The Lower Classic · xia jing

At a glance

Pinyin

xià jīng

Simplified

下经

Literal

下 xià, lower; 經 jīng, a classic, a warp — a book whose threads are meant to hold. The Suwen quotes a 下經 several times and a 上經 alongside it; neither survives. What survives is the line this chapter takes from it, which became one of the most repeated sentences in Chinese medicine: when the stomach is not harmonious, sleep is not settled.

Shuowen

《說文解字》：經，織也，从糸，巠聲——織之縱絲，引申為常法、為典籍。「下」讀 xià，本篇 4 見；「經」讀 jīng，本篇 3 見——**从糸从巠，不作「经」（「经」）**；**「下經」者，古醫書之名，已佚**；《素問》引「下經」者數見，與「上經」對舉。「曰」讀 yuē；「胃」讀 wèi，本篇 3 見；「不」讀 bù；「和」讀 hé，本篇惟此一見；「則」讀 zé；「卧」讀 wò；「安」讀 ān，本篇惟此一見；「此」讀 cǐ；「之」讀 zhī；「謂」讀 wèi；「也」讀 yě。**「胃不和則卧不安」七字，是《素問》傳世最廣之一語**，後世言不寐者必稱之。**本篇引「下經」而證之，是《素問》引佚書之一例**：先以「足三陽者下行」「陽明逆，不得從其道」自理其說，而後引「下經」一語以證之——**理自立而書為證，是本篇書法之謹處**。**「和」讀 hé**，與第三十三篇「胃中不和也」之讀 hé 者同讀同義。