《脉要精微论》曰∶尺内两旁则季胁也,尺外以候肾,尺里以候腹。中附上,左外以候
肝,
内以候膈;右外以候胃,内以候脾。上附上,右外以候肺,内以候胸中;左外以候心,内以
候膻中。前以候前,后以候后。上竟上者,喉胸中事也;下竟下者,少腹腰股膝胫足中事也
。此固显然寸口分发脏腑之诊法矣。其内、外之义,有以浮、沉解者;有以前、后名半部解
者;有以内、外两侧解者。总之,浮也,前也,外侧也,皆属阳,当以候腑;沉也,后也,
内
侧也,皆属阴,当以候脏。而经文相反者,何也?尝思之矣,外以候经络之行于躯壳者也,
内以候气化之行于胸腹者也。如尺外以候肾,是候肾之经气外行于身者也;尺里以候腹,则
指定腹内矣。左外以候肝,是候肝之经气外行于身者也;内以候膈,则指定膈内矣。右外以
候肺,是候肺之经气外行于身者也;内以候胸中,则无与躯壳之事矣。左外以候心,是候心
之经气外行于身者也;内以候膻中,则直指心体之处矣。即右外以候胃,内以候脾,亦非以
脏腑分也。候胃,候其经气之行于身者也;候脾,候其气化功用之行于里者也。又云∶前以
候前,谓关前候胸腹也。主阳明、冲、任;后以候后,谓关后候脊背也,主太阳、督脉。是
推展上义,以寸、关、尺三部之正位,为脉之中段,以候身之中段矣。上竟上者,喉胸中事
;下竟下者,少腹、腰、股、膝、胫、足中事也,是更推展于寸之上、尺之下,以分候躯壳
之极上极下矣。人之一身,四维包中心,故以内外言之;两头包中段,故以上下言之;两面
夹中间,故以前后言之。可知寸口之部位,其分发有三∶一以浮沉候表里也;一以关前关后
候身之前后也;一以寸上尺下候身之上下也。李士
材以内外为前后各半部,谓脏气清,故居上;腑气浊,故居下。此不但自古无人用此诊法也
,即士材亦岂能据此为诊乎?且胸、膻、膈、腹,又何能专指以为腑乎?
尺内,谓尺之正部也。两“旁”字,与下文竟下之“下”字同义,谓两尺之后也,不在
正位
,故曰旁也,非两侧之谓。季胁,即赅在少腹、腹、股之中者也。经先提而言之者,盖古人
诊脉下指,是先定尺部,再取关、寸,故曰中附上、上附上,非如后世有高骨为关之说,先
取关
而后定尺、寸也。膻中者,心体四旁之空处,在肺叶所护之内也。胸中者,肺前空大之处皆
是
也。经意盖即以膻中为心,胸中为肺,膈为肝,腹为肾矣。六腑各从其脏也,而三焦之空处
,亦举赅于其中。于此征经文措词之灵而密。
The *Ling Shu* (Spiritual Pivot) chapter "Mai Yao Jing Wei Lun" states: The inner sides of the Chi position correspond to the hypochondrium; the outer side of Chi is used to observe the Kidney, and the inner side of Chi is used to observe the abdomen. Moving upward to the middle connection (Zhong Fu Shang), the left outer side observes the Liver, and the inner side observes the Diaphragm; the right outer side observes the Stomach, and the inner side observes the Spleen. Moving further upward to the upper connection (Shang Fu Shang), the right outer side observes the Lung, and the inner side observes the Chest Center; the left outer side observes the Heart, and the inner side observes the Tan Zhong (Man Zhong). The anterior aspect observes the anterior part of the body, and the posterior aspect observes the posterior part of the body. If the pulse extends beyond the top of the Cun position, it concerns the throat and chest; if it extends beyond the bottom of the Chi position, it concerns the lower abdomen, waist, thigh, knee, calf, and foot. This is clearly the diagnostic method of distributing Zang-Fu organs at the Cun Kou (Radial Artery). Regarding the meaning of "inner" and "outer," some interpret it via Floating (Fu) and Deep (Chen) pulses; some interpret it as the anterior and posterior halves of the section; some interpret it as the medial and lateral sides. In summary, Floating, anterior, and lateral aspects belong to Yang and should be used to observe the Six Fu Organs; Deep, posterior, and medial aspects belong to Yin and should be used to observe the Five Zang Organs. Then why are there contradictions in the classic text? I have pondered this: "Outer" is used to observe the meridian Qi circulating on the body surface, while "Inner" is used to observe the Qi transformation functioning within the chest and abdomen. For instance, observing the Kidney at the outer Chi position refers to observing the Kidney meridian Qi circulating externally on the body; observing the abdomen at the inner Chi position specifically refers to the interior of the abdomen. Observing the Liver at the left outer position refers to observing the Liver meridian Qi circulating externally; observing the Diaphragm at the inner position specifically refers to the interior of the diaphragm. Observing the Lung at the right outer position refers to observing the Lung meridian Qi circulating externally; observing the Chest Center at the inner position has nothing to do with the body surface. Observing the