externally; observing the face reveals the disease. From the Chapter on Five Colors, for details, see Pulse and Color Category, item 32.)

Examine the cold, warm, slippery, and rough texture of the skin to know the suffering. (Cold often indicates Yin; warm often indicates Yang. Slippery often indicates excess; rough often indicates deficiency.) Understand the upper and lower diaphragm to know where the Qi resides. (Above the diaphragm is Dan Zhong, the Sea of Upper Qi, residence of Heart and Lung. Below the diaphragm, Spleen, Liver, and Kidney reside; Dan Tian is the Sea of Lower Qi.)

First master the method: insert sparsely and lightly, penetrate slightly deeper and retain, thus entering slowly. (This section discusses both acupuncture and moxibustion. First master the meridian pathways before using needles. Sparseness emphasizes precision and few insertions. Penetrating deeper aims for slow insertion.)

For great heat in the upper part, push and direct it downward. (Push and drive it away, suppressing its high position.) For pathogens rising from below, guide and remove them. (Guide and remove them, venting to the lower part.) For previous pain sites, usually treat them first. (Treat the root first.) For great cold in the exterior, retain the needle and tonify; for cold penetrating inward, reduce via the He-Sea points. (Great cold in the exterior: tonifying Middle Qi repels it. Reducing He-Sea points eliminates it.) Where needles cannot act, moxibustion is suitable. (Where needles are unsuitable, use moxa.)

For insufficiency of Upper Qi, push and elevate it; for insufficiency of Lower Qi, accumulate and follow it. (Push and elevate guides Qi up to tonify the upper. Accumulate and follow retains the needle to fill the lower with Qi.) When both Yin and Yang are deficient, fire therapy is appropriate. For cold limbs with severe cold, sunken bone creases, and cold extending beyond the knees, moxa Xià Líng [Lower Ridge] and Sān Lǐ [Three Li]. (Fire therapy is appropriate. If cold limbs and severe cold indicate massive Yang deficiency, moxa Xià Líng, which is the Sān Lǐ point of the Stomach Meridian.) For Yin collaterals where pathogens linger, if cold penetrates inward, push and disperse it. (Cold lingering in collaterals and entering meridians requires needle manipulation to disperse.) For sinking meridians, fire therapy is appropriate; for knotted and tight collaterals, fire therapy treats them. (Condensed cold, whether sinking into meridians or knotting in collaterals, should be driven out by fire.)

If the source of pain is unknown, below the Two Chong [Vessels], for men take Yin, for women take Yang. Wise doctors prohibit this. The theory of needles concludes here. (When cold pathogens are between muscle and blood vessels, causing numbness and unknown pain, moxa the area below the Two Chong, i.e., Shēn Mài [Shenmai] of Bladder Meridian and Zhào Hǎi [Zhaohai] of Kidney Meridian. However, men count Yang, women count Yin. Taking male Yin or female Yang is incorrect, hence prohibited by wise doctors. *Tiao Jing Lun* also says: For painless disease, the Two Chong are superior. This method aligns with this.)

The service of using needles must have rules: look up at the light of heaven, look down at the Eight Rectitudes. (This section discusses heavenly taboos. The meanings of Heavenly Light and Eight Rectitudes are in the next chapter.) Avoid strange pathogens, and observe the common people. (Refers to both self and others. Bi [avoid] is the same as Bi.) Examine deficiency and excess, do not offend the pathogen. (Deficient wind and excessive wind both harm humans; thus, do not offend the pathogen.) If one encounters heavenly dew [abnormal weather] and the emptiness of the year, treatment may fail, bringing disaster instead. (Abnormal wind and rain are called dew. *Sui Lu Lun* says: Meeting wind and rain is called meeting the year's dew. Emptiness of the year refers to the decline of the year, the emptiness of the moon, and the loss of seasonal harmony, leading to injury by thief wind, known as Three Deficiencies. For details, see Luck Category, item 36.) Thus, one must know heavenly taboos to discuss the intent of needles. (Detailed meaning of heavenly taboos is in the next chapter.)

Model after antiquity, verify with the present and future, observe the profound and obscure, connect with the infinite. What crude practitioners miss is valued by skilled ones; invisible yet divine-like. (All below discuss needling methods. Those without notes refer to the next chapter.) When pathogens strike, there is shivering and bodily movement. When Zheng Qi [correct/normal] pathogens strike, it is subtle, first appearing in color, unnoticed by the body itself, seeming to exist and not exist, seeming to perish and remain, tangible or intangible, whose true state no one knows. (Pathogen here refers to Xu Xie [deficient/pathogenic] evil. Xu Xie striking is severe, causing shivering. Zheng Xie striking is subtle, showing only in color. This section complements the next; readers should consult both. These sentences are identical to *Xie Qi Zang Fu Bing Xing Lun*, for details, see Disease Category, item 3.)

Therefore, superior practitioners seize Qi, treating at the sprout stage; inferior practitioners wait for established disease, damaging the form. Thus, skilled needle users know where Qi resides, guard the gates, understand regulating Qi, know the locations of tonification and reduction, understand slow and fast techniques, and know which points to select. (Damaging the form results from ignorance of difficulty causing harm. Location refers to the Three Regions and Nine Probes.)

Reduction must use Yuan [round/circular]: press and rotate, so Qi flows; exit quickly, enter slowly, so pathogen exits; extend and welcome, widen the aperture, so Qi exits swiftly. (Yuan means fluid/smooth; Qie means pressing directly to the disease site; Ying means seizing; Yao means shaking. Using needles roundly and seizing causes swift Qi exit, suitable for reduction.)

Tonification must use Fang [square/upright]: draw the skin outward, aligning with the gate; pull the pivot with the left hand, push the skin with the right, rotate slightly and push slowly; be upright and calm, firm in mind without relaxation; desire slight retention, let Qi descend and exit quickly; push the skin, cover the outer gate, so True Qi is preserved. The essence of needling is never forgetting Shen [spirit/mind]. (Fang means upright and calm. Drawing skin aligns with the gate, inspecting the acupoint on the surface. Left pulling pivot, right pushing skin, slight rotation and slow pushing are the pivots of needling. Upright, calm, firm mind reflects sincerity in awaiting Qi. Slight retention, quick exit, pushing skin, covering gate are protection upon withdrawal. Preserving True Qi allows tonification. Never forgetting Shen summarizes the previous chapter; details in the next chapter. Note: The meaning of Yuan/Fang for tonification/reduction seems opposite to *Ba Zheng Shen Ming Lun*; however, seeking the intent reveals distinct innovations, so it should not be dismissed as error.)