Huangdi Neijing

Lore & Background

The earliest mention of the Huangdi Neijing was in the bibliographical chapter of the Hanshu (漢書) (or Book of Han, completed in 111 CE), next to a Huangdi Waijing (黃帝外經; "Outer Canon of the Yellow Emperor") that is now lost. A scholar-physician called Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐 (215–282 CE) was the first to claim that the Huangdi Neijing in 18 juan 卷 (or volumes) that was listed in the Hanshu bibliography corresponded with two different books that circulated in his own time: the Suwen and the Zhenjing (鍼經; "Needling Canon"), each in 9 juan. Since scholars believe that Zhenjing was one of the Lingshu's earlier titles, they agree that the Han dynasty Huangdi Neijing was made of two different texts that are close in content to the works we know today as the Suwen and the Lingshu. The book was popular among Taoists. The Neijing departs from the old shamanistic beliefs that disease was caused by "demonic influences" (邪气) which is to be interpreted as any disease causing element, be it virus, bacteria or carcinogen, which can further be categorised by imbalance in diet, lifestyle, emotions, environment and the premature aging, etc. According to the Neijing, the universe can be represented by various symbols and principles, such as yin and yang, the wuxing, and qi. Man is a microcosm that mirrors the larger macrocosm. The principles of yin and yang, the five elements, the environmental factors of wind, damp, hot and cold and so on that are part of the macrocosm equally apply to the human microcosm.

Reader's Guide

The Huangdi Neijing is the most important ancient text in Chinese medicine as well as a major book of Daoist theory and lifestyle. The text is structured as a dialogue between the Yellow Emperor and one of his ministers or physicians, most commonly Qíbó (岐伯), but also Shàoyú (少俞). One possible reason for using this device was for the (anonymous) authors to avoid attribution and blame. Before archeological discoveries at Mawangdui, Hunan, in the 1970s, the work had been dated to between the Warring States period to as late as the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). However, excavations found medical texts that changed this opinion. Jianmin Li, Vivienne Lo and Donald Harper agree that the systematic medical theory in the Neijing shows significant variance from Mawangdui Silk Texts, which were sealed in a royal tomb in 168 BCE. Historian of science Nathan Sivin concluded that the Suwen and Lingshu probably date to the first century BCE, far later than most scholars would have dated it before the discoveries at Mawangdui. In 762 CE, Wang Bing finished his revision of the Suwen after labouring for twelve years. Wang Bing collected the various versions and fragments of the Suwen and reorganized it into the present eighty-one chapters (treatises) format. Treatises seventy-two and seventy-three are lost and only the titles are known. The "authoritative version" used today, Chong Guang Bu Zhu Huangdi Neijing Suwen (重廣補註黃帝內經素問; "Huangdi Neijing Suwen: Again Broadly Corrected [and] Annotated"), is the product of the eleventh-century Imperial Editorial Office (beginning in 1053 CE) and was based considerably on Wang Bing's 762 CE version.

Did You Know?

• The earliest mention of the Huangdi Neijing was in the bibliographical chapter of the Hanshu (Book of Han), completed in 111 CE.
• Scholar-physician Huangfu Mi (215–282 CE) was the first to claim the Han dynasty Neijing corresponded to the Suwen and the Zhenjing (Needling Canon), each in 9 juan.
• Treatises seventy-two and seventy-three of Wang Bing's 762 CE revision of the Suwen are lost, with only the titles known.
• Historian of science Nathan Sivin concluded that the Suwen and Lingshu probably date to the first century BCE.
• The authoritative version used today, the Chong Guang Bu Zhu Huangdi Neijing Suwen, was produced by an eleventh-century Imperial Editorial Office beginning in 1053 CE.