Belly Pain That Even Surgery Cannot Explain? Suddenly Fainting From Pain, But the ER Finds Nothing? — Doctor Ni Haixia’s Forty-Seventh Lecture on the Huang Di Nei Jing: the Ju Tong Lun (Comprehensive Pain Treatise, Chapter 39) Continued — Cold Qi Becoming Ji (Accumulations, the Cause of Tumors), the Small Intestine as the Source of Life, the Heart as Monarch Organ and the Absence of Heart Cancer, Cold Attacking the Five Zang Causing Sudden Fainting, Cold in the Stomach and Intestines Causing Stomach Pain and Vomiting, Cold in the Small Intestine Causing Diarrhea and Belly Pain, Chronic Overwork Heat as the Only Exception, Inspection of the Five Colors, Palpation and Ashi Points, and the Nine Qi of ‘All Diseases Arise From Qi’

Patient search words: tumors / fibroids / cancer cells spreading / where cancer comes from / belly pain / belly pain that examinations cannot find / belly pain that still hurts after surgery / lower abdominal pain / suddenly fainting from pain / fainting / ER finds nothing / stomach pain with vomiting / vomiting blood / diarrhea with belly pain / constipation / stool gets drier the more you sweat from labor / green complexion / black complexion / pale face / yellow face / getting so angry you vomit blood / the heart is the monarch organ / heart cancer / cold soles / cold small intestine / Cheng Qi Tang / Ashi points / reading disease from the back / climbing high and singing / throwing off clothes and running / all diseases arise from qi / comedy actors live long

Corresponding topics (medical terms): Su Wen · Ju Tong Lun (Comprehensive Pain Treatise, chapter 39) continued: cold qi lodging between the membranes (mo yuan) of the small intestine and within the network blood, the blood congealing and unable to pour into the great channels, stagnating and over time forming ji — the origin of tumors · ji (accumulation) and the small intestine (the source of life) · treating tumors by changing the environment (hot herbs + cutting off nutrition; the mosquito-winter analogy) · distinguishing cold and heat in the small intestine (sole temperature; overheating is also wrong) · the heart as monarch organ not receiving disease itself (no heart cancer; enlarged hearts and valve irregularities are drug-induced) · cold qi attacking the five zang (sudden pain killing-fainting, waking when yang qi returns; intermittent fainting) · the four kinds of hot-natured herbs (blood vessels / channels / skin surface / zang-fu) · the Warm Disease school’s cold herbs cannot cure disease · cold lodging in the stomach and intestines (stomach pain and vomiting; the Northern school’s hot medicine; cold-lodged blood stopped by one dose of hot medicine) · cold lodging in the small intestine (cannot gather, diarrhea from the rear, lower abdominal pain) · heat lingering in the small intestine (chronic overwork producing heat in the middle — the only heat exception) · scorching thirst, dry lips, blocked painful defecation · constipation worsened by sweating in labor · yang ming large intestine excess (climbing high and singing, throwing off clothes and running) · inspection of the five colors (yellow-red heat, white slight cold, blue-black pain) · palpation and Ashi points (pressing for tender points along the channels; Bladder channel muscles; protruding vertebrae mean essence qi lost and yang qi severely deficient) · all diseases arise from qi — the nine qi (anger makes qi rise, joy makes qi slow, grief makes qi dissipate, fear makes qi sink, cold contracts qi, heat discharges qi, fright disturbs qi, overwork consumes qi, worry knots qi) · anger making qi counterflow and vomit blood (liver qi surging upward; upper excess lower deficiency) · joy making qi harmonious and will fulfilled (comedy stars live long: Bob Hope, George Burns)

Opening: last lecture said all pain is cold — this lecture is even more alarming: cold can turn into tumors

In the previous lecture on the Ju Tong Lun (Comprehensive Pain Treatise) we covered ten kinds of pain, and over and over again the culprit was cold qi. This lecture continues straight on, and Doctor Ni throws out a big secret: cold does not only make you hurt — it makes things grow inside you.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: Item seven is exactly the origin of tumors. If you just glance at this line you cannot see it, but when I read it I know — the cause of tumors is right here. Right now Western medicine all over the world does not know where tumors come from, and it is in this passage. Cold qi lodges between the membranes (mo yuan) of the small intestine and within the network blood; the blood cannot pour into the great channels; the qi and blood stagnate and cannot move — over time they become ji (accumulation). Every tumor, every fibroid, every accumulated thing is related to the small intestine.

What does a tumor have to do with the small intestine? — Because that is the source of life

People who treat tumors stare at the tumor and cut it out. Doctor Ni fixes his eyes on the small intestine instead.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: So when we treat tumors, we are always treating the small intestine, because that is the source of life. When the qi and blood inside the small intestine are blocked and cannot enter the great channels, over time it becomes a ji. Chinese medicine does not call it a tumor — we call it ji. We do not care where the tumor is; the whole body simply should have no accumulations at all.

