The emperor asked: "Why do the lungs make men cough?"
Qi Bo answered: "The five zang-organs and six fu organs can all make men cough, not only the lungs do."
The Emperor said: "I would like to hear about this."
Qi Bo remarked: "The skin and body hair are the external correspondence to the lungs. The skin and body hair are attacked by evils first, and then the evils enter the lungs. When cold drinks and foods enter the stomach, the cold ascends to the lungs along the blood vessels of the lungs, so the lungs become cold. If the lungs are cold, the external cold and internal cold combine and settle at the lungs, so a lung cough occurs. The five zang-organs contract evils in their dominated seasons respectively. If it is not autumn, the other four zang-organs transfer the evils to the lungs. Man and nature are mutually corresponding, therefore the five zang-organs catch the cold and get ill in their dominated seasons respectively. If the disease is mild, it is a cough; if serious, Diarrhea and pain may ensue. In autumn, the lungs are attacked first. In spring, the liver is attacked first. In summer, the heart is hit first. In late summer, the spleen is hit first. In winter, the kidneys are assailed first."
Key Words: discussion of cough, in the plain questions
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