Classica Sinica Medica

地道

dì dào

The way of the earth · di dao

Also rendered: The way of the earth (this site; it keeps 道 as a passage, which is what the chapter does with it — a way that closes) · Di dao (transliteration; used where the word is being read alongside 天道 in the cosmological chapters)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-10-08

At a glance

Pinyin
dì dào
Simplified
地道
Literal
地 dì — the earth, the ground beneath (《說文》: 地，元氣初分，輕清陽為天，重濁陰為地); 道 dào — a way, a road, and so a course or a passage. 地道 is the way of the earth, and in this chapter it is the woman's: at forty-nine the heavenly water is exhausted and the way of the earth is blocked, so the body is broken down and there are no children. The chapter sets it beside 天道 nowhere and beside 天癸 everywhere — it is the lower of the two, and it closes.
Shuowen
**「地」讀 dì，本篇7見**；**「道」讀 dào，本篇8見**；**「地道」本篇1見**；**《說文》：地，元氣初分，重濁陰為地；道，所行道也**；**「地道不通」與「天癸竭」相承而下，本篇女子七七之候**

In brief

The way of the earth — the passage that closes at forty-nine, when the heavenly water is exhausted. The chapter names it once, at the end of the woman’s count, and it is the only place in Suwen 1 where the body is spoken of as a way that can be blocked rather than a store that can be drained: 天癸 is what is spent, 地道 is what closes, and between them the count ends and the body can bear no more.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 地道
地者重濁陰也，道者所行道也
地道不通 — Suwen 1
2
The lower passage 地道不通
謂女子下元之道閉塞
地道不通，故形壞而無子也 — Suwen 1
3
Closing at forty-nine 七七任脉虛，太衝脉衰少，天癸竭，地道不通
七七之候，天癸竭而地道不通
七七任脉虛，太衝脉衰少 — Suwen 1
4
Why there are no children 故形壞而無子也
地道不通，故形體敗壞而無子
地道不通，故形壞而無子也 — Suwen 1
5
Paired with 天癸 天癸竭，地道不通
天癸竭於上，地道不通於下
天癸竭，地道不通 — Suwen 1
6
How it is read 故形壞而無子也
形壞謂形體敗壞，非謂有形之傷
故形壞而無子也 — Suwen 1

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·上古天真論 Suwen 1 · 上古天真論 Read in context →
歧伯曰：女子七歲，腎氣盛，齒更髮長。二七而天癸至，任脉通，太衝脉盛，月事以時下，故有子。三七腎氣平均，故真牙生而長極。四七筋骨堅，髮長極，身體盛壯。五七陽明脉衰，面始焦，髮始墮。六七三陽脉衰於上。面皆焦。髮始白。七七任脉虛，太衝脉衰少，天癸竭，地道不通，故形壞而無子也。 歧伯曰：女子七岁，肾气盛，齿更发长。二七而天癸至，任脉通，太冲脉盛，月事以时下，故有子。三七肾气平均，故真牙生而长极。四七筋骨坚，发长极，身体盛壮。五七阳明脉衰，面始焦，发始堕。六七三阳脉衰于上。面皆焦。发始白。七七任脉虚，太冲脉衰少，天癸竭，地道不通，故形坏而无子也。
Qí Bó yuē: nǚ zǐ qī suì, shèn qì shèng, chǐ gēng fà zhǎng. èr qī ér tiān guǐ zhì, rèn mài tōng, tài chōng mài shèng, yuè shì yǐ shí xià, gù yǒu zǐ. sān qī shèn qì píng jūn, gù zhēn yá shēng ér cháng jí. sì qī jīn gǔ jiān, fà cháng jí, shēn tǐ shèng zhuàng. wǔ qī yáng míng mài shuāi, miàn shǐ jiāo, fà shǐ duò. liù qī sān yáng mài shuāi yú shàng. miàn jiē jiāo. fà shǐ bái. qī qī rèn mài xū, tài chōng mài shuāi shǎo, tiān guǐ jié, dì dào bù tōng, gù xíng huài ér wú zǐ yě.
Qi Bo said: at seven a girl’s kidney qi is full — the teeth change and the hair grows. At fourteen the heavenly water arrives, the conception vessel opens, the great surge vessel is full, and the menses come down in season, so she can bear children. At twenty-one the kidney qi is even and balanced, so the wisdom teeth come and growth reaches its extreme. At twenty-eight the sinews and bones are firm, the hair has grown to its utmost, and the body is at its fullest strength. At thirty-five the yangming vessel declines, the face begins to sear and the hair begins to fall. At forty-two the three yang vessels decline in the upper part; the face is entirely seared and the hair begins to whiten. At forty-nine the conception vessel is empty, the great surge vessel is decayed and scant, the heavenly water is exhausted and the way of the earth is blocked, so the body is broken down and she can have no children.
**「地道」本篇1見**；**「天癸竭，地道不通」是女子七七之候，與「任脉虛，太衝脉衰少」相承**；**「脉」底本不从肉，本站照錄作脉**；**「齒更」之更讀 gēng，「髮長」之長讀 zhǎng，而「長極」之長讀 cháng**

Compounds built on this term

天癸
tiān guǐ
heavenly water
本篇5見；地道不通之由
任脉
rèn mài
the conception vessel
本篇2見
太衝脉
tài chōng mài
the great surge vessel
本篇2見
月事
yuè shì
the menses
本篇1見；地道通則月事以時下

How it has been translated

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

This siteThe way of the earthliteral; the chapter needs a word for a passage that closes, not for an organ that fails
Transliterationdi daoright about the referent, and it hides the plainness of the phrase — this is a way, in the ordinary sense
Descriptivethe lower passageclinically exact, and it loses the pairing with 天 that the sentence is built on

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-08

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