《素问》曰∶夫邪气之客于身也，以胜相加，至其所不胜而甚（传克我之经），至于所生而持（传生我之
经。持，相持也），至其所生而愈（传我生之经），自得其位而起（居所旺处）（稍次《藏气法时论篇》）。
又曰∶五脏受气于其所生（谓受病气于己之所生者），传之于其所胜（谓传于己之所克者），气舍于其所生（谓
舍于生己者），死于其所不胜（谓死于克己者，分位所传不顺，故死）。肝受气
于心，而传之于脾，气舍于肾，至肺而死。心受气于脾，传之于肺，气舍于肝，至肾而死。脾受气于肺，传之
于肾，气舍于心，至肝而死。肺受气于肾，传之于肝，气舍于脾，至心而死。肾受气于肝，传之于心，气舍于
肺，至脾而死。此皆气之逆行也。故死一日一夜五分之，此所以占死生之早暮也（朝主甲乙，昼主丙丁，四季
上主戊己，脯主庚辛，夜主壬癸。如肝死于肺，位属秋，庚辛，则主脯时死，余仿此）。（稍次《玉机真脏论
篇》）
《难经》曰∶经言七传者死，谓传其所胜也（七传者，传数至七也。吕广曰∶七，当作次，谓诸病以次相
传也），假令心病传肺，肺传肝，肝传脾，脾传肾，肾传心，一脏不再伤故死（此与下文皆以心部为例，心六传，
又至心，心当再传于肺，肺不肯受，是谓一脏不再伤也。传于所胜，谓之贼邪，故至死）。间脏者生，谓传其
所生也（间，隔也，间脏乃母传于子），假令心病传脾，脾传肺，肺传肾，肾传肝，肝传心，是子母相传，周
而复始，如环无端故生（心胜肺，今心病不径传于肺，而传之于脾，是脾隔其所胜矣。脾传肾，今不径传于肾，
而传之于肺，是肺隔其所胜矣。肺传肝，今不径传于肝，而传之于肾，是肾隔其所胜矣。肾胜心，今不径传于
心，而传之于肝，是肝隔其所胜矣。此间二脏而传也。又如心隔肺而传肝，肝又隔脾而传肾，此间一脏而传也。
传其所生谓之虚邪，无相胜之害，故得生也）。脏病难治，腑病易治，以此故也（ 括《五十三、五十四难》
两篇文）。
The *Suwen* (Plain Questions) states: When pathogenic factors invade the human body, they transmit according to the principle of mutual overcoming. The condition becomes severe when transmitted to the meridian that overcomes it (transmission to the meridian that controls me); it remains in a stalemate when transmitted to the meridian that produces it (transmission to the meridian that generates me; "stalemate" refers to the struggle between healthy qi and pathogenic factors); the condition improves when transmitted to the meridian produced by it (transmission to the meridian that I generate); and it begins to recover when it returns to its own position of prosperity (occupying the prosperous position of the organ itself) (this point is slightly subordinate to the content in the *Zangqi Fashi Lun* chapter).
It also states: The five zang organs receive pathological qi from the organ they produce (meaning receiving disease qi from what one generates), then transmit it to the organ they overcome (transmitting to what one controls), the qi stays in the organ that produces them (staying with what generates me), and death occurs at the organ that overcomes them (dying from what controls me, because the transmission across positions is unfavorable, leading to death). For example, the liver receives qi from the heart, transmits it to the spleen, the qi stays in the kidney, and death occurs upon reaching the lung. The heart receives qi from the spleen, transmits it to the lung, the qi stays in the liver, and death occurs upon reaching the kidney. The spleen receives qi from the lung, transmits it to the kidney, the qi stays in the heart, and death occurs upon reaching the liver. The lung receives qi from the kidney, transmits it to the liver, the qi stays in the spleen, and death occurs upon reaching the heart. The kidney receives qi from the liver, transmits it to the heart, the qi stays in the lung, and death occurs upon reaching the spleen. These are all examples of reverse qi transmission. Therefore, death is distributed across five parts of a day and night, which is used to predict the early or late timing of death (morning corresponds to Jia-Yi Wood, daytime to Bing-Ding Fire, the end of each season to Wu-Ji Earth, afternoon to Geng-Xin Metal, and night to Ren-Gui Water. For instance, if liver disease dies due to lung involvement, as the lung belongs to autumn and corresponds to Geng-Xin Metal, death is predicted in the afternoon; other cases follow this pattern) (this point is slightly subordinate to the content in the *Yuji Zhenzang Lun* chapter).
The *Nanjing* (Classic of Difficult Issues) states: The classic mentions that "seven transmissions lead to death," referring to transmission to the organ it overcomes (the term "seven transmissions" implies transmission up to seven times. Lu Guang argued that "seven" should be read as "successive," meaning diseases transmit sequentially). For example, if heart disease transmits to the lung, the lung to the liver, the liver to the spleen, the spleen to the kidney, and the kidney back to the heart, death ensues because one zang organ is not injured twice (here, using the heart as an example throughout the following text: the heart undergoes six transmissions and returns to itself; it should transmit again to the lung, but the lung refuses to accept it, which is called "one zang organ is not injured twice." Transmission to the overcome organ is termed "robber evil" (Ze Xie), thus leading to death). If it involves "interposing zang organs," life is preserved, referring to transmission to the organ it produces ("interpose" means to separate; interposing zang transmission is mother transmitting to son). For example, if heart disease transmits to the spleen, the spleen to the lung, the lung to the kidney, the kidney to the liver, and the liver back to the heart, this is mother-son transmission, cycling endlessly like a ring without beginning or end, thus ensuring survival (The heart normally overcomes the lung; now, heart disease does not transmit directly to the lung but to the spleen, meaning the spleen interposes the lung that the heart overcomes. The spleen normally overcomes the kidney; now it does not transmit directly to the kidney but to the lung, meaning the lung interposes the kidney that the spleen overcomes. The lung normally overcomes the liver; now it does not transmit directly to the liver but to the kidney, meaning the kidney interposes the liver that the lung overcomes. The kidney normally overcomes the heart; now it does not transmit directly to the heart but to the liver, meaning the liver interposes the heart that the kidney overcomes. This is transmission interposing two zang organs. Alternatively, the heart interposes the lung to transmit to the liver, and the liver interposes the spleen to transmit to the kidney; this is transmission interposing one zang organ. Transmission to the produced organ is termed "deficient evil" (Xu Xie), lacking the harm of mutual overcoming, thus allowing for survival). Diseases of the zang organs are difficult to treat, while diseases of the fu organs are easy to treat, for this reason (summarizing the texts of the *Fifty-Third* and *Fifty-Fourth* difficult issues).