心氣 简体 心气

xīn qì

Heart qi · xin qi

Also rendered: The qi of the heart (this site; it keeps the construction identical to 腎氣 and 肝氣, which the site already renders this way) · Xin qi (transliteration; used when the four reversals are quoted whole)

Reviewed · 2026-10-09

At a glance

Pinyin
xīn qì
Simplified
心气
Literal
心 xīn — the heart, and the seat of the spirit (《說文》: 心,人心,土藏,在身之中); 氣 qì — vapour, breath, the thing that moves. 心氣 is the qi of the heart, one of the five storehouse qi the site already records (肝氣、腎氣). Suwen 2 names it once, in the four reversals: go against the qi of summer and Taiyang does not grow, and the heart qi is hollow within.
Shuowen
**「心」讀 xīn,本篇2見**;**「氣」讀 qì,本篇25見**;**「心氣」本篇1見**;**《說文》:心,人心,土藏,在身之中**;**本篇四逆之文,心氣與肝氣、肺氣、腎氣並舉**

In brief

The qi of the heart. In Suwen 2 it appears once, in the four reversals: against the qi of summer, Taiyang · greater yang does not grow and the heart qi is hollow within. Reading it with the penalty named earlier in the chapter — going against summer harms the heart, and autumn brings jie malaria — the two sentences say the same thing from the two ends.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 心氣
心者土藏,氣者雲氣也;心氣謂心之氣
則太陽不長,心氣内洞 — Suwen 2
2
Hollow within 心氣内洞
洞讀 dòng,空也;内讀 nèi
逆夏氣,則太陽不長,心氣内洞 — Suwen 2
3
Paired with Taiyang 逆夏氣,則太陽不長
太陽不長,故心氣空虚
逆夏氣,則太陽不長,心氣内洞 — Suwen 2
4
The penalty named earlier 逆之則傷心
傷心與心氣内洞,一事兩說
逆之則傷心,秋爲痎瘧 — Suwen 2
5
One of four storehouse qi 肝氣内變、心氣内洞、肺氣焦滿、腎氣獨沉
四藏之氣,四時之逆各一
逆夏氣,則太陽不長,心氣内洞 — Suwen 2
6
In the season that is its own 此夏氣之應,養長之道也
心主夏,養長即所以養心
此夏氣之應,養長之道也 — Suwen 2