What if the cancer cells run everywhere? — First, a story about mosquitoes

Patients fear nothing more than hearing “the cancer has metastasized.” Doctor Ni says: where it runs does not matter — what matters is the environment you live in.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: Western medicine says we treat the root — they run around looking at where the cancer cells have gone. What good does looking do? It is like a thief who has already broken into every house in America — how are you going to catch him? It is like the story I told you in the north: in summer there are mosquitoes; when one winter of cold arrives, every mosquito dies. So no matter where your cancer cells are, when the environment changes — originally this environment suited them: it was cold inside, and there was good food, so they lived comfortably; Chinese medicine arrives, the environment changes, it becomes hot, and their food is cut off — they leave. We do not need to care where they are at all. Just change the environment of the whole body and the cancer cells naturally cannot stay.

How do you know whether the small intestine is cold? — Look at the feet; no need to stick a thermometer in

The cold or heat of the small intestine is the pivot for treating tumors — but the small intestine sits at the very back of the belly. How can you tell whether it is cold?

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: Teacher Cao said, “My small intestine is hot, my small intestine is fine, my small intestine is very hot” — how do I know? Look at the feet. If the soles of the feet are hot, the small intestine is hot; if the soles are cold, the small intestine is cold. Do not actually stick a thermometer into the small intestine to measure the temperature — the moment you insert it, the person faints. Hot soles with a cold instep is normal; if both the sole and the instep are hot, the small intestine is too hot. Overheating is no good either — an engine that overheats will not run, and an engine without enough temperature will not run either. The temperature must be moderate for it to run. That is how the small intestine works.

Why is there liver cancer, stomach cancer and lung cancer, but no heart cancer?

The small intestine’s heat is not born by itself — it has a source: the heart. And this source happens to explain a famous puzzle in medical history.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: The source of the small intestine’s temperature is the heart, and that is why the heart is the monarch organ (xin wei jun zhu zhi guan). That is why you have heard of liver cancer, stomach cancer, lung cancer, all kinds — but you have never heard of heart cancer. The heart does not get cancer. The heart is the monarch organ and itself does not receive disease. But teacher, you say — nowadays a lot of people have enlarged hearts and irregular heart valves. That is caused by taking Western drugs; originally these diseases did not exist. I will introduce this gradually. Once you have seen enough cases you will say: Chinese medicine is truly the kingly way, such a wonderful thing — we should be proud to be Chinese.

Item eight: cold qi runs into the five zang — sudden pain, then fainting

Next comes item eight. Doctor Ni says this one shows up in the ER every single day — but Western medicine can never find anything wrong.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: Cold qi lodges in the five zang. The five zang are normally wood generating fire, fire generating earth, earth generating metal, metal generating water. Now suddenly a bolt of cold runs in and the five zang go into chaos. The cold inside is heavy, the yin qi is failing, and the yang qi cannot get in — because there is not much yang inside the zang organs to begin with; most of the yang dwells on the fu organs. When cold enters, the inside gets even colder and the yang cannot enter even more, so suddenly the pain is so severe it can kill — the person faints from the pain.

Does fainting mean death? No.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: The pain is inside the five zang; the person faints but is not dead. After a little while the yang qi returns, and he wakes up. We see this kind of patient all the time: no illness at all, then suddenly an attack — boom, the person goes stiff with pain and collapses. Everyone panics and rushes him to the ER. The ER checks him thoroughly — perfectly fine, no disease at all. And this person always wakes up when he reaches the ER — he faints in the department store while shopping, but he never faints in the ER. Strange, isn’t it? Western doctors argue endlessly and find nothing — it is simply cold entering the five zang. Now you know: the cold enters and locks the zang organs shut; yang cannot move in or out, so the person has intermittent fainting.

There are four kinds of hot-natured herbs — the Warm Disease school cannot use a single one

Since the root of the disease is cold, the treatment is hot-natured herbs. But Doctor Ni reminds us: hot herbs are not all the same — do not prescribe the wrong one.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: There are hot herbs for heat in the blood vessels, hot herbs for heat in the channels, hot herbs for heat on the skin surface, and hot herbs for heat inside — each has its own medicine. If you cannot use a single one of them, how can you cure disease? Sometimes the patient faints, and you faint right along with him — you are scared into fainting by the patient. The patient fainted, and you faint too — then it is all over. So this battle between cold and heat, we must finish it. When you go out into the world, do not use my attitude — I really do not want to scold people, but if I do not scold them, they will not wake up. What is called uprightness — the way of enlightenment requires uprightness. You must find ways to persuade people to abandon the Warm Disease school — it is useless. The Warm Disease school’s medicines: fine for brushing teeth and rinsing the mouth, fine for washing the eyes and nose, but they cannot cure disease. Later, look at my kitchen and you will understand.

