阴阳类论篇/Yin Yang Lei Lun

(On the Three Yin Channels and the Three Yang Channels)

孟春始至，黄帝燕坐，临观八极，正八风之气，而问雷公日:阴阳之类，经脉之道，五中所主，何藏最贵?雷公对日:春、甲乙青、中主肝，治七十二日，是脉之主时，臣以其藏最贵。帝日:却念上下经，阴阳从容，子所言贵，最其下也。

On the day of the Beginning of Spring, Yellow Emperor sat leisurely by the window and watched the scenery of the eight directions and inspected the orientations where the eight winds come from. He asked Lei Gong: "According to the analysis of Yin and Yang channels theory and the Law of the five viscera dominating the seasons, which viscus do you think is the most important one?" Lei Gong answered:"The spring season belongs to Jia and Yi in the decimal cycle, it is of wood and green colour, and it is liver among the five viscera. The liver is prosperous in the seventy two days period of spring and it is the period when the liveris implementing its decree. So, I think liver is most important among the five viscera."

Yellow Emperor said:"You should recall the contents you learned in the chapter of analogy and analysis to Yin and Yang by leisureliness in the 《Upper and Lower Classics》. What you think the most important one is actually the most unimportant one."

雷公致斋七日，旦复待坐。帝日:三阳为经，二阳为维，一阳为游部，此知五藏终始。三阳[张介宾说:“三阳误也当作‘三阴’，三阴，太阴也，太阴为诸阴之表，故日三阴为表”]为表，二阴为里，一阴至绝作朔晦，却具合以正其理。雷公日:受业未能明。

Lei Gong fasted for seven days consecutively and sat by the side of Yellow Emperor in an early morning. Yellow Emperor said to him:" In the Yin and Yang channels of man, the third Yang (the Foot Taiyang Channel) is running along with the longtitude, it lies along the back and reach the top of head above verticaily and it controls the Yang energy of human body. The second Yang (the Yangming Channel) is running along with the latitude, which spreads over the face and head above, covering the chest and abdomen horizontally. The first Yang (the Shaoyang Channel)is the traveling channel, it starts from the outer canthus, lying along the superclavicular fossa and the lateral side of the body, travelling between the Taiyang and Yangming channels. One can determine the beginning and the terminal of the visceral energy by inspecting the coming in and going out of the circulation of the various Yang channels. The third Yin (the Taiyin Channel) which controls the lung, hair and skin is the superficies of Yin channels. The second Yin (the Shaoyin Channel)sinking inside which controls the kidney and bone is the interior. The first Yin (the Jueyin Channel) is the last stage of Yin which is prior to the beginning of Yang, like the demarcation of the dark moon in the last day of the lunar month and the new moon of the first day of the lunar month. The growth and decline of one another is conform to the condition of the channel's circulation and the Yin and Yang operations in human body." Lei Gong said:"I don't think I have understood what you meant."