Ahhh….Jue Qi 厥氣. What to do?

Chapter 43 of the Lingshu, Yín Xié Fā Mèng, talks about Unprincipled Xie qi giving rise to various dreams. As the Xie is moved through the body by the Ying and Wei, as well as the Hun and Po, Qi becomes excessive in some places and insufficient in others. Specifically:

氣 淫 于 腑 , 則有 餘 于 外 , 不足 于 內 ;
氣 淫 于 臟 , 則 有 餘 于 內 , 不 足 于外 。

If there is Unprincipled (淫) Xie in the Fu organs, then there is a surplus (餘) on the outside and an insufficiency (不足) in the interior.
If there is Unprincipled (淫) Xie in the Zang organs, then there is an insufficiency (不足) on the outside and a surplus ((餘) in the interior.

Commonly, when we talk about “excess” and “deficiency,” both in the Neijing and in TCM, we are talking about Shí(實) and Xū(虛). These are not the characters used in the Yín Xié Fā Mèng. Instead, we are talking about a (淫邪) Yín Xié (Unprincipled Xie) and it’s ability to cause a situation of (餘) and (不足). I had originally translated 淫 as “Excessive,” but due to so many variations on this in the Neijing, ended up going with something more specific: “Unprincipled.” The idea of 淫 is one of wantonness, lewdness, something obscene that doesn’t follow the conventional (or what is assumed to be healthy) principles.

You will notice in the Yín Xié Fā Mèng that 淫 is only mentioned 5 times, at the very beginning of the chapter. The rest of the chapter goes on to explain the situation in which there is either surplus (餘) or insufficiency (不足). I can only assume that this surplus or insufficiency has been caused by the Unprincipled Xie in the Fu or Zang.

As the chapter talks about what is occurring with the Qi, it uses two terms. One to denote an overflowing/overabundance or being filled (盛 shèng/chéng) and another (厥氣 jué qì) to denote what I’m assuming to be it’s opposite. This is due to the fact that after all cases of 盛, we are told to cure by draining or purging. After all cases of 厥氣, we are told that for these 12 types of insufficiency (不足), we cure by nourishing.

I have not translated 厥氣 into English because the term is denoting something that’s a little mysterious to me at this time. Most of us know the character Jue (厥) from it’s use in the 6 Conformations: Jueyin. It’s also used in the Neijing for cases of syncope/fainting. What is it used for here and is there a relationship between these other uses?

厥 is found in the dictionary by looking for the radical 厂, (hǎn). The more modern Far East Chinese-English Dictionary tells us that 厥 means (1) to faint, (2) same as 撅-to dig or (3) a personal and possessive pronoun. In the Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字), the definition is given as: 發石也從厂欮聲 “mining stones and is also from the combination of 厂 ‘precipice’ and 欮 (jué) ‘hiccup,’ the latter probably providing the semantic component.

Chapter 43 specifically says that the “Jue Qi is as a guest, or stranger in” the organ (厥氣客於___). This type of structure sounds to me as if there is something in the organ that shouldn’t be there – but considering the ideas around the meaning of 厥, I would be more willing to assume this idea of mining, digging, taking….the Unprincipled Xie is actually causing a situation in which something is being stolen from the organ, hence the ideas about nurturing to cure it. I’ll keep thinking on this, but would, as always, love to hear any thoughts.