Topic on generation and meeting of nutritive qi and defensive qi in the divine pivot (Eighteenth article part IV) [1]

The Emperor asked: "Where do the nutritive qi and defensive qi come from?"

Qi Bo answered: "The nutritive qi comes from the middle-warmer. The defensive qi comes from the lower-warmer."

The Emperor asked: "Can you tell me the functions of the qi of upper-warmer?"

Qi Bo answered: "The qi of upper-warmer (ancestral qi) comes from the orificium of stomach. It ascends along the esophagus, penetrates across the diaphragm, and spreads in the chest. It reaches the armpit, runs along the hand Taiyin lung channel, and returns to the hand Yangming large-intestine channel. Then it goes up to the tongue, and runs down to the foot Yangming stomach channel. The ancestral qi runs together with the nutritive qi twenty-five circles in the day and another twenty-five circles in the night. After fifty circles, the ancestral qi prosperously meets at the hand Taiyin lung channel."

Key Words: generation and meeting of nutritive qi and defensive qi, in the divine pivot