喜怒忧思悲恐惊,是为七情。然七情不越五志,心在志为喜,肝在志为怒,脾在志为思
,肺
在志为忧,肾在志为恐。悲属心包,附于心,惊属胆,附于肝,此七情之生于五志也。心怵
惕思虑则伤神,脾忧愁不解则伤意,肝悲哀恸中则伤魂,肺喜乐无极则伤魄,肾盛怒不止则
伤志,恐惧而不解则伤精。此五志之伤于七情也。怒则气上,喜则气缓,悲则气消,恐则气
下,惊则气乱,思则气结。此七情本经之形证也。怒伤肝,悲胜怒,喜伤心,恐胜喜,思伤
脾,怒胜思,忧伤肺,喜胜忧,恐伤肾,思胜恐。此七情相胜之次第也。喜与悲忧相反,怒
与惊恐相反,思则无有所反,乃土位建极于中州也。喜与怒相因,悲忧与惊恐相因,思则各
有所因,乃土德寄旺于四时也。东垣云∶治目不理脾胃,非其治也。其亦有鉴于此欤。但目
之为病,由于六淫者易治,由于七情者难治。盖喜太过,则肾气乘矣,怒则肝气乘矣,悲则
肺气乘矣,恐则脾气乘矣,忧则心气乘矣。一经自具一气,一经又各兼五气,五五二十五气
,变化难穷,苟不得其要,终难获效。然七情中悲伤心胞,惊伤胆者,间或有之。喜伤心,
忧伤肺者,绝少也。惟思伤脾,恐伤肾,怒伤肝者,最多。诚能存养此心,使志意和平,精
神澹定,悲怒不起,惊忧不扰,则天君泰然,百体从令,自然勿药有喜,何必乞灵于草根树
皮哉。
Joy, anger, worry, thought, grief, fear, and alarm are referred to as the Seven Emotions (Qi Qing). However, the Seven Emotions do not exceed the Five Wills (Wu Zhi): Joy is associated with the Heart, Anger with the Liver, Thought with the Spleen, Grief/Worry with the Lung, and Fear with the Kidney. Grief belongs to the Pericardium (Xin Bao), attaching to the Heart; Alarm/Fear belongs to the Gallbladder, attaching to the Liver. This explains how the Seven Emotions arise from the Five Wills. If the Heart Spirit is startled, terrified, or over-thought, it injures the Shen (Spirit); if the Spleen is troubled by unresolved sorrow, it injures the Yi (Intellect/Intent); if the Liver is in a state of extreme grief and weeping, it injures the Hun (Ethereal Soul); if the Lung experiences unbounded joy, it injures the Po (Corporeal Soul); if the Kidney suffers from unceasing rage, it injures the Zhi (Willpower); if fear remains unresolved, it injures the Jing (Essence). This describes how the Five Wills are injured by the Seven Emotions. Anger causes Qi to ascend; Joy causes Qi to slacken; Grief causes Qi to dissipate; Fear causes Qi to descend; Alarm causes Qi to become chaotic; Thought causes Qi to knot. These are the morphological manifestations and syndromes of the Seven Emotions within their respective meridians. Anger injures the Liver, but Grief can overcome Anger; Joy injures the Heart, but Fear can overcome Joy; Thought injures the Spleen, but Anger can overcome Thought; Sorrow injures the Lung, but Joy can overcome Sorrow; Fear injures the Kidney, but Thought can overcome Fear. This is the sequence of mutual overcoming among the Seven Emotions. Joy is opposite to Grief and Worry; Anger is opposite to Fear and Alarm; Thought has no opposite, as Earth resides at the center and establishes the supreme standard. Joy and Anger are interdependent; Grief/Worry and Fear/Alarm are interdependent; Thought has its own specific causes, as the virtue of Earth flourishes during the four seasons. Li Dongyuan stated: "To treat eye diseases without regulating the Spleen and Stomach is not proper treatment." Did he have this insight? However, eye diseases caused by the Six Exogenous Pathogens (Liu Yin) are easy to treat, whereas those caused by the Seven Emotions are difficult to treat. This is because excessive Joy allows Kidney Qi to invade; Anger allows Liver Qi to invade; Grief allows Lung Qi to invade; Fear allows Spleen Qi to invade; Sorrow allows Heart Qi to invade. Each meridian possesses its own Qi, and each also incorporates the Qi of the other five organs, resulting in twenty-five combinations of Qi, which change endlessly. Without grasping the key principles, efficacy is ultimately hard to achieve. Nevertheless, among the Seven Emotions, cases where Grief injures the Pericardium or Alarm injures the Gallbladder occur occasionally. Cases where Joy injures the Heart or Sorrow injures the Lung are extremely rare. Only cases where Thought injures the Spleen, Fear injures the Kidney, and Anger injures the Liver are most common. If one can cultivate the mind, keeping intentions peaceful, spirit calm and composed, avoiding grief and anger, and not being disturbed by alarm or sorrow, then the Heavenly Ruler (Heart/Mind) will be tranquil, and all limbs will obey commands. Naturally, there will be joy without the need for medicine; why beg for efficacy from roots and barks?