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Meridian Explorer
Each of the twelve channels is named by its limb, its level of yin or yang and its organ: the Hand Taiyin Lung channel, the Foot Yangming Stomach channel. The explorer draws the rule by which they run, from the organs of the chest to the hand, the hand to the head, the head to the foot and the foot back up to the abdomen and chest, and opens any channel with its partners.
A study instrument for classical theory. It locates no points and gives no medical advice.
The rule of Lingshu 38
The twelve channels in three circuits
Hand yin from the organs of the chest to the hand, hand yang from the hand to the head, foot yang from the head to the foot, foot yin from the foot up to the abdomen and chest. Drawn with the arms raised, as the rule is taught, every yin channel climbs on the left and every yang channel descends on the right.
- Wood
- Fire
- Earth
- Metal
- Water
- yang solid
- yin open
The twelve
The channels by name
First circuit
Lung to Spleen
Second circuit
Heart to Kidney
Third circuit
The Liver returns the round to the Lung.
The tradition
Classical Chinese medicine describes twelve primary channels, jingmai 經脈, one for each of the twelve organs. Each is named by its limb, hand or foot, by one of six levels of yin and yang, and by its organ: the Hand Taiyin Lung channel, the Foot Yangming Stomach channel. Lingshu 10 traces their courses.
Lingshu 38 gives the rule of their directions: the three yin channels of the hand run from the organs to the hand (從藏走手), the three yang of the hand from the hand to the head, the three yang of the foot from the head to the foot, and the three yin of the foot from the foot to the abdomen (從足走腹). Teaching charts shorten the organs and the abdomen to 'the chest', where the foot yin channels end and the hand yin channels begin. Taken in the order of Lingshu 16, Lung to Liver, the twelve make three circuits of four, and the third returns to the first.
Reading the instrument
- The diagram draws the rule with the arms raised, as it is usually taught: the hands at the top, the head on the right, the chest on the left and the feet at the bottom. Each circuit runs round once, hand yin up to the hand, hand yang down to the head, foot yang down to the foot, foot yin up to the chest; the three circuits are drawn one inside the other, and at the chest each hands on to the next.
- Each channel is coloured by its phase. Yang channels are drawn solid and yin channels open, as on the organ clock.
- Choose a channel on the diagram or in the table to read its full name, its direction, its level, the channel it pairs with inside and out, and the channel of the same level on the other limb. Sort the table by the daily order, by pairs, by phase or by level.
- The diagram is of the rule, not of the body. It shows where each channel begins and ends, not its course or any point on it.
Where it descends from
- Lingshu, chapter 10 (Jingmai)
- The courses of the twelve channels, each named by limb, level and organ.
- Lingshu, chapter 38 (Nishun feishou)
- The rule of the channels' directions: hand yin from the organs to the hand, hand yang from the hand to the head, foot yang from the head to the foot, foot yin from the foot to the abdomen.
- Lingshu, chapter 16 (Ying qi)
- The order in which the nutritive qi passes through the twelve, from the Lung to the Liver and back.
- Lingshu, chapter 2 (Benshu)
- The pairing of the five yin organs with their yang organs, Lung with Large Intestine to Kidney with Bladder; it calls the San Jiao 'the solitary fu'. The Pericardium and San Jiao are joined in the channel courses of Lingshu 10, where each connects with the other.
What this does not claim
This explorer presents a traditional theory for study. It does not locate points, diagnose, or recommend treatment, and the channels are not anatomical structures that dissection or imaging has found. The colours of the phases are a modern convenience. Consult a qualified practitioner for any health concern.
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