不用

bù yòng

Loss of use · bu yong

Also rendered: paralysis (Too modern and too strong; the text says cannot be used, not cannot move at all) · non-use (Faithful to the characters and unidiomatic in English)

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
bù yòng
Simplified
不用
Literal
不 bù, not; 用 yòng, to use, to employ — the limbs can be there and yet not answer. The chapter puts it next to 不仁 numbness on purpose: 不仁 is not sensing, 不用 is not acting, and the two can arrive separately or together. Loss of use is laid at the door of the defence qi, which is the qi of doing rather than the qi of nourishing.
Shuowen
《說文解字》:用,可施行也,从卜从中——可施行之謂。「不」讀 bù,本篇 30 見;「用」讀 yòng,本篇 2 見(不用×2)——**本篇「不用」二見,皆與「不仁」對舉**:「則不仁且不用」「不仁且不用」。「衛」讀 wèi,本篇 3 見;「氣」讀 qì;「虚」讀 xū,本篇 6 見;「則」讀 zé;「仁」讀 rén,本篇 2 見;「且」讀 qiě,本篇惟此一見;「俱」讀 jù,本篇惟此一見。**「不用」之義,舊注皆以「不能舉動」釋之**:與「不仁」之「不知痛癢」相對——**不知者榮之病,不能者衛之病**。**此句是《素問》校勘上著名之疑點**:上文作「榮氣虚,**衛氣實**也」,而此句作「**衛氣虚**,則不用」,前後自相矛盾;舊注或以為「實」當作「虚」,或以為「實」字不誤而另為一層。**二說並存,各從底本,不據此以改彼**。

In brief

The limbs are present and the flesh looks normal, and still they cannot be used. The chapter pairs it with numbness as the other half of the same picture: numbness is a failure of sensing and is laid to construction qi; loss of use is a failure of acting and is laid to defence qi. When both are vacuous, a person neither feels nor moves.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
Not able to act 則不用
不用者,肢體不能舉動
衛氣虚,則不用 — Suwen 34
2
Paired with not sensing 不仁且不用
不知與不能,二者對舉
則不仁且不用 — Suwen 34
3
Laid to the defence qi 衛氣虚,則不用
衛主氣之運行,虛則不能
衛氣虚,則不用 — Suwen 34
4
Both vacuous at once 榮衛俱虚
榮衛俱虚則不知亦不能
榮衛俱虚 — Suwen 34
5
The flesh looks the same 肉如故也
形不病而用病
肉如故也 — Suwen 34
6
The outermost case 人身與志不相有,曰死
形神不相為有,則雖生猶死
人身與志不相有,曰死 — Suwen 34