Cold lodging in the stomach and intestines: stomach pain and vomiting — why does the Southern school’s stomach medicine keep failing?

Page 330 — the next disease site is the stomach and intestines. The stomach and intestines are places full of yang qi. The moment cold enters, the first symptom is vomiting.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: Cold qi lodges in the stomach and intestines. The stomach and intestines are normally where yang qi flourishes. Suddenly the stomach turns cold, and the patient vomits — when you hear a patient with stomach pain and vomiting, the Huang Di Nei Jing says: this is cold qi lodging in the stomach and intestines. You see the Southern school of Warm Disease prescribing stomach medicine — everything they use is cold-natured. But the cold has already lodged in the stomach and intestines; of course you take it for half a day and never get better. We in the Northern school prescribe medicine for stomach pain — wow, very hot medicine goes down.

Vomiting blood is also cold? — The Warm Disease school is wrong; one dose of hot medicine stops the blood

Stomach pain with vomiting is one thing, but when it comes to vomiting blood, the Warm Disease school and the Northern school flat-out disagree.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: The Warm Disease doctor takes one look: this patient is vomiting blood, so the inside must be hot — he prescribes cold medicine. We prescribe hot medicine, and he says no — the patient is vomiting blood and you give hot medicine, he will vomit even more blood; you are wrong. The result: one dose, and the blood stops. Why? Because the cold has lodged in the stomach and intestines — blood moves when warmed; the congealed blood is melted by warmth, and the bleeding stops instead.

Cold lodging in the small intestine: diarrhea and belly pain — surgery cannot find the root

Going further down, the cold reaches the small intestine. Here Doctor Ni tells of a scene he has seen countless times in clinical practice.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: Cold qi lodges in the small intestine. The small intestine cannot gather (the food it cannot hold), so there is diarrhea from the rear — the stool comes out of the anus, with dysentery-like discharge and abdominal pain. Belly pain from the small intestine, abdominal pain — it is all cold inside the small intestine. In clinical practice you see patients with belly pain; Western medicine examines them — maybe the uterus, maybe the ovaries; they search and find nothing, so they operate — and after the surgery it still hurts. Cold pain in the small intestine produces lower abdominal pain. When you know it is cold in the small intestine, once the cause is known, the main formula is already solved. So many people suffer belly pain for years, and when they meet me, one dose settles it — all the previous doctors simply opened the wrong door. Look at the main formulas I write: maybe three ingredients, four, one, or two — because I know it comes from cold.

The only exception: chronic overwork producing heat in the middle — only field-plowing laborers get an overheated small intestine

The whole chapter is about cold. At the very end Doctor Ni gives an exception — the only heat pattern in the entire chapter. He saves the most important words for last.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: Finally there is one: heat lingering in the small intestine. The intestines will not hurt either — that is overheating. The small intestine is hot by nature; why would it overheat? This heat alone comes from chronic overwork — this person works very hard, from morning to night, plowing fields and hoeing ground, hoeing all day; even at noon when the sun beats down he does not rest, working like this until old age, toiling every single day — only then does heat in the middle develop, only then does the small intestine overheat. This is chronic overwork. Nowadays almost nobody is like this — everyone drives a tractor; people who labor the old way in the fields are few, though they existed in the past. So, everyone: nine or ten cases out of ten are cold; the only heat is chronic overwork. Today you will rarely find chronic overwork — you can set it aside, it does not matter. But you must know this single exception exists, or you will forget it.

A nasty trick: tell a constipated person to go labor and sweat

The heat-in-the-middle person has a companion symptom, and it gives Doctor Ni a chance to teach you a “nasty” bit of trivia.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: The heat-in-the-middle person is scorched and thirsty; the disease has gone so far that the lips are dry and the stool is very dry and cannot come out — at this point it is painful and blocked, unable to pass. So if you want to harm someone — for example, this person is constipated — tell him to go labor and sweat. The more he sweats, the drier his stool becomes. Because if it is dry and blocked in the yang ming large intestine, that is what we discussed that day: climbing high and singing, throwing off clothes and running — throwing off your clothes and running means going out to air the bird, so to speak. These are all easy to treat.

