Classica Sinica Medica

菀熟

yùn shú

Pent up and ripening · yun shu

Also rendered: Pent up and ripening (this site; 菀 is 鬱, and 熟 is read 熱 by the commentators) · Accumulated heat (clear, and it drops the image of ripening)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-10-17

At a glance

Pinyin
yùn shú
Simplified
菀熟
Literal
菀 yùn — pent and gathered, unable to disperse; 熟 shú — ripened. The phrase says what happens to the eight winds when they lodge: they do not stay wind, they ripen.
Shuowen
《說文》：菀，茂也，此借為「鬱」。楊上善注「菀熟，言蓄積」；吳崑、馬蒔、張介賓本「熟」並作「熱」，謂鬱積化熱。「菀熟」本篇1見；「菀」字1見，「熟」字1見，皆在此句。

In brief

菀熟 is the chapter’s account of how the illness started, and it is a phrase the commentators divide over. 八風菀熟，五藏消爍，傳邪相受: the eight winds pent up and ripening, the five viscera consumed and melted, the evil transmitted and received. 菀 is 郁, pent and unable to disperse; Yang Shangshen glosses 菀熟 as 蓄積, stored up. 熟, ripened, is read 熱 by Wu Kun, Ma Shi and Zhang Jiebin — pent up until it turns to heat — and the base text’s 熟 is kept here with that reading recorded in the collation. The phrase matters because it is the chain Huang Di says Lei Gong’s answer left out: he named a viscus without asking where the illness came from.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
Pent and stored 菀熟
菀讀 yùn，鬱積也
Yuan is read yùn, 'pent up and accumulated'.
八風菀熟 — 素問·示從容論
2
Ripening into heat 熟
諸家作熱，謂鬱積化熱
Other editions write re, 'heat', meaning that what is pent up turns to heat.
八風菀熟 — 素問·示從容論
3
Its source 八風
八風之邪，非泛言風
The pathogen of the eight winds, not wind spoken of at large.
八風菀熟 — 素問·示從容論
4
What it consumes 五藏消爍
邪鬱既久，五藏消爍
When the pathogen has been pent up long, the five viscera are scorched and melted away.
五藏消爍 — 素問·示從容論
5
What follows it 傳邪相受
邪氣相傳而受
The pathogen is transmitted and received from one to the next.
傳邪相受 — 素問·示從容論

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
2 passages
素問·示從容論 Read in context →
今子所言皆失。八風菀熟，五藏消爍，傳邪相受。夫浮而弦者，是腎不足也。沈而石者，是腎氣内著也。 今子所言皆失。八风菀熟，五藏消烁，传邪相受。夫浮而弦者，是肾不足也。沈而石者，是肾气内著也。
Jīn zǐ suǒ yán jiē shī. Bā fēng yù shú, wǔ zàng xiāo shuò, chuán xié xiāng shòu. Fú fú ér xián zhě, shì shèn bù zú yě. Chén ér shí zhě, shì shèn qì nèi zhuó yě.
All that you have said is wrong. The eight winds pent up and ripening, the five viscera consumed and melted, the evil transmitted and received — the floating and wiry pulse is a kidney that is insufficient; the sinking and stone-like pulse is kidney qi clinging within.
「菀熟」本篇1見；楊上善注「菀熟，言蓄積」；吳崑、馬蒔、張介賓本作「菀熱」，異文已入校勘；此三句為黃帝責雷公「所言皆失」之實：八風、五藏、傳邪，皆雷公所未及
素問·疏五過論 Read in context →
治病之道，氣内爲寶，循求其理。求之不得，過在表裏。守數據治，無失俞理。能行此術，終身不殆。不知俞理，五藏菀熟，癰發六府。診病不審，是謂失常。謹守此治，與經相明。 治病之道，气内为宝，循求其理。求之不得，过在表里。守数据治，无失俞理。能行此术，终身不殆。不知俞理，五藏菀熟，痈发六府。诊病不审，是谓失常。谨守此治，与经相明。
Zhì bìng zhī dào, qì nèi wéi bǎo, xún qiú qí lǐ. Qiú zhī bù dé, guò zài biǎo lǐ. Shǒu shù jù zhì, wú shī shù lǐ. Néng xíng cǐ shù, zhōng shēn bù dài. Bù zhī shù lǐ, wǔ zàng yùn shú, yōng fā liù fǔ. Zhěn bìng bù shěn, shì wèi shī cháng. Jǐn shǒu cǐ zhì, yǔ jīng xiāng míng.
In the way of treating illness, the qi kept within is the treasure; one follows and seeks out its principle. Seek it and not find it, and the fault lies in the outer and the inner. Keep to the numbers and treat according to them, and do not miss the principle of the transport points. Able to practise this art, one is never in danger all one’s life. Not knowing the principle of the transport points, the five viscera are pent up and ripen, and abscesses break out in the six receptacles. To diagnose without care is called losing the constant. Keep this treatment carefully, and it will be clear together with the canon.
「菀熟」本篇1見，止此一見；此段「不知俞理，五藏菀熟，癰發六府」，菀熟言鬱積化熱；與第七十六篇「八風菀熟」同詞，彼屬外邪，此屬失治

Compounds built on this term

八風
bā fēng
the eight winds
另有專目；本篇一見
消爍
xiāo shuò
consumed and melted
本篇一見
傳邪
chuán xié
transmitted evil
本篇一見
蓄積
xù jī
stored up
楊上善注「菀熟，言蓄積」

How it has been translated

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

This sitepent up and ripeningthe eight winds lodging until they turn to heat
Literalluxuriant and cookedexact as graphs, and it says nothing
Descriptivestored up until it burnsclear, and it loses 八風 as the source

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-17

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Reading path

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