The Yellow Emperor said: The Qiao pulse has Yin and Yang; which pulse should be counted? Qi Bo replied: Men count their Yang pulses, women count their Yin pulses; those that should be counted are the Jing (meridians), while those that should not be counted are the Luo (collaterals).
Translation:
The Yellow Emperor said: The Qiao pulse is divided into Yin and Yang; so which one should be used to measure its length? Qi Bo answered: Men measure the length of their Yang Qiao pulse, while women measure the length of their Yin Qiao pulse. The length of the Qiao pulse that is measured is considered a Jing (meridian), while the length that is not measured is considered a Luo (collateral).
Main Content:
Classification of Qiao Pulses:
“Men count their Yang, women count their Yin; those that should be counted are Jing, while those that should not be counted are Luo”: Men measure the length of their Yang Qiao pulse, while women measure the length of their Yin Qiao pulse. The length of the Qiao pulse that is measured is considered a Jing (meridian), while the length that is not measured is considered a Luo (collateral).
Insights:
1. The “Qiao pulse” is divided into “Yin Qiao” and “Yang Qiao”; why is the male “Yang Qiao” considered Jing and the “Yin Qiao” considered Luo? For females, the “Yin Qiao” is Yin and the “Yang Qiao” is Luo? The “Jing” chapter distinguishes between Jing and Luo based on visibility; why is this principle not followed here?
2. The “Fifty Camp” proposes the theory of twenty-eight pulses; this article counts twelve Jing (meridians) with 24 channels, two Ren and Du (Governing and Conception vessels), and two Qiao pulses, totaling 28, which fits the number “sixteen zhang and two chi.” Is the classification of Qiao pulses by gender for the purpose of achieving the theoretical completeness of “28”?
