举痛论篇/Ju Tong Lun

(On the Pathology of Pain)

黄帝问日:余闻善言天者，必有验于人;善言古者，必有合于今;善言人者，必有厌于已。如此，则道不惑而要数极，所谓明[胡本(讠头)本，元残二，赵本吴本“明”并叠“明”字，按“明明”谓明甚]也。今余问于夫子，令言而可知，视而可见，扪而可得，令验于已而发蒙解惑，可得而闻乎?岐伯再拜稽首对日:何道之问也?帝日:愿闻人入之五藏卒痛，何气使然?岐伯对日:经脉流行不止、环周不休，寒气入经而[《太素》“入”下有“焉”字，“而”作“血”]稽迟，泣而不行，客于脉外则血少，客于脉中则气不通，故卒然而痛。

Yellow Emperor said:"I am told that when one is good at dicussing the law of heaven, he must be able to verify the law of heaven to man; when one is good at discussing events in the past, he must be able to connect the past with the present; when one is good at commenting on others, he must be able to integrate them with himself, it is only in this way, can one be not in a puzzle in the principles of medicine, and to obtain and know the truth thoroughly.

"Now I want to ask you about the way of diagnosis which can be understood when by speech, visible when by seeing, and tangible when by touching, so that I can have some realization about it. I hope to hear about your advice to enlighten my ignorance and remove my perplexion."

Qibo asked: "What principles do you want to know?" Yellow Emperor said: "I want to hear about what are the evil-energies that cause the sudden pain of the viscera?" Qibo answered: "The blood and energy in the channels are circulating unceasingly in the whole body when the cold-evil invades the channle, the blood in the channel will become stagnating, and the pain will suddenly occur."

帝曰:其痛或卒然而止者，或痛甚不休者，或痛甚不可按者，或按之而痛止者，或按之无益者，或喘[按“喘”误，疑应作“揣”，“动”有“痛”义]动应手者，或心与背相引而痛者，或[《太素》“或”下有“心”字]胁肋与少腹相引而痛者，或腹痛引阴股者，或痛宿[谓抄本“宿”作“夙”]昔而成积者，或卒然痛死不知人，有少[《太素》“有”下无“少”字]间复生者，或痛而呕者，或腹痛而后[《太素》“后”作“复”]泄者，或痛而闭[滑抄本“闭”作“闷”]不通者，凡此诸痛，各不同形，别之奈何?

Yellow Emperor said:"Some of the pains stop by themselves all of a sudden; some of the acute pains can not be stopped; some of the pains are so severe that can not withstand the massage and pressing; some of the pains can be alleviated by massage and pressing; some of them can not be alleviated by massage and pressing; some of them occur as soon as the hand touches the abdomen; sometimes the pain of heart and the pain of the back are affecting each other; sometimes the pain of the heart, the pain of the hypochondrium and the pain of the lower abdomen are affecting each other; sometimes the pain of the abdomen is pulling the inner side of the thigh; some of the pains are protracted to become abdominal mass; some acute pains occur suddenly to cause the patient to become unconscious like a dead man but revives after a while; some patients feel pain and vomit at the same time: some of the patients have abdominal pain and diarrhea; some patients feel pain and oppression over the chest. Since all the cases are different, how can they be distinguished?"