Inspection: a barefoot farmer walks in, and Doctor Ni already knows he is constipated

Theory done — now the real thing. Page 330: the Yellow Emperor asks, how can disease be known from inspection and inquiry? Qi Bo’s answer, and Doctor Ni throws in a real clinic anecdote along the way.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: The Yellow Emperor asked: the patient talks with you, and you know (inquiry); your eyes see, and you know (inspection). Qi Bo said: the five zang and six fu each have a place where they are reflected — look at his five colors. A yellow-red complexion is a heat pattern; white is slight cold; blue and black both mean pain inside. This is what is “visible to the eye.” Inspection — blue, red, yellow, white, black: blue-black means pain, red-yellow is heat, white is cold.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: So when you sit in your clinic and see a man walk in barefoot, trouser legs rolled up, soles caked with mud, and he says his belly hurts — heat, done talking. He is constipated. He says, how do you know I am constipated? Just prescribe a Cheng Qi Tang (Order the Qi Decoction) — inspection. The Huang Di Nei Jing already said it; you know from looking. That man is a farmer — working in the fields he does not like wearing shoes. The moment he takes off his shoes and you look at his feet, you know he is a laborer.

Palpation: pressing for tender points along the channels — this is the Ashi-point method

Beyond inspection there is palpation. After Qi Bo finishes, Doctor Ni takes over and teaches the technique he uses most often — what he always calls the Ashi points.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: This is what I do all the time: press and press along the channels — ah, there is a tender point on this channel. Touch the tender point and you know where the disease is. This is what I always call palpation, the Ashi-point treatment method. You can find them on every channel: the Bladder channel, the Gallbladder channel, the Large Intestine channel, the Lung channel — touch and you know where the pain is.

How do you feel the back? Doctor Ni draws you a cross-section of the human body.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: Seen from the back, the Governor Vessel (Du Mai, GV) runs down the middle, and the Bladder channel runs beside it. The Bladder channel’s muscles should bulge up, with the vertebrae sunk down — when you feel the whole back, you should not be able to feel the vertebrae, because the bones are sunk and the two ridges of Bladder-channel muscle cover them; the bones are underneath. If, when you feel someone’s back, the whole spine sticks out — the Bladder channel’s essence qi is already gone. This disease is very serious, the qi is extremely weak, because the yang is about to float up. So when you feel protruding vertebrae on someone’s back, it only happens when the yang qi is severely deficient.

Page 333: all diseases arise from qi — the nine qi finish off the diseases of a lifetime

The Yellow Emperor got hooked on asking questions. Next: what does disease have to do with “qi”?

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: The Yellow Emperor said: I know that all diseases arise from qi. Anger makes qi rise; joy makes qi slow; grief makes qi dissipate; fear makes qi sink; cold contracts qi; heat discharges qi; fright disturbs qi; overwork consumes qi; worry knots qi — these are the nine qi. What illness does each of the nine produce? Qi Bo begins to explain them one by one. These are the diseases of the emotions.

Anger makes qi rise — even to vomiting blood: when liver qi surges, blood runs upward

The first of the nine qi is anger, and Doctor Ni explains it in special detail, because the Liver channel runs straight up to the top of the head.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: Anger makes qi counterflow, even to vomiting blood — anger injures the liver, of course. When the liver qi is injured, the Liver channel goes directly to our head, up to the head. When you are angry, the qi and blood rise, and you vomit blood — this is liver qi surging upward. When the qi surges upward, the body has no extra space — the qi goes up, so the lower part is emptied; thus the upper part is excess and the lower part is deficient. Below there is diarrhea, loose stool — lower deficiency. Upper excess and lower deficiency — that is the principle.

Joy is the best of the nine qi — why do comedy stars all live long?

After anger comes joy. Doctor Ni says this one is the best symptom of all, and he even cites Hollywood as evidence.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: Section 334 discusses the nine qi. Earlier it spoke of anger; joy — this is the best symptom. So everyone should constantly stay humorous and cheerful; when you are joyful, the qi is harmonious and the will is fulfilled. Of course you do not need to be too joyful — excessive joy turns into sorrow at the height of pleasure: laughing all day long, lying on the ground laughing every day; too much joy also injures the heart. Just always keep a level heart — joy you must have, humor you must have.

💬 Note from Doctor Ni: Look at the comedy stars of the world — they all live long. America’s Bob Hope and George Burns both lived long, because they were comedy stars. The ones who act in tragedies, suffering all day long, die quickly. They were not suffering by nature — they died because they acted in tragedies.

Wrapping up: this lecture takes “cold” from pain to accumulations, and then to “qi”

This lecture carries an enormous amount of information: cold can become accumulations, cold can make people faint, cold in the stomach and intestines makes people vomit and diarrhea, the only heat is chronic overwork; inspection reads the five colors, palpation finds the Ashi points; and finally it lands on “all diseases arise from qi” — of the nine qi, anger injures the liver and joy nourishes people. Doctor Ni says these passages are not visible from the surface of the words alone — you must know how to read them. When you have read them well, you can distinguish the root of disease at a glance in the clinic. Take a rest — the next lecture continues.

Based on Doctor Ni Haixia’s Ren Ji (Human Records) lecture series on the Huang Di Nei Jing (Lecture 47)