Selected Passages from the Huangdi Neijing Robert A.

Threlfall
Quieting the essence-spirit, means quieting the mind, passions and emotions which is essential in preventing disease from developing in the body as the following passages from the first treatise of Hungd Nijng Swn shows. i [When] tranquil, with few desires and little emotion,ii without craving [Then] the true qiii follows [and] The essence-spirit inside [is] guarded [And so] where can disease come from? :

The Yellow Thearch said: I have heard that in high antiquity there were immortalsiv [They] led heaven [and] earth, [they] grasped firmly yin [and] yang [and] exhaled [and] inhaled essence q,v alone [they] guarded [their] spirit (shn), [their] muscles [and] flesh [were] uniform. For this reason [they] were able to achieve a longevity that defeated heaven [and] earth, without having a final time. This [was] their way of living.

The pure tetrasyllabic structure of this passage somewhat suggests that this wording is quite ancient and may date to before the Hn or Qin Dynasties. ii dn and xw are practically synonymous in the standard interpretation of this passage. Dn means: few desires and little emotion or passion, and xw means: the mind or emotional state is peaceful, quiet, vast, free of desire and longing. iii zhn q: true or original q. In an acupuncture treatment, true q is what should be kept inside the body as opposed toxi q (evil q) which should be released. Chapter 73 of theLngsh (Spiritual Axis) discusses true q. (Note this translation is tentative and almost certainly incorrect in many details, but it should illustrate the main idea dispelling of evil q and retaining true q. See book five, chapter seven in Jiy on page 183 in The Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion for more on this topic.) To drain [one] must use a round [needle] (yun means round and likely is referring toyun l zhn: a rounded sharp needle, one of the nine ancient needles), pierce (as qi means to cut , but also as qi means to feel closely. That this character is part of the compound qi mi to feel the pulse may be significant and suggests piercing while feeling closely.) and then turn it, its q thereupon moves the disease, then slowly withdraw, the evil q thereupon departs. Extend and then receive it, enlarge its hole, the q departs [and] thereupon the disease.

To supplement, [one] must use fng (possibly a square or rectangle shaped needle), externally gather the skin to cause to block its opening. [With] the left [hand] draw out its axis [with] the right push [through] its skin, finely turning and then slowly push it forward. [One] must be upright and thereby stand straight, peaceful and thereby still, resolute of heart [and] not have looseness, the desires minute and thereby retain the q below, and then the disease goes out. Extend its skin, cover its external opening and the true q thereupon remains. [Last sentence not translated.]
iv v

Zhenren, glosses as true person and is a Daoist set phrase for immortal. Jingqi.