Classica Sinica Medica

行痺 简体 行痹

xíng bì

Moving obstruction

Also rendered: Moving obstruction (this site; the name kept as the text gives it) · Wandering obstruction (where the emphasis falls on the shifting site of the pain)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
xíng bì
Simplified
行痹
Literal
行痺 xíng bì — the first of the three, and named for what it does rather than for where it sits. The chapter has just said that wind, cold and damp arrive mixed together and combine into obstruction; what decides the name is which of the three prevails. Where wind prevails the pain travels, and so the disease is called moving.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：行，人之步趨也；痺，濕病也，从疒畀聲。「行」讀 xíng、**本篇2見**；「痺」讀 bì、**本篇38見，為全篇之題**。**三痺以所勝之氣分名**：**風勝為行痺、寒勝為痛痺、濕勝為著痺**——**風性善行，故痛無定處**；**「勝」讀 shèng**，**「濕」讀 shī**。

In brief

The obstruction in which wind qi prevails. The chapter sorts the three kinds by the agent that dominates rather than by the tissue: wind moves, so moving obstruction is the one whose pains shift from place to place. It is also the kind the chapter calls easiest to cure, because wind stays in the surface and the qi.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 行、痺
行者步趨也，痺者濕病也；行痺者，痛無定處
其風氣勝者，爲行痺 — Suwen 43
2
What sorts the three 風氣勝者
三氣雜至，各有所勝；所勝不同，其名遂異
風寒濕三氣雜至，合而爲痺也 — Suwen 43
3
Why wind makes it move 風善行而數變
風性動而不居，故其痛往來
風寒濕三氣雜至，合而爲痺也 — Suwen 43
4
Its place among the three 行痺、痛痺、著痺
三痺之名皆从所勝之氣，不从所中之形
濕氣勝者，爲著痺也 — Suwen 43
5
Why it is the mildest 其風氣勝者，其人易已也
風勝者病淺而在氣，故易已
其風氣勝者，其人易已也 — Suwen 43
6
What it is set against 著痺
一走一著，動靜相對
濕氣勝者，爲著痺也 — Suwen 43

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
1 passages
Suwen 43 Suwen 43 · 痺論 Read in context →
其風氣勝者，爲行痺，寒氣勝者，爲痛痺，濕氣勝者，爲著痺也。 其风气胜者，为行痹，寒气胜者，为痛痹，湿气胜者，为著痹也。
Qí fēng qì shèng zhě, wéi xíng bì, hán qì shèng zhě, wéi tòng bì, shī qì shèng zhě, wéi zhuó bì yě.
Where wind qi prevails it is travelling obstruction; where cold qi prevails, painful obstruction; where dampness prevails, fixed obstruction — zhuó, settling, the evil lodging in one place.
**「其風氣勝者，爲行痺」——**「勝」讀 shèng，**勝者，偏勝也，非勝負之勝**；**三句一氣，風寒濕各配一痺，為本篇分病之綱**；**「寒氣勝者，爲痛痺」「濕氣勝者，爲著痺也」——「也」字止於末句**，**本篇「痺」讀 bì**，全篇之題。

Compounds built on this term

行痺
xíng bì
moving obstruction
本篇三痺之首
風氣勝
fēng qì shèng
wind qi prevailing
三痺分名之據
風寒濕三氣
fēng hán shī sān qì
the three qi, wind cold and damp
合而爲痺
易已
yì yǐ
readily healed
本篇「其風氣勝者，其人易已也」

How it has been translated

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

This sitemoving obstruction痺 is rendered obstruction after the chapter's own logic — the qi is shut in, not the limb
Unschuldmoving blockagehe keeps 痺 as blockage throughout, and the qualifier moving translates 行
Wisemanwandering impedimentthe older clinical name, still current in acupuncture usage

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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Reading path

Guided routes through the corpus, each built on a handful of chapters and their key terms.

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