Classica Sinica Medica

有子

yǒu zǐ

With child · you zi

Also rendered: With-child (this site; literal, and it keeps the phrase a statement about a person rather than a diagnosis of a condition) · You zi (transliteration; how the phrase is written wherever this pulse verdict is cited)

Life stages

Reviewed · 2026-10-11

At a glance

Pinyin
yǒu zǐ
Simplified
有子
Literal
有 yǒu — to have, to be in possession of; 子 zǐ — a child (《說文》: 子，十一月陽气動，萬物滋，人以為偁). 有子 is plain speech: the woman has a child, is with child. The chapter puts it at the head of four pulse verdicts and it is the only one that is not a disease.
Shuowen
**「有子」本篇1見，止在此句**；**「子」讀 zǐ，本篇2見：一在「女子不月」，一在「有子」**；**「有」讀 yǒu，本篇5見**；**《說文》：子，十一月陽气動，萬物滋，人以為偁**；**本篇「有」凡5見，餘在「人有四經十二從」「脉有陰陽」「有不得隱曲」等句**

In brief

The chapter’s reading of a pulse that means a woman is with child: 陰搏陽别，謂之有子 — the yin beats and the yang is apart from it, and that is called 有子. 搏 is the pulse coming up hard under the finger and 别 is its being separated off from the yang; the yin position beats, and the yang does not answer it in the same way. It stands at the head of four verdicts in one short paragraph, and it is the only one that is not bad news: the second is 陰陽虚，腸辟死, the third 陽加於陰謂之汗, the fourth 陰虚陽搏，謂之崩. The pair with 崩 is exact and worth keeping in view — there the yin is empty and the yang beats, here the yin is full and beats — so the two readings sit on opposite sides of one pulse.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 有子
有者有也，子者子女；謂懷妊
陰搏陽别，謂之有子 — Suwen 7
2
The sign 陰搏陽别
陰脈摶擊而與陽脈相别，尺中獨盛
陰搏陽别 — Suwen 7
3
What it is read from 脉
本篇四判皆以脉斷，此其第一
陰搏陽别，謂之有子 — Suwen 7
4
The other three 腸辟、汗、崩
同段四判，唯此一判為吉
陰虚陽搏，謂之崩 — Suwen 7
5
搏 and 别 搏者摶擊，别者分也
搏言其盛，别言其與陽分
陰搏陽别 — Suwen 7
6
How it was taken up 有子
後世以尺脈滑數為有妊之候，本此句
陰搏陽别，謂之有子 — Suwen 7

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·陰陽别論 Suwen 7 · 陰陽别論 Read in context →
陰搏陽别，謂之有子。陰陽虚，腸辟死。陽加於陰謂之汗。陰虚陽搏，謂之崩。 阴搏阳别，谓之有子。阴阳虚，肠辟死。阳加于阴谓之汗。阴虚阳搏，谓之崩。
yīn bó yáng bié, wèi zhī yǒu zǐ. yīn yáng xū, cháng pì sǐ. yáng jiā yú yīn wèi zhī hàn. yīn xū yáng bó, wèi zhī bēng.
When the yin beats and the yang stands apart, it is called having a child. When yin and yang are both depleted and there is flux of the bowel, death follows. Yang added to yin is called sweating. When yin is depleted and yang beats, it is called flooding.
**「有子」本篇1見，止此一句**；**本段四判：有子、腸辟死、汗、崩，皆以脉斷**；**「陰搏陽别」本篇1見，止此一句**；**「陰虚陽搏，謂之崩」與此「陰搏陽别」同一部脉而虚實相反，本站「崩」條並著之**；**本站新立此目**

Compounds built on this term

陰搏陽别
yīn bó yáng bié
the yin beats and the yang stands apart
本篇1見；有子之脉
腸辟
cháng pì
dysentery
本篇1見；底本作「辟」，辟、澼通假，本站第八六九條
崩
bēng
flooding
本篇1見；陰虚陽搏謂之崩，本站新立目
尺脈
chǐ mài
the pulse at the cubit
本篇0見，後世之名，用釋「陰搏陽别」

How it has been translated

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

This sitewith child有子 says what the woman has and not what is wrong with her, and it is the one verdict in the paragraph that is not an illness
Transliterationyou zihow the phrase appears where the four verdicts are listed; right about the referent, and it turns a sentence into a label
Descriptivepregnancyexact, and it is the modern word for the state: the chapter is reading a pulse, and 子 is what the pulse is read to mean

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-11

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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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