三部九候論篇/San Bu Jiu Hou Lun

(On the Three Parts and the Nine Sub-parts of Pulse)

黃帝問(wèn)日;余聞九針[《太平圣惠方》引作“候”]于夫子，眾多博大，不可勝數(shù)。余愿聞要道[林校引全元起本“道”作“地”]，以屬子孫，傳之后世，著之骨髓，藏之肝肺，酞血而受，不敢妄泄，令合天道[“道”林校引作“地”]，必有始終，上應(yīng)天光星歷紀(jì)，下副四時(shí)五行。貴賤更互[胡本、趙本“互”并作“立”]冬陰夏陽(yáng)，以人應(yīng)之奈何?愿聞其方。

Yellow Emperor asked:“The principle of nine sub-parts of pulse I have heard was abundant and vast to me, which can hardly be related in full. I hope to hear some more about the principle which are important, so that I can enjoin my descendants to hand down to the future generations. I will firmly bear them mind, and swear not to disclose them out carelessly. I will keep them in compatible with the heaven and earth from beginning to end and let it correspond with the numbers of the sun, moon, star and the solar terms above, and in accordance with the variation of the four seasons and the five elements below. Since there are different conditions of abundance and decline in the five elements, and in the four seasons, winter is Yin and summer is Yang, how can a man adapt these natural laws? I hope you can tell me if there is any method.

岐伯對(duì)日:妙乎哉問(wèn)也!此天地之至數(shù)。帝日:愿聞天地之至數(shù)，合于人形，血?dú)馔╗按“通”字誤倒，應(yīng)作“通血?dú)狻盷，決死生，為之奈何?岐伯日:天地之至數(shù)，始于一，終于九焉。一者[明抄本“者”作“日”]天，二者[應(yīng)作“日”]地，三者[應(yīng)作“曰”]人，因而三之，三三者九，以應(yīng)九野，故人[《類說(shuō)》引“人”作“脈”]有三部，部有三候，以決死生，以處百病，以調(diào)虛實(shí)，而除邪疾。

Qibo said:"What a good question you have asked, it is the axiom of heaven and earth." 

Yellow Emperor said: "T hope you can tell me the axiom of heaven and earth so that it may be in confromity with the human body, dredging the blood and energy, and enable one to distinguish the death and survival of the patient. But how can this be achieved?" Qibo said:"The numbers of heaven and earth begin from one and end in nine.

"One is Yang and it stands for heaven, two is Yin and it stands for earth, as men lives between heaven and earth, so three stands for man, since the heaven, earth and man are three, three times three is nine which is corresponding with the number of the nine prefectures.

"Thus, there are three parts in the pulse, and each of them has three sub-parts which are the foundations for to distinguish the death and survival of the patient, diagnose all kinds of disease, adjust the asthenia and sthenia, and remove diseases."