The sacred book of traditional medicine Huáng Dì Nèi Jīng (黄帝内经) has in it’s content fundamental knowledge about healthcare such as etiology, anatomy, physiology, acupuncture, massage and breathing technics…
Divided in two parts: Sù wén 素问: simple questions and Líng Shū 灵枢: the soul’s pivot.
Specifically, the Sù wén 素问 volume helps us understanding the interrelation between heaven and earth, yīn and yáng, it exposes the principles and laws of the 5 agents.
It is in the book: discussion about the secret of energy’s flow according to the Sù wén volume {Sù wèn rùshì yùn qì lùn’ào (素問入式運氣論奥)} there are two ways or manners (jué 訣), wich are drawings of a hand with the 10 celestial stems Shí tiān gān (十天干) and the 12 earthly branches Shí èr dì zhī (十二地支) cyclic spots written in it. It is in this document that we can learn about the correspondences between the five agents (Wood, fire, earth, metal and water) and the six energies (heat, dampness, dryness, cold, wind and fire) during the sexagesimal cycle, also we can learn about the energy’s flow in the human body’s channels. The book’s author considers the knowledge of energy’s flow essential on the application of toning and dispersion techniques.
We make punctual notice that the heavenly stems and the earthly branches position in the hand’s drawing is a mnemonic method for calculating the sexagesimal cycle.
The counting of the 10 stems starts at the base of the ring finger, then the base of the middle finger, the base of the index finger, we move up to the first joint of the index finger, second joint, tip of the index finger, tip of the middle finger, tip of the ring finger, down to the second joint of the ring finger and finishing at the first joint of the ring finger.
The counting of the 12 branches starts at the same spot as the 10 stems, it follows the same path as well until the tip of the ring finger, it moves on to the tip of the Little finger, goes down to the second joint of the Little finger, the first joint of the Little finger and finishes at the base of the Little finger.
10 CELESTIAL STEMS 十天干 shí tiān gān
12 EARTHLY BRANCHES 十二地支 shí èr dì zhī