Library

Jingluo (Meridians and Collaterals) are the Yuan Qi (Primal Qi) of humans, hidden within Blood and Qi, circulating throughout the body without interruption day and night; this is what is referred to as Mai (Vessels). The main straight channels within these vessels are called Jing (Meridians), while the branching and intersecting parts are called Luo (Collaterals); the further branches of the collaterals are like twigs on a tree, extending laterally from the main straight channels. Humans are born by emulating Heaven and Earth, and their Jingluo circulation also follows the temporal rhythms of Heaven and Earth. For instance, at Yin hour (03:00–05:00), Lung Qi generates; at Mao hour (05:00–07:00), it flows into the Large Intestine Meridian; Chen hour (07:00–09:00) belongs to Stomach, Si hour (09:00–11:00) to Spleen, Wu hour (11:00–13:00) to Heart Fire, Wei hour (13:00–15:00) again to Small Intestine Meridian, Shen hour (15:00–17:00) to Bladder, You hour (17:00–19:00) to Kidney, Xu hour (19:00–21:00) resides in Pericardium, Hai hour (21:00–23:00) to Sanjiao (Triple Burner), Zi hour (23:00–01:00) to Gallbladder, Chou hour (01:00–03:00) to Liver, and then back to Lung; thus, the Twelve Primary Meridians circulate freely. If the Qi of any of the Twelve Meridians becomes stagnant, disease occurs; if there is excess or deficiency, disease occurs; and if external pathogens invade the meridians, disease also occurs. Some diseases begin in one meridian and, over time, transmit and transform, resulting in various symptoms, each corresponding to specific meridians. For example, headache may differ by left or right side and anterior or posterior location; eye diseases may vary by inner canthus, outer canthus, black pupil (cornea/iris), white sclera, and upper or lower eyelids. Treatment must distinguish based on meridians. If meridians are not distinguished, treating a Lung Meridian disease with Heart Meridian herbs will fail to resolve the lung condition and merely damage the heart; treating a Blood-level disease with Qi-regulating herbs will injure the Qi and exacerbate the blood disorder. Especially for diseases transmitted due to external pathogens invading the meridians, distinguishing meridians is essential. Li Dongyuan stated: "When Shaoyang pathogen is in the Taiyang Meridian, misusing Gegen Tang (Pueraria Decoction) draws the pathogen into the Yangming Meridian; thus, Gegen Tang is a herb for Yangming Meridian diseases, not Taiyang Meridian diseases." From this, we can infer how many people have died prematurely due to incorrect medication. Medical texts state: "If one does not understand the Twelve Meridians, every opening of the mouth and movement of the hand will be erroneous." This is indeed an accurate statement. Quacks often say, "I am a physician for internal medicine, not acupuncture; why should I know acupoints?" They fail to realize that one must first understand meridians to locate acupoints; can one treat without knowing meridians? This is why they are quacks. The book compiled here clarifies meridians most distinctly, avoiding confusion of acupoints, enabling students to find collaterals via acupoints, meridians via collaterals, and thereby clearly identify the source of disease, ensuring no confusion in medication. Benevolent gentlemen with sincere intentions to save the world should pay attention to this.