马云。齐者。后世剂同。刺以为剂。犹以药为剂。故名篇。简按一切经音义云。剂限。考声云。分段也。
韵诠云。分剂也。三苍云。分齐也。知是齐剂同。限剂分剂之义。盖刺之浅深。有限有分。故曰刺齐。吴高如
字读。为齐一之谓。非。
刺骨者无伤筋云云 高云。欲知其分。必先知其非分。如刺骨者。刺入骨分。无伤其筋。刺筋者。
刺入筋分。无伤其肉。刺肉者。刺入肉分。无伤其脉。脉有络脉。有经脉。上编。脉居肉后。经脉也。此篇。
脉居肉先。络脉也。刺脉者。刺入脉分。无伤其皮。此言刺宜深者勿浅。浅则非分矣。简按下文云。刺肉无伤
脉者。至脉而去。不及肉也。即脉浅肉深。与前篇刺肉无伤脉。义相乖。故高有经脉络脉之说。然经文无明据。
恐是两篇各一家之言。高注似强解。
刺皮者无伤肉云云 高云。以上文层次言之。当云刺皮
者无伤脉。今不言脉者。以脉不止络脉。复有经脉。络脉在肉前。经脉居肉后。言肉而脉在其中。故曰。刺皮
者。刺入皮分。无伤其肉。刺肉者。刺入肉分。无伤其筋。刺筋者。刺入筋分。无伤其骨。此言刺宜浅勿深。
深则非分矣。简按此亦似牵强。然从前诸家。顺文解释。无于经文参差处。而致思者。如高可谓善读古书者矣。
至筋而去不及骨也 张云。病在骨者。直当刺骨。勿伤其筋。若针至筋分。索气而去。不及于骨。则
病不在肝。攻非其过。是伤筋也。简按以下三项。宜以此例焉。马云。此明言上文前四句之义也。
至脉而去不及肉也 卢冶云。脉在肉中。肉在溪谷。脉有脉道。理路各别者也。所谓至脉而去不及肉
者。谓刺在皮肤络脉之间。不及里之筋骨。非针从脉而再入于肉也。是以略去刺脉无伤肉句者。使后学之意会
也。简按是属影撰。然高注全本于此。要之上文宜云刺皮者无伤脉。刺脉者无伤肉。而不及之。至于此。亦无
伤脉刺脉之言。实可疑焉。
所谓刺皮无伤肉者 张云。刺皮过深。而中肉者。伤其脾气。简按以下二项。宜以此例焉。马云。此
明言首节末三句之义也。
Ma Yun states: "Qi" (limit/proportion) is used interchangeably with "Ji" (dosage/measure) in later times. Acupuncture employs depth as the "Ji," just as herbal medicine employs dosage as the "Ji." Hence, the chapter is titled *Ci Qi Lun* (Treatise on the Proportions of Needling). Jian'an notes: The *Yiqie Jing Yinyi* (Comprehensive Phonological Meanings of the Scriptures) states that "Ji Xian" refers to limits; the *Kaosheng* (Investigation of Sounds) defines it as "segmentation"; the *Yunquan* (Rhyme Dictionary) calls it "Fen Ji" (division and measure); and the *Sangcang* (Three Cang texts) describes it as "Fen Qi" (division and proportion). It is evident that "Qi" and "Ji" share the same meaning, referring to boundaries, dosages, or measures. Essentially, the depth of needling has its limits and proportions, thus it is called "Ci Qi." Wu Gaoru interpreted "Qi" as meaning "uniformity" or "sameness," which is incorrect.
Regarding "Those who penetrate the bone should not injure the sinews," etc.: Wu Gaoru explains: To know the correct proportion, one must first understand what is disproportionate. For instance, when penetrating the bone, one should reach the layer of the bone without injuring the sinews; when penetrating the sinews, one should reach the layer of the sinews without injuring the flesh; when penetrating the flesh, one should reach the layer of the flesh without injuring the vessels. Vessels are divided into *Luomai* (Collateral Vessels) and *Jingmai* (Primary Meridians). In the earlier chapters, vessels located behind the flesh refer to Primary Meridians; in this chapter, vessels located before the flesh refer to Collateral Vessels. When penetrating vessels, one should reach the layer of the vessels without injuring the skin. This passage means that where deep penetration is indicated, shallow penetration is inappropriate, as it falls outside the correct proportion. Jian'an notes: Later in the text, it states, "When penetrating the flesh without injuring the vessels, withdraw upon reaching the vessels, not entering the flesh." This implies that vessels are superficial and flesh is deep, which contradicts the meaning of "penetrating the flesh without injuring the vessels" in the previous chapter. Therefore, Wu Gaoru's theory regarding Primary and Collateral Vessels arises from this discrepancy. However, there is no explicit evidence in the classic text itself. It is likely that the two chapters represent different schools of thought, and Wu's annotation seems forced.
Regarding "Those who penetrate the skin should not injure the flesh," etc.: Wu Gaoru states: Based on the layers mentioned above, it should read "Those who penetrate the skin should not injure the vessels." The reason "vessels" are omitted here is that vessels include not only Collateral Vessels but also Primary Meridians. Collateral Vessels are anterior to the flesh, while Primary Meridians are posterior to the flesh. Since mentioning the flesh encompasses the vessels within it, it says: "Those who penetrate the skin should reach the layer of the skin without injuring the flesh; those who penetrate the flesh should reach the layer of the flesh without injuring the sinews; those who penetrate the sinews should reach the layer of the sinews without injuring the bone." This passage means that where shallow penetration is indicated, deep penetration is inappropriate, as it falls outside the correct proportion. Jian'an notes: This also appears somewhat strained. However, among previous commentators who merely followed the text without pondering inconsistencies in the classic, Wu Gaoru can be considered a skilled reader of ancient texts.
"Withdraw upon reaching the sinews, not penetrating the bone": Zhang Jingyue states: If the disease is in the bone, one should directly penetrate the bone without injuring the sinews. If the needle reaches only the layer of the sinews, extracts the *Qi*, and then withdraws without reaching the bone, the attack is misplaced (note: the original text mentions liver, though bone corresponds to Kidney in TCM theory, translation follows source logic), thereby injuring the sinews. Jian'an notes: The following two items should be understood by analogy with this example. Ma Yun states: This explicitly clarifies the meaning of the first four sentences of the preceding section.
"Withdraw upon reaching the vessels, not penetrating the flesh": Lu Ye states: Vessels are within the flesh, and flesh is situated in the valleys between muscles. Vessels have their own pathways, distinct in texture and route. The phrase "withdraw upon reaching the vessels, not penetrating the flesh" means that the needle stops between the skin and the Collateral Vessels, not reaching the deeper sinews and bones; it does not mean the needle enters the flesh via the vessels. Therefore, the sentence "penetrating vessels without injuring flesh" is omitted, allowing later students to comprehend the principle through inference. Jian'an notes: This interpretation seems fabricated. Nevertheless, Wu Gaoru's commentary relies entirely on this view. In summary, the earlier text should have stated "those who penetrate the skin should not injure the vessels, those who penetrate the vessels should not injure the flesh," yet these phrases are missing. Furthermore, there is no mention of "injuring vessels" or "penetrating vessels" at this point, which is indeed suspicious.
"Regarding 'those who penetrate the skin should not injure the flesh'": Zhang Jingyue states: Penetrating the skin too deeply and hitting the flesh will injure the Spleen Qi. Jian'an notes: The following two items should be understood by analogy with this example. Ma Yun states: This explicitly clarifies the meaning of the last three sentences of the first section.