Classica Sinica Medica

宗筋

zōng jīn

Ancestral sinew

Also rendered: Ancestral sinew (this site; 宗 kept as the gathering of the vessels) · Gathering of the sinews (where 宗 is read as the meeting place rather than the ancestor)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-09-29

At a glance

Pinyin
zōng jīn
Simplified
宗筋
Literal
宗筋 zōng jīn — the sinew the chapter leans on when it explains why yang brightness alone is taken for flaccidity. Yang brightness is the sea of the five stores and the six palaces and moistens the ancestral sinews; the ancestral sinews bind the bones and make the joints work freely; and when yang brightness is empty they go lax and the belt vessel cannot draw them up.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：宗，尊祖廟也；筋，肉之力也。「宗」讀 zōng、**本篇6見**；「筋」、**本篇14見**；**「主閏宗筋」之閏讀 rùn，通「潤」**；**「宗筋弛縱」之縱讀 zòng**。

In brief

The great sinew at the gathering of the yin and yang vessels, bound to the bones and working the joints. The chapter makes it the hinge of its last argument: the thoroughfare vessel joins yang brightness there, all the vessels meet at the qi street, and when yang brightness fails the ancestral sinews go slack and the legs stop working.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 宗、筋
宗者聚會之義，筋者肉之力
主閏宗筋，宗筋主束骨而利機關也 — Suwen 44
2
What it does 主束骨而利機關
束骨者約束諸骨，利機關者滑利關節
宗筋主束骨而利機關也 — Suwen 44
3
Who moistens it 陽明者，五藏六府之海，主閏宗筋
陽明為海而潤宗筋，故治痿獨取陽明
主閏宗筋 — Suwen 44
4
What gathers there 陰陽總宗筋之會，會於氣街
陰陽諸經總會於宗筋，而會於氣街
陰陽總宗筋之會 — Suwen 44
5
What fails 陽明虚則宗筋縱，帶脉不引
陽明虚則宗筋弛縱，帶脉不能收引
故陽明虚則宗筋縱 — Suwen 44
6
How desire slackens it 入房太甚，宗筋弛縱
房事太甚，宗筋弛縱而發筋痿
入房太甚，宗筋弛縱 — Suwen 44

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
2 passages
Suwen 44 Suwen 44 · 痿論 Read in context →
歧伯曰：陽明者，五藏六府之海，主閏宗筋，宗筋主束骨而利機關也。 歧伯曰：阳明者，五脏六腑之海，主闰宗筋，宗筋主束骨而利机关也。
Qí bó yuē: yáng míng zhě, wǔ zàng liù fǔ zhī hǎi, zhǔ rùn zōng jīn, zōng jīn zhǔ shù gǔ ér lì jī guān yě.
Qi Bo replies: yang brightness is the sea of the five stores and the six palaces; it moistens the ancestral sinews, and the ancestral sinews bind the bones and make the joints work freely.
**「主閏宗筋」——**「閏」讀 rùn，**底本作「閏」，通「潤」，讀 rùn；《太素》作「主潤宗筋」**；「宗」讀 zōng、**本篇6見**；「機」讀 jī「關」讀 guān，**「利機關」者，滑利關節之謂**。
素問·厥論 Suwen 45 · 厥論 Read in context →
歧伯曰：前陰者，宗筋之所聚，太陰陽明之所合也。 歧伯曰：前阴者，宗筋之所聚，太阴阳明之所合也。
Qí bó yuē: qián yīn zhě, zōng jīn zhī suǒ jù, tài yīn yáng míng zhī suǒ hé yě.
Qi Bo says: the front yin is where the ancestral sinews gather, and where greater yin and yang brightness meet.
「前陰者，宗筋之所聚」——**本篇「宗筋」惟此一見**；**與 ch44「宗筋主束骨而利機關」同一宗筋**；**此言其所聚之地在前陰**。

Compounds built on this term

宗筋
zōng jīn
ancestral sinew
本篇六見
主閏宗筋
zhǔ rùn zōng jīn
it moistens the ancestral sinews
陽明之用
宗筋弛縱
zōng jīn chí zòng
the ancestral sinews slacken and go lax
筋痿與足痿之所同
束骨利機關
shù gǔ lì jī guān
bind the bones and free the joints
宗筋之職

How it has been translated

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

This siteancestral sinew宗 is kept as ancestral — the sinew at which the vessels gather, as the chapter itself describes it
Unschuldancestral sinewhe too keeps the gathering sense
Wisemanancestral sinew宗筋 is the ancestral sinew in his system, the sinews of the genital region

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09-29

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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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