募原

mù yuán

Membrane source · mu yuan

Also rendered: mo yuan (The reading later texts prefer, and the source of the modern 膜原) · the mu source (Keeps the syllable but invites confusion with the mu alarm points, which is exactly what we want to avoid)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin: mù yuán
Simplified: 募原
Literal: 募 mù, which the site already has as the alarm points of the back and chest; 原 yuán, source, open ground. Here the two graphs name something else entirely — not a point but a region, the space between the parted flesh, which the chapter twice calls 分肉之閒. The site keeps 募 as one entry and this as another, because the base text plainly means two things: the mu points where qi gathers at the surface, and the mu yuan where an evil can lodge too deep for the defensive qi to reach it daily.
Shuowen: 《說文解字》：募，廣求也，从力，莫聲——**募本招募之募，醫書借為募穴之募，又借為募原之募**。「募」讀 mù，本篇惟此一見——**與本站所收「募」（Alarm point · mu）同字而義別**：彼為俞募之募（五藏六府之氣輸注於背腹者），**此為募原之募（膈膜之間、分肉之際）**，**同字二義，故另立此條而不強合**。「原」讀 yuán，本篇惟此一見；「横」讀 héng，本篇惟此一見，不作「橫」（「橫」）；「連」讀 lián，本篇惟此一見；「由」讀 yóu，本篇惟此一見；「其」讀 qí；「間」讀 jiàn，本篇 6 見，皆讀 jiàn；「日」讀 rì，本篇 24 見；「發」讀 fā；「者」讀 zhě；「邪」讀 xié，本篇 16 見；「氣」讀 qì；「内」讀 nèi；「薄」讀 bó，本篇 5 見，皆讀 bó；「於」讀 yú；「五」讀 wǔ；「藏」讀 zàng，本篇 7 見，此處讀 zàng（藏府之藏）；「也」讀 yě。**「横連募原」四字，是本篇解剖之最細處**：邪自五藏而橫連於募原，**「橫」字見其不由經絡之正道，而旁溢於分肉之間**。與下文「分肉之閒」為同一部位之兩稱：**募原言其地，分肉之閒言其狀**，**後世或作「膜原」，音義相通**。

In brief

A region rather than a point: the space between the parted flesh, reached when an evil pressing inward to the five stores links crosswise into it. The chapter brings it in to explain the alternate-day fit — the road is long, the qi deep, the movement slow, so the evil cannot travel with the defensive qi and cannot come all the way out each day.

Senses in the classical corpus

A region, not a point 募原

膈膜之間、分肉之際

横連募原也 — Suwen 35

How the evil gets there 内薄於五藏，横連募原

自五藏而旁溢於分肉

由邪氣内薄於五藏 — Suwen 35

The same place, another name 分肉之閒

募原言其地，分肉之閒言其狀

分肉之閒而發 — Suwen 35

Why it makes the fit slower 其道遠，其氣深，其行遟

路遠則不能與衛俱行

其道遠，其氣深 — Suwen 35

The consequence 不能與衛氣俱行，不得皆出

不能俱行則不能日作

不能與衛氣俱行 — Suwen 35

The interval explained 故間日乃作也

間讀 jiàn，隔一日而作

故間日乃作也 — Suwen 35

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·瘧論 Suwen 35 · 瘧論 Read in context →

其間日發者，由邪氣内薄於五藏，横連募原也。其道遠，其氣深，其行遟，不能與衛氣俱行，不得皆出，故間日乃作也。其间日发者，由邪气内薄于五藏，横连募原也。其道远，其气深，其行迟，不能与卫气俱行，不得皆出，故间日乃作也。

Qí jiàn rì fā zhě, yóu xié qì nèi bó yú wǔ zàng, héng lián mù yuán yě. Qí dào yuǎn, qí qì shēn, qí xíng chí, bù néng yǔ wèi qì jù xíng, bù dé jiē chū, gù jiàn rì nǎi zuò yě.

Those that break out every other day do so because the evil qi presses inward to the five stores and links crosswise with the membrane source. Its road is long, its qi deep, its movement slow: it cannot travel along with the defensive qi and cannot come all the way out, and so the fit comes only every other day.

間日之由，本篇解剖之最要處。「其」讀 qí；「間」讀 jiàn，讀 jiàn，**與下文「分肉之閒」之「閒」（「閒」）為二形而義別**；「日」讀 rì；「發」讀 fā；「者」讀 zhě；「由」讀 yóu；「邪」讀 xié；「氣」讀 qì；「内」讀 nèi；「薄」讀 bó，迫也；「於」讀 yú；「五」讀 wǔ；「藏」讀 zàng；「横」讀 héng，不作「橫」（「橫」）；「連」讀 lián；「募」讀 mù；「原」讀 yuán；「也」讀 yě；「道」讀 dào，本篇 2 見，此處作路途解；「遠」讀 yuǎn，不作「远」（「远」）；「深」讀 shēn，本篇 2 見；「行」讀 xíng，本篇 5 見；「遟」讀 chí，本篇惟此一見，讀 chí，不作「遲」（「遲」）；「不」讀 bù；「能」讀 néng，本篇 7 見；「與」讀 yǔ，本篇 10 見；「衛」讀 wèi；「俱」讀 jù；「得」讀 dé，本篇 16 見；「皆」讀 jiē；「出」讀 chū，本篇 12 見；「故」讀 gù；「乃」讀 nǎi，本篇 7 見；「作」讀 zuò。**此段補足第二問之義**：前答但言「其氣之舍深」，此則直指其舍——五藏與募原。**「其道遠，其氣深，其行遟」九字三疊，與下文「不能與衛氣俱行」為一因一果**：**地遠則行緩，行緩則不能俱行，不能俱行則不得皆出**，四句遞推而下，如連珠。**「遟」字最宜記**：底本从辵从犀，**不作「遲」，亦不作「迟」**，為《素問》傳本之異體，本篇惟此一見。

Compounds built on this term

募原

mù yuán

membrane source

本篇一見，與「分肉之閒」同地而兩稱

分肉之閒

fēn ròu zhī jiān

between the parted flesh

「閒」不作「間」，本篇二見

横連募原

héng lián mù yuán

linked crosswise with the membrane source

「横」从「黄」，與篇首「黄帝」同偏旁

内薄於五藏

nèi bó yú wǔ zàng

pressing inward to the five stores

「薄」讀 bó，「藏」讀 zàng

How it has been translated

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

Wiseman & Feng	membrane source	They take 募原 as the region, distinguishing it from the mu alarm points that share the graph.
Unschuld	[region of the] membrane	Unschuld keeps to the membrane reading and does not raise the homograph.
This site	membrane source	We keep the region sense and say plainly that it is not the alarm point. The base text writes 募 in both places, and the site carries both — as an alarm point under 募, and here as the deep region that explains why some malarias skip a day.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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