Heart at the left outer position refers to observing the Heart meridian Qi circulating externally; observing the Tan Zhong at the inner position points directly to the location of the Heart organ itself. Even for the right outer position observing the Stomach and the inner position observing the Spleen, this is not a division based on Zang-Fu entities. Observing the Stomach refers to observing its meridian Qi circulating on the body; observing the Spleen refers to observing its Qi transformation functions circulating internally. It also says: "Anterior observes anterior," meaning the area before the Guan position observes the chest and abdomen, primarily relating to the Yangming Meridian, Chong Mai, and Ren Mai. "Posterior observes posterior," meaning the area behind the Guan position observes the spine and back, primarily relating to the Taiyang Meridian and Du Mai. This expands upon the previous meaning, taking the central positions of the Cun, Guan, and Chi as the middle segment of the pulse to observe the middle segment of the body. "Shang Jing Shang" (reaching up to the end above) concerns the throat and chest; "Xia Jing Xia" (reaching down to the end below) concerns the lower abdomen, waist, thigh, knee, calf, and foot. This further expands to above the Cun and below the Chi to separately observe the extreme upper and lower parts of the body shell. The human body has four corners enclosing the center, hence described by inner/outer; two ends enclosing the middle segment, hence described by up/down; two sides sandwiching the middle, hence described by front/back. Thus, the distribution of the Cun Kou position has three types: one uses Floating/Deep to observe Exterior/Interior; one uses Pre-Guan/Post-Guan to observe Front/Back of the body; one uses Upper-Cun/Lower-Chi to observe Up/Down of the body. Li Shicai considered inner/outer as anterior/posterior halves, stating that Zang Qi is clear and thus resides upper; Fu Qi is turbid and thus resides lower. Not only has no one used this diagnostic method since ancient times, but even Li Shicai could hardly base his diagnosis on this? Moreover, how can the chest, Tan Zhong, diaphragm, and abdomen be exclusively designated as Fu Organs?
"Chi Nei" refers to the central position of the Chi section. The word "Pang" (side/flank) appears twice, having the same meaning as "Xia" (below) in "Xia Jing Xia," referring to the posterior aspect of both Chi positions, which are not in the central position, hence called "Pang," not meaning the lateral sides. The Ji Xie (hypochondrium) encompasses the areas of the lower abdomen, abdomen, and groin. The reason the classic mentions this first is likely because ancient practitioners fixed the Chi position first when placing fingers for pulse diagnosis, then took Guan and Cun, hence saying "Zhong Fu Shang" and "Shang Fu Shang." This differs from later theories using a bony prominence as Guan, where Guan is taken first to fix Chi and Cun. Tan Zhong is the empty space surrounding the heart organ, protected within the lung lobes. Xiong Zhong (Chest Center) refers to the large empty spaces anterior to the lungs. The intent of the classic seems to equate Tan Zhong with the Heart, Xiong Zhong with the Lung, Diaphragm with the Liver, and Abdomen with the Kidney. The Six Fu Organs follow their corresponding Zang Organs, and the empty space of the San Jiao (Triple Burner) is also included herein. From this, we can verify the agility and precision of the wording in the classic text.