勞風 简体 劳风

láo fēng

Wind from overexertion · lao feng

Also rendered: exertion wind (Compact but reads as a wind that exerts, not one taken from exertion) · fatigue wind (Suggests the cause is only tiredness, losing the wind)

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
láo fēng
Simplified
劳风
Literal
勞 láo, labour, overexertion; 風 fēng, wind. Wind taken when the body has been spent by exertion, and therefore settling deeper than an ordinary wind would — the text puts it below the lung. Its signs are odd and specific: the neck stiffens and the head is held up, the vision dims, spittle comes out like snivel, and the person loathes wind and shivers. Its course is measured in days, and the measure is the person: three, five, or seven.
Shuowen
《說文解字》:勞,劇也,从力从熒省——用力甚也。**「勞」讀 láo,本篇三見**;「風」讀 fēng;「法」讀 fǎ;「在」讀 zài;「肺」讀 fèi;「下」讀 xià。「使」讀 shǐ;「人」讀 rén;**「強」讀 jiāng,本篇一見,項強也**;**「冥」讀 míng,本篇一見**;「視」讀 shì;「唾」讀 tuò;「出」讀 chū;「若」讀 ruò;「涕」讀 tì;**「惡」讀 wù,本篇一見**;「振」讀 zhèn;「寒」讀 hán;「此」讀 cǐ;「之」讀 zhī。**病位在「肺下」三字最要**:非肺中之常風,乃肺下之深處,故其證不在喘欬而在強上冥視、唾出若涕。**「強上冥視」四字,王注以為「謂項強而視不明」,與本篇下文「目下腫」之診目者,同是《素問》注重面目之例**。其治「以救俛仰」而不言刺法,與上節風厥之「表裏剌之」異——風厥在經,勞風在肺下,故治不同。

In brief

The third case: wind taken after exertion, lodged below the lung. It stiffens the neck, dims the sight, brings up matter like snivel, and makes the person loathe wind and shiver. Its outcome is counted in days — three if the great yang can draw the essence up, five in middle years, seven when the essence is not sound — and if the matter like pus is not brought up, the lung is injured and the person dies.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
A named disease 此爲勞風之病
本篇第三證之名
此爲勞風之病 — Suwen 33
2
Its place 勞風法在肺下
病位常法在肺下,非肺中之常風
勞風法在肺下 — Suwen 33
3
The neck and the eyes 使人強上冥視
項強而頭上仰,視物昏暗
使人強上冥視 — Suwen 33
4
The matter coughed up 唾出若涕,惡風而振寒
唾如涕、惡風寒戰
唾出若涕 — Suwen 33
5
Counted in days 巨陽引精者三日,中年者五日,不精者七日
三日、五日、七日,以精之盛衰為差
巨陽引精者三日 — Suwen 33
6
The danger 不出則傷肺,傷肺則死也
膿涕不出則傷肺而死
傷肺則死也 — Suwen 33

Occurrences in the classics

Passages where the term does real work, with the original, pinyin and English on the same line.

Display
1 passages
素問·評熱病論 Suwen 33 · 評熱病論 Read in context →
歧伯曰:勞風法在肺下。 歧伯曰:劳风法在肺下。
Qí bó yuē: láo fēng fǎ zài fèi xià.
Qi Bo says: the rule of wind from overexertion is that it sits below the lung.
第三證之病位。「勞」讀 láo;「風」讀 fēng;「法」讀 fǎ;「在」讀 zài;「肺」讀 fèi;「下」讀 xià。**「法在肺下」四字,是答非所問而意更深**:帝問「勞風爲病,何如」,歧伯不先言證而先言位,與上節風厥之先言證後言機者,答法又別。位既定,則下文「使人強上冥視,唾出若涕,惡風而振寒」諸證皆可得而解——皆肺下受邪、氣不得宣之故。

Compounds built on this term

勞風
láo fēng
wind from overexertion
本篇第三證之名,其位在肺下
強上冥視
jiāng shàng míng shì
stiffening upward and seeing dimly
本篇一見
唾出若涕
tuò chū ruò tì
spittle like snivel
本篇一見,勞風之主證
巨陽引精
jù yáng yǐn jīng
the great yang drawing the essence up
本篇決其日數之據

How it has been translated

Every rendering below is a decision about which reader is being addressed. There is no neutral option.

Wiseman & Fengtaxation windThey render 勞 as 'taxation', preserving the older medical sense of being drained by effort.
Unschuldtaxing windUnschuld keeps the same root, with the participle carrying the strain.
This sitewind from overexertionWe spell the cause out in plain English. 勞 here is not ordinary tiredness but the spent state that lets wind lodge deeper than it should, and the name should say why it goes deep.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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