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
4 passages
素問·逆調論 Suwen 34 · 逆調論 Read in context →
歧伯曰:榮氣虚,衛氣實也,榮氣虚則不仁,衛氣虚,則不用,榮衛俱虚,則不仁且不用,肉如故也。 歧伯曰:荣气虚,卫气实也,荣气虚则不仁,卫气虚,则不用,荣卫俱虚,则不仁且不用,肉如故也。
Qí bó yuē: róng qì xū, wèi qì shí yě, róng qì xū zé bù rén, wèi qì xū, zé bù yòng, róng wèi jù xū, zé bù rén qiě bù yòng, ròu rú gù yě.
Qi Bo says: the construction qi is vacuous and the defence qi replete. When construction qi is vacuous there is numbness; when defence qi is vacuous there is loss of use; when both are vacuous there is numbness together with loss of use, while the flesh still looks as it always did.
第四答。「榮」讀 róng,本篇 3 見;「氣」讀 qì;「虚」讀 xū;「衛」讀 wèi;「實」讀 shí,本篇惟此一見,不作「实」(「实」);「也」讀 yě;「則」讀 zé;「不」讀 bù;「仁」讀 rén;「用」讀 yòng;「俱」讀 jù;「且」讀 qiě;「肉」讀 ròu;「如」讀 rú;「故」讀 gù。**此答三層而字字相對**:榮虚則不仁,衛虚則不用,俱虚則不仁且不用——**「不仁且不用」五字是「肉苛」之全狀**。而「肉如故也」四字最見診斷之精:病在不知與不能,而肌肉形色如常,**與上文「肉爍」之肌肉消爍者正相反**——一則形壞而證在形,一則形全而證在用。
素問·痿論 Suwen 44 · 痿論 Read in context →
故陽明虚則宗筋縱,帶脉不引,故足痿不用也。 故阳明虚则宗筋纵,带脉不引,故足痿不用也。
Gù yáng míng xū zé zōng jīn zòng, dài mài bù yǐn, gù zú wěi bù yòng yě.
So when yang brightness is empty the ancestral sinews go lax and the belt vessel does not draw them up — hence the legs are flaccid and unusable.
「帶脉不引,故足痿不用也」——**「不用」與 ch34「不用」同義,謂肢體不能動作**;「帶」讀 dài、**本篇2見**;**「不」讀 bù**。
素問·調經論 Suwen 62 · 調經論 Read in context →
歧伯曰:形有餘則腹脹,涇溲不利;不足則四支不用。血氣未并,五藏安定,肌肉蠕動,命曰微風。 歧伯曰:形有余则腹胀,泾溲不利;不足则四支不用。血气未并,五藏安定,肌肉蠕动,命曰微风。
Qí bó yuē: xíng yǒu yú zé fù zhàng, jīng sōu bù lì; bù zú zé sì zhī bù yòng. Xuè qì wèi bìng, wǔ zàng ān dìng, jī ròu rú dòng, mìng yuē wēi fēng.
Qi Bo says: when the body is in excess there is swelling of the belly and the stools and urine do not pass freely; when it is insufficient the four limbs cannot be used. If blood and qi have not pooled and the five depots are settled, and the flesh only faintly stirs, this is called faint wind.
「形有餘則腹脹,涇溲不利;不足則四支不用」——**「不用」本篇1見,在形之不足一證中**:**形不足則四支不用——肢體具在而不能用,與本目「痿廢不用」全同**;**本目以不用與不仁對舉:不仁者不知痛癢,不用者不能舉動;本篇言「不用」而不言「不仁」**;**「不」讀 bù、「用」讀 yòng**
Suwen 70 Suwen 70 · 五常政大論 Read in context →
太陰司天,濕氣下臨,腎氣上從,黑起水變,埃冒雲雨,胸中不利,陰痿,氣大衰而不起不用,當其時,反腰脽痛,動轉不便也,厥逆。地乃藏陰,大寒且至,蟄蟲早附,心下否痛,地裂冰堅,少腹痛,時害於食,乘金則止水增,味乃鹹,行水減也。 太阴司天,湿气下临,肾气上从,黑起水变,埃冒云雨,胸中不利,阴痿,气大衰而不起不用,当其时,反腰脽痛,动转不便也,厥逆。地乃藏阴,大寒且至,蛰虫早附,心下否痛,地裂冰坚,少腹痛,时害于食,乘金则止水增,味乃咸,行水减也。
Tài yīn sī tiān, shī qì xià lín, shèn qì shàng cóng, hēi qǐ shuǐ biàn, āi mào yún yǔ, xiōng zhōng bù lì, yīn wěi, qì dà shuāi ér bù qǐ bù yòng, dāng qí shí, fǎn yāo shuí tòng, dòng zhuǎn bù biàn yě, jué nì. Dì nǎi cáng yīn, dà hán qiě zhì, zhé chóng zǎo fù, xīn xià pǐ tòng, dì liè bīng jiān, shào fù tòng, shí hài yú shí, chéng jīn zé zhǐ shuǐ zēng, wèi nǎi xián, xíng shuǐ jiǎn yě.
When greater yin governs the heaven the qi of dampness descends upon it and the qi of the kidney follows upward; black arises and water is changed; dust rises and cloud and rain come; there is discomfort in the chest and flaccidity of the yin organ; the qi greatly declines and cannot rise or be used; at that time there is rather pain in the loins and rump and difficulty in turning; there is counterflow. Earth then stores yin, great cold is at hand, burrowing insects take cover early, there is stuffiness and pain below the heart, the ground cracks and the ice is hard, the lower abdomen hurts, and eating is now and again spoiled. Where water rides upon metal the still water increases, the taste turns salty, and moving water is reduced.
**「不用」本篇2見:一在「而藏氣不應不用者」(見於四十之段),一在此段「氣大衰而不起不用」**;**此段為太陰司天,陰痿而不起不用,與「中滿不食」「皮𤸷肉苛」同段**

Compounds built on this term

不用
bù yòng
loss of use
與不仁對,不知與不能
不仁
bù rén
numbness
肌膚不知痛癢寒熱
榮衛俱虚
róng wèi jù xū
both construction and defence vacuous
不知亦不能,二證並見
肉如故
ròu rú gù
the flesh as before
形色如常而其用已廢

How it has been translated

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

Wiseman & Fengloss of useThey keep 用 as use rather than movement, which leaves room for degrees.
Unschuld[the limbs] cannot be usedUnschuld supplies the subject the Chinese leaves out, which costs a bracket but avoids a guess.
This siteloss of useWe keep the chapter's own distinction: 不仁 is about what is felt, 不用 about what can be done, and the chapter assigns the two to different qi. Collapsing them into one English word would lose the point of the passage.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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