Classica Sinica Medica

白淫

bái yín

White discharge

Also rendered: White discharge (this site; 淫 read as the overflowing) · White outflow (where 淫 is read as a discharge rather than an excess)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-09-29

At a glance

Pinyin
bái yín
Simplified
白淫
Literal
白淫 bái yín — the other thing that comes of desire unmet and an overused chamber. The chapter names it in passing, as the alternative to sinew flaccidity: the ancestral sinews slacken and go lax, and sinew flaccidity develops, or else white discharge. 淫 here is the graph of overflowing, not of licentiousness.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：白，西方色也；淫，侵淫隨理也，一曰久雨為淫。「白」讀 bái、**本篇2見**；「淫」讀 yín、**本篇2見**；**「入房太甚」之甚讀 shèn**。

In brief

A white discharge, named here as the other outcome of the same excess that produces sinew flaccidity. The chapter’s grammar is worth noticing: the slackening of the ancestral sinews has two results, and this is the second.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 白、淫
白者西方之色；淫者浸淫隨理，過度之義
發爲筋痿，及爲白淫 — Suwen 44
2
What brings it on 思想無窮，所願不得，意淫於外，入房太甚
意淫於外者，意念馳騖而不收；入房太甚者，房事過度
思想無窮，所願不得 — Suwen 44
3
What it shares with sinew flaccidity 宗筋弛縱
同一宗筋弛縱，或發為筋痿，或為白淫
宗筋弛縱 — Suwen 44
4
That it is the second of two 發爲筋痿，及爲白淫
「及」者，言其別出一路
發爲筋痿，及爲白淫 — Suwen 44
5
What 淫 means here 淫
浸淫、過度之義，非專指房事之邪
意淫於外 — Suwen 44
6
Where it stands in the chapter 使内也
下經言筋痿生於肝、使内，白淫同一源
故下經曰：筋痿者，生於肝，使内也 — Suwen 44

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 44 Suwen 44 · 痿論 Read in context →
思想無窮，所願不得，意淫於外，入房太甚，宗筋弛縱，發爲筋痿，及爲白淫。 思想无穷，所愿不得，意淫于外，入房太甚，宗筋弛纵，发为筋痿，及为白淫。
Sī xiǎng wú qióng, suǒ yuàn bù dé, yì yín yú wài, rù fáng tài shèn, zōng jīn chí zòng, fā wéi jīn wěi, jí wéi bái yín.
Thinking without end, desires unmet, the intent ranging outward and the chamber entered too often — the ancestral sinews slacken and go lax, and sinew flaccidity develops, or else white discharge.
**「發爲筋痿，及爲白淫」——**「白」讀 bái、**本篇2見**；「淫」讀 yín、**本篇2見：「意淫於外」「及爲白淫」各一**；**「入房太甚」之甚讀 shèn**。

Compounds built on this term

白淫
bái yín
white discharge
本篇一見
宗筋弛縱
zōng jīn chí zòng
the ancestral sinews slacken
筋痿與白淫所同
入房太甚
rù fáng tài shèn
entering the chamber too often
白淫之因
意淫於外
yì yín yú wài
the intent ranging outward
意念馳騖而不收

How it has been translated

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

This sitewhite discharge淫 is the graph of overflowing; the colour is kept
Unschuldwhite dischargehe too reads it as a discharge
Wisemanwhite outflow淫 is outflow in his system

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09-29

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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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