The Emperor asked: "How is a man endowed with qi? How do yin and yang meet? What is nutritive qi? What is defensive qi? Where does the nutritive qi come from? Where does the defensive qi meet the nutritive qi? The qi of old men is different from that of young men. The qi runs in different routes by day and by night. How do the nutritive qi and defensive qi meet?"
Qi Bo answered: "Men are endowed with qi from grains. When grains get into the stomach, the qi is transported to the lungs. Then, the five zang-organs and six fu-organs are all endowed with qi. The clear part of the qi is called nutritive qi. The cloudy part of the qi is called defensive qi. The nutritive qi runs inside the vessels. The defensive qi runs outside the vessels. Both move endlessly and meet once after fifty circles. In the way of a yin channel and a yang channel, the circulation of the nutritive qi and defensive qi is ceaseless in a loop. The defensive qi runs twenty-five circles in the night, and the other twenty-five in the day. So when the defensive qi reaches the yang, the person wakes up. When the defensive qi arrives at the yin, the person goes to sleep. So we say: The yang reaches its climax at the midday. It is a called double-yang. The yin reaches its climax at midnight. It is called double-yin."
Key Words: generation and meeting of nutritive qi and defensive qi, in the divine pivot
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