玉版/Yu Ban

(The Plate of Jade)

黃帝日:余以小針為細(xì)物也，夫子乃言上合之于天，下合之于地，中合之于人，余以為過針之意矣，愿聞其故。岐伯日:何物大于天[天:《太素》卷二十三《疽痛逆順刺篇》“天”作“針者”二字]乎?夫大于針者，惟五兵者焉。五兵者，死之備也，非生之具[具:《太素》卷二十三《疽痛逆順刺篇》作“備也”二字]。且夫人者，天地之鎮(zhèn)也，其不[不:是衍文]可不參乎?夫治民者，亦惟針焉。夫針之與五兵，其孰小乎?

Yellow Emperor said to Qibo:"I thought the small needle is only a trifle before, but now you say the functions of the needle can match the heaven above, the earth below and the man in the middle. I think you have overestimated the original meaning of it, and I hope to know your reasons about it." Qibo said:"What can be larger than the needle? There are only the five weapons are larger than the needle, but the weapons are used for slaughtering, they are not used to save the life of man. Since human being is the most precious thing between heaven and earth, why can not the needle match the heaven and earth? As to the affairs concerning the ruling of the people, they can also be induced by the principle of the needle. Under such consideration, when comparing the functions with that of the five weapons, which one do you think will be smaller?"

黃帝日:病之生時(shí)，有喜怒不測，飲食不節(jié)，陰氣不足，陽氣有余，背氣不行，乃發(fā)為癰疽。陰陽[陰陽:《太素》卷二十三《疽痛逆順刺》“陽”下并有“氣”字]不通，兩[兩黃校本作“而”]熱相搏，乃化為膿，小針能取之乎?岐伯日:圣人不能使化者，為之邪不可[不可:孫鼎宜日:“‘不可’二字衍文”]留也。故兩軍相當(dāng)，旗幟相望，白刃陳于中野者，此非一日之謀也。能使其民，令行禁止，士卒無白刃之難者，非一日之教也，須臾之[臾之:《太素》卷二十三《疽痛逆順刺》作“久之方”]得也。夫至使身被癰疽之病，膿血之聚者，不亦離道遠(yuǎn)乎。夫癰疽之生，膿血之成也，不從天下，不從地出[不從天下，不從地出:《甲乙》卷十一第九下無“不從”八字]，積微之所生也。故圣人自[自:《太素》卷二十三《疽痛逆順刺》作“之”]治于未有形也，愚者遭其已成也。

Yellow Emperor asked: "In the course of the disease, if the patient is capricious, fails to practise temperance in eating and drinking, his Yin energy in the five solid organs will be insufficient and the Yang energy in the six hollow organs will be having a surplus to cause the impediment of the Ying and Wei energies and the carbuncle will occur. When the Yin and Yang erergies are obstructed, the accumulated heat evil will turn into pus. Can this kind of disease be treated by pricking with the small needle?" Qibo said: "Since the disease has retained inside for a long period, even a sage can not eliminate the evil-energy immediately. It is like two hostile armies facing each other, their banners are manifesting, their weapons are displaying by the soldiers in the field, the disposition can not be schemed in a single day; when the people in a country can observe the law to avoid being killed for doing the unlawful things, it is not a single day for the people to receive the education concerned. When one's body has the carbuncle with pus accumulating, isn't it not far away from following the principle of preserving health and keeping fit? In fact, the carbuncle and the accumulation of pus are formed by the graduate accumulation of the various trifle causes of disease. Therefore, a sage pays attention to the prevention of the disease and treats it when it is not yet visible, but a dull-witted man can only treat after the disease is shaped."

黃帝曰:其已[已:周本人“以”]形，不予遭，膿已成，不予見，為之奈何?岐伯曰:膿已成，十死一生，故圣人弗使已成，而明為良方，著之竹帛使能者踵而傳之后世，無有終時(shí)者，為其不予遭也。

Yellow Emperor asked: "When the carbuncle has formed, it is not known by common people, and when the suppuration is completed, it is not understood by common people, what can one do about it?" Qibo said: "When the suppuration is completed, ten of the patient will die and only one can survive. So, the sage formulated a very good prescription in the past for treating the disease before the suppuration, it was written on the bamboo slip and the silk for imparting to the talented people and the later generations endlessly. The reason of the sage who did in this way was precisely due to the fact that the common people did not know it."

黃帝曰:其已[其已:《甲乙》卷十一經(jīng)九下“已”下有“成”字]有膿血而后遭乎[而后遭乎:《甲乙》卷十一第九下無此四字]，不導(dǎo)之[導(dǎo)之:守山閣《校本》注云:“導(dǎo)之”二字衍]以小針治乎?岐伯曰:以小治小者其功小，以大治大者多害[多害:《甲乙》卷十一第九下任務(wù)“其功大”。下有“以小治大者多害大”八字]，故其已成膿血[血:《太素》卷二十三《疽痛逆順刺》無此字]者，其唯砭石鈹鋒之所取也。

Yellow Emperor asked: "If the carbuncle has formed with pus, can it be treated by the small needle?" Qibo said: "When using a small needle to treat a small site, its effect will be small, when using a large needle to treat a large site, the effect will be large, thus, when the carbuncle is suppurated with pus, it is advisable to apply the stone needle, the sword-shaped needle or the ensiform needle to remove the pus."