Library

(Lingshu, Chapter "Xieke")
The Yellow Emperor asked Bo Gao: I wish to hear how the limbs and joints of humans correspond to Heaven and Earth. (Here, "limbs and joints" refers to the bones and joints of the four extremities.) Bo Gao replied: Heaven is round and Earth is square; the human head is round and the feet are square, thereby corresponding to Heaven and Earth. The circumference of a circle is three times its diameter, which represents the odd number of Yang; the perimeter of a square is four times its side length, which represents the even number of Yin. The human head belongs to Yang and resides above, thus it is round to correspond to Heaven; the human feet belong to Yin and reside below, thus they are square to correspond to Earth. Heaven has the Sun and Moon, humans have two eyes. (Heaven has the Sun and Moon to illuminate all directions, while humans have eyes to see all phenomena clearly.) Earth has the Nine Provinces, humans have nine orifices. (The Nine Provinces refer to Jing, Liang, Yong, Yu, Xu, Yang, Qing, Yan, and Ji. The nine orifices consist of seven openings above and two excretory outlets below. Clear Yang Qi emerges from the upper orifices, containing Yin within Yang and Yang within Yang; turbid Yin Qi emerges from the lower orifices, containing clear aspects within Yin and turbid aspects within Yin.) Heaven has wind and rain, humans have joy and anger. (Gentle winds and sweet rains are Heaven's joy; destructive storms and floods are Heaven's anger.) Heaven has thunder and lightning, humans have voice and sound. (When Yin and Yang Qi clash, Heaven produces thunder and lightning; when emotions manifest outwardly, humans and objects produce sounds.) Heaven has the Four Seasons, humans have four limbs. (The four limbs are the two hands and two feet.) Heaven has the Five Tones, humans have the Zang organs. (The five tones are Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, and Yu. The zang organs are Heart, Lung, Spleen, Liver, and Kidney.) Heaven has the Six Lüs (pitch pipes), humans have the Fu organs. (The six Lüs include the six Yang Lüs: Huangzhong, Taicu, Guxian, Ruibin, Yize, and Wuyi; and the six Yin Lüs: Dailü, Jiazhong, Zhonglü, Linzhong, Nanlü, and Yingzhong. The fu organs are Stomach, Gallbladder, Large Intestine, Small Intestine, Sanjiao (Triple Burner), and Bladder.) Heaven has Winter and Summer, humans have Cold and Heat. (Cold corresponds to Winter, Heat corresponds to Summer.) Heaven has the Ten Heavenly Stems, humans have ten fingers on the hands. (The ten Heavenly Stems are Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, and Gui, hence they correspond to the human fingers.) There are twelve Earthly Branches, and humans correspond with the ten toes plus the penis and scrotum; women lack these two segments, allowing them to embrace and bear children in human form. (The twelve Earthly Branches are Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai, hence they correspond to the human toes. Since there are only ten toes, adding the penis and scrotum makes twelve. The penis is the site of the Zongjin (converging sinews). The scrotum contains the testicles. Women lack these two parts, thus enabling them to conceive and carry pregnancy. "Embrace" here means carrying a fetus, similar to how hens incubating eggs are referred to as "embracing" in the northwest. Testis is pronounced "gao".) Heaven has Yin and Yang, humans have husband and wife. Heaven is Yang, Earth is Yin; husband is Yang, wife is Yin, therefore it is said that the husband is the heaven for the wife. A year has 365 days, and humans have 360 bone joints. ("Joint" refers to bone joints.) Earth has high mountains, humans have shoulders and knees. (Shoulders and knees have large, elevated bones, thus corresponding to mountains.) Earth has deep valleys, humans have axillae (armpits). (Axillae are deeply sunken, thus corresponding to valleys. Pronounced "guo".) Earth has twelve major rivers, humans have twelve main meridians. (See Meridian and Collateral Class, Chapter 32 for details.) Earth has underground spring veins, humans have Wei Qi (Defensive Qi). (Underground springs flow beneath the earth, while Wei Qi circulates within the muscles.) Earth has auspicious grass, humans have fine body hair. (Jia is an auspicious grass that grew in the courtyard during Yao's time, withering and flourishing with the moon phases. One day after the new moon, the leaves sprout; one day after the full moon, they fall. If the calendar aligns with this measure, the grass grows.) Heaven has day and night, humans have waking and sleeping activities. (Day is Yang, and humans move in accordance with Yang; Night is Yin, and humans rest in accordance with Yin.) Heaven has rows of stars, humans have teeth. (Teeth are arranged neatly, resembling rows of stars. The Shuowen Jiezi states: "Ya" refers to molars. Another view says sharp teeth are "ya", while aligned teeth are "chi". The Shanggu Tianzhen Lun states that at age 21 for women (7x3) and 24 for men (8x3), the wisdom teeth grow and the body reaches maturity; hence, later-growing large teeth are called "ya". At age 7 for women and 8 for men, teeth change; hence, earlier-growing small teeth are called "chi". Thus, men begin growing teeth at 8 months and shed them at 8 years old; women begin growing teeth at 7 months and shed them at 7 years old. "Chen" refers to shedding baby teeth. Pronounced "chao jin qie".) Earth has small hills, humans have small bone joints. (Small joints refer to small bones and finger joints.) Earth has high rocks, humans have prominent bones. (Prominent bones refer to cheekbones, shoulder bones, knee bones, ankle bones, etc.) Earth has forests, humans have areas where tendons gather. ("Mu" refers to places where meridian Qi and blood gather. Pronounced "mu".) Earth has clustered towns, humans have areas where fat and muscle gather. (Areas of fat and muscle are where adipose tissue accumulates. Pronounced "qu yun qie".) A year has twelve months, humans have twelve major joints. (Each of the four limbs has three major joints, totaling twelve.) Earth has barren lands where no grass grows in certain seasons, humans have those who cannot reproduce. (Barren lands exist on Earth, and there are infertile people among humans.) This is how humans correspond to Heaven and Earth. (The concept that the human body is a microcosm of Heaven and Earth is precisely what this refers to.)