天年/Tian Nian

(The Natural Span of Life)

黄帝问于岐伯曰:愿闻[愿闻:《灵枢略》作“夫”]人之始生，何气[气:《灵枢略》无此字]筑为基，何立而[而:《灵枢略》无此字]为楯，何失而死，何得而生?岐伯日:以母为基，以父为循，失神者死，得神者生也。黄帝日:何者为神?岐伯日:血气已和，荣卫已通，五戴已成，神气舍心，魂魄毕具，乃成为人。

Yellow Emperor asked Qibo and said:"What is the foundation in the initiation of one's life? How to set the periphery for guarding outside? What is the thing when being lost will cause death and what is the thing when being preserved will cause survival?" Qibo said:"The mother is the foundation and the father is the railing. which is guarding outside, when one's spirit is lost, he will die, when one's spirit exists, he will survive." Yellow Emperor asked:"What is the spirit?" Qibo said:"When one's blood and energy are harmonious, his Rong-energy and Wei-energy are unimpeded, his five viscera being shaped and the spirit being stored in his heart causing him to have thought and will, then, he becomes a man."

黄帝日:人之寿夭各不同，或夭寿，或卒死，或病久，愿闻其道。岐伯日:五脏坚固，血脉和调，肌肉解利，皮肤致密，营卫之行，不失其常，呼吸微徐，气以度行，六腑化谷，津液布扬，各如其常，故能长久。

Yellow Emperor said:"The life spans in different people are different, some die early and some can live a long life, some die suddendly and some have protracted disease, I hope to hear the reason about it." Qibo said: "The structures of the five solid organs should be firm, the channels should be genial and harminious, the muscle should be smooth and moist, the skin should be fine and dense, the running of the Ying-energy and the Wei-energy should not divorce from their normal condition, the respiration should be light and slow, the energy should run in a moderate way with proper speed, the six hollow organs should convert the cereals and the body fluid should spread to the various orifices, when all the aspects above are normal, one's life span will be long."

黄帝日:人之寿百岁而死，何以致之?岐伯曰:使道隧以长，基墙高以方，通调营卫，三部三里，起骨高肉满，百岁乃得终。

Yellow Emperor asked: "Some people can live to the age of one hundred years old, how can they live such a long life?" Qibo said: "When one's nostrils are deep and long, his nose is high, large square and upright which can harmonize the channel-energies of the Ying, Wei, the triple warmer and that of the Sanli point, he will live long. Thus, when one's nasal bone is protruding and his nasal muscle is plump, he can live until one hundred years old."