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
4 passages
素問·四氣調神大論 Suwen 2 · 四氣調神大論 Read in context →
逆春氣,則少陽不生,肝氣内變;逆夏氣,則太陽不長,心氣内洞;逆秋氣,則太陰不收,肺氣焦滿;逆冬氣,則少陰不藏,腎氣獨沉。 逆春气,则少阳不生,肝气内变;逆夏气,则太阳不长,心气内洞;逆秋气,则太阴不收,肺气焦满;逆冬气,则少阴不藏,肾气独沉。
Nì chūn qì, zé shào yáng bù shēng, gān qì nèi biàn; nì xià qì, zé tài yáng bù zhǎng, xīn qì nèi dòng; nì qiū qì, zé tài yīn bù shōu, fèi qì jiāo mǎn; nì dōng qì, zé shào yīn bù cáng, shèn qì dú chén.
Going against the qi of spring, Shaoyang · lesser yang does not give life, and the liver qi changes inwardly. Going against the qi of summer, Taiyang · greater yang does not grow, and the heart qi is hollow within. Going against the qi of autumn, Taiyin · greater yin does not gather in, and the lung qi is scorched and full. Going against the qi of winter, Shaoyin · lesser yin does not store, and the kidney qi sinks alone.
**「心氣」本篇1見**;**「内洞」之洞讀 dòng,空也;内讀 nèi**;**本篇四藏之氣並舉,肝氣、心氣、肺氣、腎氣各一見**
素問·生氣通天論 Suwen 3 · 生氣通天論 Read in context →
陰之所生,本在五味,陰之五宫,傷在五味。是故味過於酸,肝氣以津,脾氣乃絶。味過於鹹,大骨氣勞,短肌,心氣抑。 阴之所生,本在五味,阴之五宫,伤在五味。是故味过于酸,肝气以津,脾气乃绝。味过于咸,大骨气劳,短肌,心气抑。
Yīn zhī suǒ shēng, běn zài wǔ wèi, yīn zhī wǔ gōng, shāng zài wǔ wèi. shì gù wèi guò yú suān, gān qì yǐ jīn, pí qì nǎi jué. wèi guò yú xián, dà gǔ qì láo, duǎn jī, xīn qì yì.
What yin generates has its root in the five flavours, and the five viscera that store jing are harmed by those same five flavours. Thus when sour is in excess the liver qi flows over and the spleen qi comes to an end; when salt is in excess the qi of the great bones is toiled, the flesh shortens, and the heart qi is held down.
「大骨氣勞,短肌,心氣抑」——鹹過則傷骨,大骨氣勞而肌肉短縮,心氣為之抑;下文「心氣喘滿」同;**「心氣」本篇2見**
素問·玉機真藏論 Suwen 19 · 玉機真藏論 Read in context →
因而喜大虚則腎氣乘矣,怒則肝氣乘矣,悲則肺氣乘矣,恐則脾氣乘矣,憂則心氣乘矣,此其道也。故病有五,五五二十五變,及其傳化。傳乘之名也。 因而喜大虚则肾气乘矣,怒则肝气乘矣,悲则肺气乘矣,恐则脾气乘矣,忧则心气乘矣,此其道也。故病有五,五五二十五变,及其传化。传乘之名也。
Yīn ér xǐ dà xū zé shèn qì chéng yǐ, nù zé gān qì chéng yǐ, bēi zé fèi qì chéng yǐ, kǒng zé pí qì chéng yǐ, yōu zé xīn qì chéng yǐ, cǐ qí dào yě. Gù bìng yǒu wǔ, wǔ wǔ èr shí wǔ biàn, jí qí chuán huà. Chuán chéng zhī míng yě.
Thus great joy leaves a great emptiness and the kidney qi encroaches; anger lets the liver qi encroach; sorrow lets the lung qi encroach; fear lets the spleen qi encroach; anxiety lets the heart qi encroach. Such is its way. So there are five diseases, and five times five — twenty-five variations, through their transmission and transformation. These are the names of transmission and encroachment.
「憂則心氣乘矣」,憂則心氣乘肺之虛,本篇五乘之條,五志各乘其一藏,故病有五而二十五變。
Suwen 70 Suwen 70 · 五常政大論 Read in context →
太陽司天,寒氣下臨,心氣上從,而火且明,丹起金乃眚,寒清時舉,勝則水冰,火氣高明。心熱煩,嗌乾善渴,鼽嚏,喜悲數欠。熱氣妄行,寒乃復,霜不時降,善忘,甚則心痛。土乃潤,水豐衍,寒客至,沈陰化,濕氣變物,水飲内蓄,中滿不食,皮𤸷肉苛,筋脉不利,甚則胕腫,身後癰。 太阳司天,寒气下临,心气上从,而火且明,丹起金乃眚,寒清时举,胜则水冰,火气高明。心热烦,嗌干善渴,鼽嚏,喜悲数欠。热气妄行,寒乃复,霜不时降,善忘,甚则心痛。土乃润,水丰衍,寒客至,沉阴化,湿气变物,水饮内蓄,中满不食,皮𤸷肉苛,筋脉不利,甚则胕肿,身后痈。
Tài yáng sī tiān, hán qì xià lín, xīn qì shàng cóng, ér huǒ qiě míng, dān qǐ jīn nǎi shěng, hán qīng shí jǔ, shèng zé shuǐ bīng, huǒ qì gāo míng. Xīn rè fán, yì gān shàn kě, qiú tì, xǐ bēi shuò qiàn. Rè qì wàng xíng, hán nǎi fù, shuāng bù shí jiàng, shàn wàng, shèn zé xīn tòng. Tǔ nǎi rùn, shuǐ fēng yǎn, hán kè zhì, chén yīn huà, shī qì biàn wù, shuǐ yǐn nèi xù, zhōng mǎn bù shí, pí rún ròu kē, jīn mài bù lì, shèn zé fū zhǒng, shēn hòu yōng.
When greater yang governs the heaven the qi of cold descends upon it and the qi of the heart follows upward; fire then is bright and vermilion arises, and metal suffers calamity; cold and clear rise again and again, and where cold prevails the water freezes, so that the qi of fire is bright and high. The illness is heat and oppression in the heart, a dry throat and much thirst, snivelling and sneezing, a tendency to grief and many yawns. The hot qi moves recklessly and cold returns; frost falls out of season; there is much forgetting, and in the extreme pain in the heart. Earth then is moist, water abundant and spreading, cold comes as a guest, heavy cloud transforms, damp qi alters beings, water and drink store within, there is fullness in the middle and no eating, the skin is numb and the flesh callous, the sinews and vessels are not free, and in the extreme water swelling and a boil behind the body.
**「心氣」本篇1見,止在太陽司天「心氣上從」**;**寒氣下臨而心火上從,故心熱煩而嗌乾善渴**

Compounds built on this term

心氣内洞
xīn qì nèi dòng
the heart qi hollow within
本篇1見
逆夏氣
nì xià qì
going against the qi of summer
本篇1見
太陽不長
tài yáng bù zhǎng
Taiyang does not grow
本篇1見
秋爲痎瘧
qiū wéi jiē nüè
in autumn, jie malaria
本篇1見

How it has been translated

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

This siteHeart qi · xin qitwo words, lower case, matching kidney qi and liver qi elsewhere on the site
Literalthe vapour of the heartover-literal for 氣, which by the time of these texts is not vapour alone
Descriptivecardiac qithe clinical register; it reads as a modern organ where the chapter means the storehouse

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-09

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