Classica Sinica Medica

無汗 简体 无汗

wú hàn

Absence of sweat · wu han

Also rendered: Absence of sweat (Clinical) · No sweat (Literal)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-10-28

At a glance

Pinyin
wú hàn
Simplified
无汗
Literal
無 wú, without; 汗 hàn, sweat. The book uses it as a positive finding, not an absence: no sweat means the exterior is shut, and in the hard form of spasm it is what makes the form hard. It also appears with a place attached — 頭無汗, no sweat on the head — where the question is whether the upper passage is open at all.
Shuowen
**《說文》：「無，亡也。」「汗，身液也。」** **底本三見**（2-34、4-02、5-33）。**無汗與有汗，為太陽辨證之第一分**：中風有汗，傷寒無汗；柔痓有汗，剛痓無汗。**2-34 之「頭無汗」别是一義**：關格之病，頭有汗則陽氣上脱，無汗則猶可治，此以局部之汗決死生，非表氣開閉之謂。**同名而三用，須各依其段讀之。**

In brief

No sweat, read as a finding. In taiyang it means the exterior is shut and the pattern is cold damage rather than wind strike; in chapter four it is half of what makes spasm hard rather than soft; and in the pulse chapter, attached to the head, it is a prognostic sign in the barrier-and-rejection illness, where sweat on the head means the yang is escaping upward and no sweat means there is still something to treat.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
What makes spasm hard 發熱無汗，反惡寒者，名曰：「剛痓」
無汗則表閉，故與有汗之柔痓相對；剛柔之分，全在此二字
Fever with no sweat and with aversion to cold instead of wind: the exterior is shut, and the form is the hard one.
太陽病，發熱無汗，反惡寒者，名曰：「剛痓」 — 傷寒論·辨痓濕暍脉證第四
2
The exterior still shut 無汗，心下滿微痛
服桂枝湯或下之後仍無汗，知表未解；心下滿而小便不利，則水氣亦停
The stiffness and pain persist, there is a gathering fever and no sweat, and the centre is full with a little pain and the urine will not come: the exterior is unresolved and water has also stopped.
仍頭項強痛，翕翕發熱，無汗，心下滿微痛，小便不利者 — 傷寒論·辨太陽病脉證并治上第五
3
No sweat on the head 頭無汗者可治
關格不通之病，頭有汗則陽上脱而死，無汗則陽猶在，故可治
In the illness where the passages are blocked, no sweat on the head is treatable; sweat there means the yang has escaped upward, and it is fatal.
頭無汗者可治，有汗者死 — 傷寒論·平脉法第二

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
3 passages
傷寒論·辨痓濕暍脉證第四 Read in context →
太陽病，發熱無汗，反惡寒者，名曰：「剛痓」。 太阳病，发热无汗，反恶寒者，名曰：“刚痓”。
tài yáng bìng fā rè wú hàn fǎn wù hán zhě míng yuē gāng chì
In taiyang disease with fever, absence of sweating and paradoxical aversion to cold, the disorder is called rigid convulsion.
**「無汗」五篇共3見**（經文，不含成注），本文引第4篇第02段、第5篇第33段、第2篇第34段。
傷寒論·辨太陽病脉證并治上第五 Read in context →
服桂枝湯，或下之，仍頭項強痛，翕翕發熱，無汗，心下滿微痛，小便不利者，桂枝湯去桂，加茯苓白朮湯主之。 服桂枝汤，或下之，仍头项强痛，翕翕发热，无汗，心下满微痛，小便不利者，桂枝汤去桂，加茯苓白术汤主之。
fú guì zhī tāng huò xià zhī réng tóu xiàng qiáng tòng xī xī fā rè wú hàn xīn xià mǎn wēi tòng xiǎo biàn bù lì zhě guì zhī tāng qù guì jiā fú líng bái zhú tāng zhǔ zhī
After Cinnamon Twig Decoction, or after purging, if the head and nape are still stiff and painful, there is a smothering heat, no sweat, fullness and slight pain below the heart, and urine is blocked, Cinnamon Twig Decoction with cinnamon removed and Poria and Atractylodes added governs.
無汗在表為表實，在痓為剛，在關格為可治；三義各依其段，不可一律。
傷寒論·平脉法第二 Read in context →
假令脉來微去大，故名反，病在裏也。脉來頭小本大者，故名覆，病在表也。上微頭小者，則汗出；下微本大者，則爲關格不通，不得尿。頭無汗者可治，有汗者死。 假令脉来微去大，故名反，病在里也。脉来头小本大者，故名覆，病在表也。上微头小者，则汗出；下微本大者，则为关格不通，不得尿。头无汗者可治，有汗者死。
jiǎ lìng mài lái wēi qù dà gù míng fǎn bìng zài lǐ yě mài lái tóu xiǎo běn dà zhě gù míng fù bìng zài biǎo yě shàng wēi tóu xiǎo zhě zé hàn chū xià wēi běn dà zhě zé wéi guān gé bù tōng bù dé niào tóu wú hàn zhě kě zhì yǒu hàn zhě sǐ
Suppose the pulse comes faint and leaves large: this is called the reversed, and the disease is within. Suppose it comes with a small head and a large root: this is called the overturned, and the disease is in the exterior. When the upper is faint and the head small, there will be sweating; when the lower is faint and the root large, there is gate-and-barrier blockage, and no urine passes. If the head has no sweat, it can be treated; if it sweats, death.
無汗在表為表實，在痓為剛，在關格為可治；三義各依其段，不可一律。

Compounds built on this term

發熱無汗
fā rè wú hàn
fever without sweat
辨痓濕暍脉證第四
無汗而喘
wú hàn ér chuǎn
no sweat and short of breath
辨太陽病脉證并治上第五
頭無汗
tóu wú hàn
no sweat on the head
平脉法第二

How it has been translated

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

This siteabsence of sweatreads it as a finding, not a gap
Literalwithout sweatexact, and too plain for a sign
Clinicalanhydrosisprecise, and foreign to the book

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-28

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Reading path

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