A Complete Qi-Transformation Chain through Qian-Gui-Huangzhong: Sanjiao, Moyuan, Chong, Ren, Du, and Qiao
At the end of the fourth series, we use a case that the Mirror Classic of Bian Que itself expands in detail to reassemble all the preceding pieces: Qian-Gui.
The text first says:
Qian-Gui is a She of qi interaction. Huangzhong is the measure of qi movement in the left Foot Taiyin; Zhi-An and Pan-Gong are the high and low of pulse movement within one breath.
Three layers are already joined:
- Qian-Gui: Nine-Qi transition and qi-interaction She;
- Huangzhong: the lü measure of left Foot Taiyin qi movement;
- Zhi-An / Pan-Gong: tonal-degree combinations describing high and low pulse movement within one breath.
The text then leaves the symbols and asks where Qian and Gui arise in bodily qi transformation.
Qian: beginning from true qi and Moyuan
Section titled “Qian: beginning from true qi and Moyuan”It says:
Qian is Moyuan true qi, the manifestation of the Great Void.
And:
True qi connects with Sanjiao and is Qian within blood.
Qian is thus deeply related to Sanjiao, Moyuan, true qi, and blood. It is not simply a moral metaphor for “humility.” It is placed at the starting point of fundamental bodily qi transformation.
The text also traces the beginning of human life to the mother’s womb, umbilicus, and Sanjiao, calling Sanjiao the “Great Void of the human being” and the “repository of qi transformation.” Qian thereby takes on a role of central rooting and reception of endowed qi.
Gui: convergence after clear qi is inhaled
Section titled “Gui: convergence after clear qi is inhaled”The text says:
Gui is the inhalation of clear qi in order to generate true qi.
It then identifies three sources:
Endowed qi is blood-qi; Heavenly qi is clear qi; grain qi is water and grain. The three qi—clear, endowed, and grain—interact and transform in the Five Zang and Six Fu…
Bodily qi transformation is therefore not produced by one “prenatal qi” alone. Endowment, inhaled clear qi, and food-and-drink qi are placed in one generative network.
Gui describes the entry of clear qi into that network and its joining with existing true qi.
Why does Sanjiao become the central hub?
Section titled “Why does Sanjiao become the central hub?”The text calls Sanjiao the repository of qi transformation, says it governs qi, and calls it a sea of channel qi; Moyuan and membrane-source structures participate in differentiating zang-fu and regulating true qi.
Sanjiao here is therefore not presented as a single anatomical organ, but more like a central level of whole-body qi transformation, distribution, and interaction.
This also explains why “the Eight She and Nine Qi all begin with Qian”: if Qian is the root position of true qi in this central system, the later Gui, Cang, Sheng, Dong, Zhang, Yu, Zhi, and Zhuang can unfold from it.
How do Chong, Ren, Du, and Qiao enter?
Section titled “How do Chong, Ren, Du, and Qiao enter?”The final passages say:
Sanjiao is the repository of qi transformation; Ren and Du are the central roots of yin and yang. All are foundations of the governing-response of qi transformation.
And:
Chongmai permeates and irrigates the streams and valleys with the essences. Qiaomai is how Moyuan qi moves through the body. Chong, Ren, Du, and Qiao are the origins of qi transformation in the various She.
The streams, valleys, joints, and She of the earlier fourth series are thereby connected to the extraordinary vessels:
Sanjiao / Moyuan provide fundamental qi transformation → Chong-Ren-Du-Qiao distribute and establish the central roots → stream-valley junctions form She → the Twelve Channels establish Zhuan-Sheng-Jian-Bing-He relations across left-right and upper-lower positions → tone and lü make these changes manifest within one breath of pulse movement.
The first four series now form a complete model
Section titled “The first four series now form a complete model”Compressing the first thirty articles into one line gives:
one breath defines time → bone measure defines space → pulse movement defines events → tone defines state → lü defines movement scale → the Sixty Shou establish starting points → the Seventy-Two She localize → the Seventy-Three She describe transition → the Eight She build a cross-channel qi-interaction network.
This is what makes the Mirror Classic of Bian Que different from texts that discuss only organ names or disease names: it repeatedly tries to answer how to measure, localize, compare, and observe change.
The next series, “Tongtian,” expands this internal bodily model outward to Heavenly qi, earthly tastes, human emotions, and zang-fu essence-qi, beginning the true exchange model of Heaven–Earth–Human.