Classica Sinica Medica

生陽死陰 简体 生阳死阴

shēng yáng sǐ yīn

Living yang and dying yin

Also rendered: generation and destruction (Reads the pair as the two phase orders) · sheng yang si yin (Pinyin)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
shēng yáng sǐ yīn
Simplified
生阳死阴
Literal
生陽 the yang in which a thing lives; 死陰 the yin in which it dies. Transmission that follows the generating order, and transmission that follows the overcoming order.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：生，進也；死，澌也，人所離也。

In brief

The seventh chapter’s rule for reading a disease that moves from one organ to another. If it follows the order in which the five phases generate one another — liver to heart — it is living yang, and the patient has days. If it follows the order in which they overcome one another — heart to lung — it is dying yin, and the count is three. Two further cases are named: lung to kidney is doubled yin, and kidney to spleen, running back against the order, is the rejected yin, which is beyond treatment.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
Transmission in the generating order 生陽
From the liver to the heart: what produces, transmitting to what it produces
肝之心謂之生陽 — Suwen 7
2
Transmission in the overcoming order 死陰
From the heart to the lung: what overcomes, transmitting
心之肺謂之死陰 — Suwen 7
3
Doubled yin 重陰
From the lung to the kidney: yin passing to yin
肺之腎謂之重陰 — Suwen 7
4
The rejected yin 辟陰
From the kidney to the spleen: against the order, the rebel transmission
腎之脾謂之辟陰，死不治 — Suwen 7

Occurrences in the classics

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

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1 passages
素問·陰陽别論 Suwen 7 · 陰陽别論 Read in context →
所謂生陽死陰者，肝之心謂之生陽，心之肺謂之死陰，肺之腎謂之重陰，腎之脾謂之辟陰，死不治。 所谓生阳死阴者，肝之心谓之生阳，心之肺谓之死阴，肺之肾谓之重阴，肾之脾谓之辟阴，死不治。
suǒ wèi shēng yáng sǐ yīn zhě, gān zhī xīn wèi zhī shēng yáng, xīn zhī fèi wèi zhī sǐ yīn, fèi zhī shèn wèi zhī chóng yīn, shèn zhī pí wèi zhī pì yīn, sǐ bù zhì.
As to what is called living yang and dying yin: from the liver to the heart is called living yang; from the heart to the lung is called dying yin; from the lung to the kidney is called doubled yin; from the kidney to the spleen is called the rejected yin, and death is beyond treatment.
本篇以傳變之方向斷死生：相生而傳曰生陽，相剋而傳曰死陰，以陰傳陰曰重陰，反侮而傳曰辟陰。「辟」讀 pì。

Compounds built on this term

重陰
chóng yīn
doubled yin
Yin transmitting to yin
辟陰
pì yīn
the rejected yin
Transmission against the order; 王冰：土辟水升
死陰之屬
sǐ yīn zhī shǔ
what belongs to the dying yin
Three days

How it has been translated

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

Common Englishgeneration and overcoming transmissionThe explanatory rendering; accurate, but loses the chapter's own words.
This siteliving yang and dying yinKeeps the chapter's pair: its point is that the direction of the transmission decides whether the patient lives, and the words say so.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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Reading path

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