Classica Sinica Medica

頸癰 简体 颈痈

jǐng yōng

Abscess of the neck

Also rendered: Abscess of the neck (this site; 癰 kept as abscess) · Neck welling-abscess (the rendering used where 癰 is taken as welling abscess)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-09-30

At a glance

Pinyin
jǐng yōng
Simplified
颈痈
Literal
頸癰 jǐng yōng — the abscess the chapter chooses for its argument about practice. Two patients, the same name on the disease, one opened with the needle and one drained with stone, and both get well. The chapter refuses to leave that as luck: the difference is in the grade of the abscess, not in the skill of the hand.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：頸，頭莖也，从頁巠聲。「頸」讀 jǐng、**本篇惟此一見**；「癰」讀 yōng、**本篇4見**；**頸癰一見，與胃脘癰二見相對，皆癰而部位不同**。

In brief

An abscess at the neck, and chapter 46’s worked example of how one name can cover two diseases. Asked why stone and needle both cure it, Qi Bo answers that the name is shared but the grade is not: while the qi of the abscess is still growing one opens it with the needle; once qi is full and blood has gathered one uses stone to drain it. The chapter names the principle in four words — 同病異治, the same disease treated differently.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The two graphs 頸、癰
頸者頭莖，癰者壅聚
有病頸癰者 — Suwen 46
2
Two treatments, both successful 或石治之，或鍼灸治之
治同而器異，皆已
或石治之，或鍼灸治之 — Suwen 46
3
The question this raises 其真安在
同名而異治，其理何在
而皆已，其真安在 — Suwen 46
4
The answer 同名異等
名同而等異，非治者之巧拙
此同名異等者也 — Suwen 46
5
The earlier grade 癰氣之息
未成膿者，宜以鍼開除去之
宜以鍼開除去之 — Suwen 46
6
The later grade 氣盛血聚
已成膿者，宜石而寫之
宜石而寫之 — Suwen 46

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
1 passages
Suwen 46 Suwen 46 · 病能論 Read in context →
帝曰：善。有病頸癰者，或石治之，或鍼灸治之，而皆已，其真安在？歧伯曰：此同名異等者也。 帝曰：善。有病颈痈者，或石治之，或针灸治之，而皆已，其真安在？歧伯曰：此同名异等者也。
Dì yuē: shàn. Yǒu bìng jǐng yōng zhě, huò shí zhì zhī, huò zhēn jiǔ zhì zhī, ér jiē yǐ, qí zhēn ān zài? Qí bó yuē: cǐ tóng míng yì děng zhě yě.
The Emperor says: good. With abscesses of the neck, some are treated with stone and some with needle and moxa, and all recover. Where does the truth of it lie? Qi Bo says: these carry the same name but are of different grade.
**「有病頸癰者，或石治之，或鍼灸治之，而皆已」——**「頸」讀 jǐng、**本篇惟此一見**；「癰」讀 yōng、**本篇4見**；**「石」此為砭石，非本站第六一四目冬脉之「石」，下同「宜石而寫之」之石**；**答語「此同名異等者也」，為全章治法之樞**。

Compounds built on this term

頸癰
jǐng yōng
abscess of the neck
本篇第四問
同名異等
tóng míng yì děng
the same name, a different grade
頸癰之所以二治
以鍼開除去之
yǐ zhēn kāi chú qù zhī
open and let it out with the needle
未成膿者之法
宜石而寫之
yí shí ér xiě zhī
use stone and drain it
已成膿者之法

How it has been translated

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

This siteabscess of the neck頸癰 follows the site's rendering of 癰, so the pair with 胃脘癰 reads cleanly
Unschuldabscess of the neckhe translates the部位 literally
Wisemanneck welling abscess頸癰 in his system, with 癰 as welling abscess

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09-30

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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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