Malarial qi · nüè qì

At a glance

Pinyin

nüè qì

Simplified

疟气

Literal

瘧 nüè, malaria; 氣 qi. The evil itself, as distinct from the disease it causes — the thing that lodges, travels, keeps pace or fails to keep pace, and answers when the defensive qi comes round. The chapter needs the word because it is explaining behaviour: it is not 瘧 that sinks and lodges, it is 瘧氣. The distinction shows up most clearly in the fifth answer, where the malarial qi follows the channels and networks and sinks inward, so that it breaks out only when the defensive qi answers it.

Shuowen

《說文解字》：氣，雲气也，象形——**气本雲气，借為氣息之氣**。**「瘧氣」二字本篇二見**（「夫瘧氣者，并於陽則陽勝」、「瘧氣者，必更盛更虚」）。「瘧」讀 nüè；「氣」讀 qì，本篇 72 見，為全篇第一高頻字。開篇第二十七章之「氣」諸義（陰氣、陽氣、衛氣、真氣、少氣、瘧氣）**本篇皆備**，**本篇可謂《素問》諸氣之會**。「夫」讀 fú；「者」讀 zhě；「并」讀 bìng，本篇 9 見；「於」讀 yú；「陽」讀 yáng；「則」讀 zé；「勝」讀 shèng，本篇 7 見；「陰」讀 yīn；「寒」讀 hán；「熱」讀 rè；「必」讀 bì，本篇 8 見；「更」讀 gēng，本篇 4 見，皆讀 gēng；「盛」讀 shèng，本篇 11 見；「虚」讀 xū，本篇 13 見，不作「虛」（「虛」）；「當」讀 dāng，本篇 6 見；「之」讀 zhī，本篇 48 見；「所」讀 suǒ，本篇 8 見；「在」讀 zài，本篇 7 見。**「瘧氣」與「衛氣」為本篇二氣之對**：衛氣日行一周，瘧氣或與之俱行、或不能俱行，**俱行則日作，不俱行則間日**——**全篇之機制，皆此二氣之行止**。與第三十三篇「邪氣」之為泛稱者異：**邪氣者泛言其邪，瘧氣者專言瘧之邪**。