寒瘧简体寒疟

hán nüè

Cold malaria · han nüè

Also rendered: cold-type malaria (Adds 'type', which the text does not; the chapter simply gives three names) · yin malaria (Tempting, since the chapter says cold is yin qi, but the text does not use yin as a label here)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin: hán nüè
Simplified: 寒疟
Literal: 寒 hán, cold; 瘧 nüè, malaria. The first of the three malarias the chapter names, and the one whose cause is easiest to state: damaged by cold first and by wind afterwards, so the fit opens with cold. The chapter is careful about the order — cold is yin qi and wind is yang qi, and which of the two struck first decides which comes first in the fit. Nothing else about the two malarias differs.
Shuowen: 《說文解字》：寒，凍也，从人在宀下，以茻薦覆之，下有仌——**人在屋下而以草薦覆之，其下結冰，寒之至也**。「寒」讀 hán，本篇 31 見，為全篇第三高頻字（次於瘧、氣）。「瘧」讀 nüè，本篇正文 27 見；**「寒瘧」二字本篇一見**（「名曰寒瘧」）。「夫」讀 fú；「者」讀 zhě；「也」讀 yě；「陰」讀 yīn，本篇 32 見；「氣」讀 qì，本篇 72 見；「風」讀 fēng；「陽」讀 yáng，本篇 36 見；「先」讀 xiān，本篇 14 見；「傷」讀 shāng，本篇 9 見；「於」讀 yú；「而」讀 ér；「後」讀 hòu，本篇 7 見，不作「后」（「后」）；「故」讀 gù，本篇 26 見；「熱」讀 rè；「病」讀 bìng；「以」讀 yǐ；「時」讀 shí；「作」讀 zuò；「名」讀 míng，本篇 4 見；「曰」讀 yuē。**「夫寒者，陰氣也，風者，陽氣也」二句是三名分界之根據**：**寒、温、癉三名，皆以寒熱之狀定名，而其所以異，在傷之先後**，不在邪之多少。與第三十三篇「風厥」「勞風」「腎風」之以因定名者，**命名之法不同，不可相混**。

In brief

Malaria whose fit begins with cold and goes on to heat. The chapter’s account: sweated by great summerheat, the interstices wide open, one meets the bitter cold of summer water, and it lodges among the interstices and the skin; then autumn brings wind, and the disease is complete. Cold is yin qi, wind is yang qi — struck first by cold, so cold comes first.

Senses in the classical corpus

The name, given 名曰寒瘧

以先寒後熱名之

病以時作，名曰寒瘧 — Suwen 35

Why cold is first 寒者，陰氣也

寒為陰氣，陰先則寒先

夫寒者，陰氣也 — Suwen 35

Why wind is second 風者，陽氣也

風為陽氣，陽後則熱後

風者，陽氣也 — Suwen 35

The order of the two evils 先傷於寒，而後傷於風

先後二字定寒熱之序

先傷於寒，而後傷於風 — Suwen 35

How the cold got in 因遇夏氣淒滄之水寒

暑月汗出而遇水寒，藏於腠理皮膚

因遇夏氣淒滄之水寒 — Suwen 35

Still a timed disease 病以時作

三名皆以時作，時字不廢

病以時作 — Suwen 35

Occurrences in the classics

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

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1 passages

素問·瘧論 Suwen 35 · 瘧論 Read in context →

夫寒者，陰氣也，風者，陽氣也，先傷於寒，而後傷於風，故先寒而後熱也，病以時作，名曰寒瘧。夫寒者，阴气也，风者，阳气也，先伤于寒，而后伤于风，故先寒而后热也，病以时作，名曰寒疟。

Fú hán zhě, yīn qì yě, fēng zhě, yáng qì yě, xiān shāng yú hán, ér hòu shāng yú fēng, gù xiān hán ér hòu rè yě, bìng yǐ shí zuò, míng yuē hán nüè.

Now cold is yin qi, and wind is yang qi. Being damaged first by cold and afterwards by wind is why there is cold first and heat afterwards. The disease breaks out by the clock, and it is named cold malaria.

寒瘧定名之句，本篇三名之分界皆在此。「夫」讀 fú；「寒」讀 hán；「者」讀 zhě；「也」讀 yě；「陰」讀 yīn；「氣」讀 qì；「風」讀 fēng；「陽」讀 yáng；「先」讀 xiān；「傷」讀 shāng；「於」讀 yú；「而」讀 ér；「後」讀 hòu；「故」讀 gù；「熱」讀 rè；「病」讀 bìng；「以」讀 yǐ；「時」讀 shí；「作」讀 zuò；「名」讀 míng；「曰」讀 yuē；「瘧」讀 nüè。**「夫寒者，陰氣也，風者，陽氣也」二句，是本篇最簡淨之判斷句**：**以「者也」定二氣之性，而後以「先」「後」定其序**，十四字而三名之分界已定。**「病以時作」四字，與篇首「其蓄作有時」首尾相應**：三名雖分，而皆不失其時，**是瘧之為瘧，終始在「時」**。與下文温瘧「亦以時作」之「亦」字相照：**一「亦」字見二瘧之分不在有時無時**。

Compounds built on this term

寒瘧

hán nüè

cold malaria

先寒而後熱，本篇三名之一

温瘧

wēn nüè

warm malaria

先熱而後寒，與此正相反

癉瘧

dān nüè

dan malaria

但熱而不寒，寒之全無者

先寒而後熱

xiān hán ér hòu rè

cold first, heat after

本篇三名之分界，全繫於此二字之序

How it has been translated

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

Wiseman & Feng	cold malaria	They keep the adjective the text uses; 寒 is the same word whether it is a qi, a feeling or a disease label.
Unschuld	cold malaria	Unschuld keeps the pair symmetrical — cold malaria and warm malaria — which is what the chapter is doing.
This site	cold malaria	We keep 寒 as cold throughout the chapter: as yin qi in the definitions, as the fit's opening phase in the descriptions, and as the first half of this name. The chapter's whole move is that these are the same cold, and the translation should not hide it by varying the word.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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