The Ji River 濟水
The Ji River is another metaphor for the Heart. It no longer exists but was once part of the Yellow River, originating in Jiyuan and Henan and running eastward to empty into Bohai Bay. The lower portion of the river passed through Jinan city, that city being named for being south of the Ji River. This river dried up in the Wei-Jin period, which was around 300AD.
The name of this river has something to do with harmony. It is a picture of water on the side of the character qi, 齊, meaning to have equal length. In the oracle bone character, 齊, is a picture of some type of grain, most likely wheat with the quality of the heads of the grains being even with each other. Compare this to the jieqi for the heart, “the grains have grown beards.” The Shuowen says that the Emperor of Shandong province approved of the waters of this river because of the sound that it made, which was qisheng, 齊聲, “in unison.”
This river illustrates the major connection between the heart and lung. Anatomically, the blood from the heart joins with the lung in order to be filled with life giving oxygen, just as the waters of the Ji River joined with the waters of the Yellow River. The healthy heart is also the master of unity, which can be illustrated by the harmony of this river.
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