Classica Sinica Medica

陽厥 简体 阳厥

yáng jué

Yang inversion

Also rendered: Yang inversion (this site; 厥 kept as inversion, as in 寒厥 and 熱厥) · Yang reversal (the rendering used where 厥 is taken as reversal)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-09-30

At a glance

Pinyin
yáng jué
Simplified
阳厥
Literal
陽厥 yáng jué — the name the chapter gives to rage and mania. Yang qi, abruptly broken and unable to resolve, turns the person furious. It is diagnosed not from the temper but from the neck: the yang brightness pulses move by nature, the greater and lesser yang do not, and when a pulse that should be still moves greatly and swiftly, that is the sign.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：陽，高明也，从𨸏昜聲。「陽」讀 yáng、**本篇9見**；「厥」讀 jué、**本篇2見**，**一在「有病厥者」、一在「陽厥」**；**「陽厥」惟此一見，與第四十五篇篇題之「厥」同源而所指不同**。

In brief

Rage and mania named as a disorder of yang. Yang qi suffers a sudden check and cannot discharge, and the person becomes prone to anger; the chapter’s sign is at the neck, where a pulse that should be quiet is beating hard and fast. The treatment is counter-intuitive and famous: 奪其食即已 — take the patient’s food away, because food enters yin and feeds yang. Iron filings are given to bear the qi back down.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The two graphs 陽、厥
陽氣暴折而難決，發為善怒
病名曰陽厥 — Suwen 46
2
Where it is born 生於陽也
怒狂之生，由於陽氣
生於陽也 — Suwen 46
3
How yang is broken 因暴折而難決
決讀 jué，暴折而不得疏泄決斷
因暴折而難決 — Suwen 46
4
The resulting temper 故善怒也
陽不得決，故善怒
故善怒也 — Suwen 46
5
The sign at the neck 不動而動大疾
陽明常動，巨陽少陽不動，不當動而動大疾
不動而動大疾 — Suwen 46
6
The treatment 奪其食即已
食入於陰，長氣於陽，故奪食而已
奪其食即已 — Suwen 46

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 46 Suwen 46 · 病能論 Read in context →
帝曰：陽何以使人狂？歧伯曰：陽氣者，因暴折而難決，故善怒也，病名曰陽厥。 帝曰：阳何以使人狂？歧伯曰：阳气者，因暴折而难决，故善怒也，病名曰阳厥。
Dì yuē: yáng hé yǐ shǐ rén kuáng? Qí bó yuē: yáng qì zhě, yīn bào zhé ér nán jué, gù shàn nù yě, bìng míng yuē yáng jué.
The Emperor asks: how does yang make a person maniac? Qi Bo says: yang qi, abruptly broken and unable to resolve, makes a person prone to rage. The disease is named yang inversion.
**「陽氣者，因暴折而難決，故善怒也，病名曰陽厥」——**「陽」讀 yáng、**本篇9見**；「厥」讀 jué、**本篇2見**；「決」讀 jué、**本篇2見**，**一為「難決」之決、一為下文「決死生」之決**；**下文「此其𠉀也」為診候之候，底本作「𠉀」**。

Compounds built on this term

陽厥
yáng jué
yang inversion
怒狂之病名
怒狂
nù kuáng
rage and mania
陽厥之所發
暴折
bào zhé
an abrupt breaking
陽氣受挫之狀
奪其食
duó qí shí
take away his food
陽厥之治法

How it has been translated

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

This siteyang inversion陽厥 follows the site's rendering of 厥, so it reads alongside 寒厥 and 熱厥 of chapter 45
Unschuldyang inversionhe keeps 厥 as inversion throughout
Wisemanyang reversal陽厥 is yang reversal in his system

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09-30

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Reading path

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