Chinese Medicine Series 05:
八十四、陰陽之逆厥而為夢
84. ‘Dreams Caused by the Counterflow Reversal of Yin and Yang’
by Zhang Jing Yue
For a further insight into the way in which dreams were interpreted in imperial China, one chapter from The Classic of Categories by Zhang Jing Yue are included in this section: chapter 84, ‘Dreams Caused by the Counterflow Reversal of Yin and Yang’. The Classic of Categories (1624) is in essence an annotated commentary on The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, a treatise allegedly written in the Han Dynasty by the Yellow Emperor, upon which the theoretical framework for Daoist and Chinese Medicine was erected, hence a seminal text and fundamental reading for any medical student in China and abroad. The Classic of Categories’ layout is to first state the original lines from The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic followed by Zhang Jing Yue’s commentary in brackets in the Chinese text. In the English rendition the commentary is signposted by indentation. The entirety of chapter 84 is reproduced here to provide the background to the Chinese concept of ‘Reversal’, which lays the foundation for the understanding of interpreting dreams for clinical diagnoses.
（《素問•方盛衰論》）
([Commentary on] Simplified Questions – Discussion of the Measurement of Flourishing and Decline [Chapter 80, The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic])
雷公請問：氣之多少，何者為逆？何者為從？黃帝答曰：陽從左，陰從右，（多少，言盛衰也。陽氣主升，故從乎左。陰氣主降，故從乎右。從者為順，反者為逆。）
Lei Gong asked politely: ‘With regard to the abundance and scarcity of Qi, what is the counterflow to the flow [of Qi]? What follows the flow?’ The Yellow Emperor answered: ‘Yang follows on the left [of the body], while Yin follows on the right [of the body].
Zhang Jing Yue [hereafter, ZJY]: ‘Abundance and scarcity’ – this speaks of flourishing and debilitation. Yang Qi governs ascending, which is why it follows from the left. Yin Qi governs descending, which is why it follows from the right. What ‘follows the flow’ is favourable, while the unfavourable is ‘counterflow to the flow.’
老從上，少從下。（老人之氣，先衰於下，故從上者為順。少壯之氣，先盛於下，故從下者為順。蓋天之生氣，必自下而升，而人氣亦然也。故凡以老人而衰於上者，其終可知，少壯而衰於下者，其始可知，皆逆候也。）
For the elderly, [the Qi] follows the flow upwards, while for young people, [the Qi] follows the flow downwards.
ZJY: The Qi of the elderly first declines below [in the body], which is why it is favourable for it to follow the flow upwards. The Qi of the young and strong first flourishes below, which is why it is favourable for it to follow the flow downwards. Iin brief, the vital Qi of the heavens must ascend from below, and thus the Qi of humans is also as such. That is why whenever [the Qi of] an elderly person declines above [in the body], the end [of that decline] can be known; whenever [the Qi] of a young and strong person declines below, the beginning [of that decline] can be known; they are both indications of counterflow.
是以春夏歸陽為生，歸秋冬為死；（春夏以陽盛之時，或證或脈皆當歸陽為生。若得陰候如秋冬者，為逆為死。）
Therefore, in spring and summer, if one pertains with Yang, this is [indicative of] life; if one pertains to autumn and winter, it is [indicative of] death;
ZJY: Spring and summer are the seasons when the Yang flourishes; thus, all signs and pulses should pertain with [the category of] Yang, which is [indicative of] life. If one manifests the indices of Yin, as though in autumn and winter, this is [indicative of] counterflow and death.
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