獨至简体独至

dú zhì

Arriving alone · du zhi

Also rendered: arriving alone (Keeps 至 as an event rather than a condition) · present alone (The pulse sense, but flatter than the word) · isolated pulse (Tidier English, and loses the subject) · du zhi (Bare transliteration)

Vessels

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin: dú zhì
Simplified: 独至
Literal: 獨 is a dog alone: 《說文》 glosses it as dogs fighting when they come together — two dogs fight, so one dog is 獨. 至 is a bird coming down from height to the ground — arrival drawn rather than stated.
Shuowen: 《說文解字》：獨，犬相得而鬥也。从犬蜀聲（段玉裁注：犬好鬥，獨則不鬥矣，故引申為單獨之偁）；至，鳥飛从高下至地也。从一，一猶地也。

In brief

The second half of chapter 21 is organised around it. Each of the six arrives alone at the pulse — the viscus has the field to itself — and each is then given a mechanism and a treatment: greater yang is counterflow with empty qi rising, drain both exterior and interior; yang brilliance is yang doubled upon itself, drain yang and supplement yin; lesser yang is counterflow qi, and the one yang’s excess. Then the greater yin is felt beating, the one yang whistles, the one yin governs. Almost every verdict ends in the same place: treat the lower transport points.

Senses in the classical corpus

Greater yang alone 太陽藏獨至，厥喘虚氣逆

太陽獨至則厥喘，陰不足陽有餘

太陽藏獨至，厥喘虚氣逆，是陰不足，陽有餘也。表裏當俱寫，取之下俞 — Suwen 21

Yang brilliance alone 陽明藏獨至，是陽氣重并也

陽明獨至，陽氣重復相并

陽明藏獨至，是陽氣重并也。當寫陽補陰，取之下俞 — Suwen 21

Lesser yang alone 少陽藏獨至，是厥氣也

少陽獨至，是為厥氣

少陽藏獨至，是厥氣也。蹻前卒大，取之下俞 — Suwen 21

The one yang whistling alone 一陽獨嘯，少陽厥也

一陽之氣獨嘯，是少陽之厥

一陽獨嘯，少陽厥也。陽并於上，四脉爭張，氣歸於腎 — Suwen 21

The one yin arriving 一陰至，厥陰之治也

一陰之氣至，是厥陰主治

一陰至，厥陰之治也。真虚㾓心，厥氣留薄，發爲白汗 — Suwen 21

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·經脉别論 Suwen 21 · 經脉别論 Read in context →

太陽藏獨至，厥喘虚氣逆，是陰不足，陽有餘也。表裏當俱寫，取之下俞。陽明藏獨至，是陽氣重并也。當寫陽補陰，取之下俞。少陽藏獨至，是厥氣也。蹻前卒大，取之下俞。少陽獨至者，一陽之過也。太阳脏独至，厥喘虚气逆，是阴不足，阳有余也。表里当俱写，取之下俞。阳明脏独至，是阳气重并也。当写阳补阴，取之下俞。少阳脏独至，是厥气也。蹻前卒大，取之下俞。少阳独至者，一阳之过也。

Tài yáng zàng dú zhì, jué chuǎn xū qì nì, shì yīn bù zú, yáng yǒu yú yě. Biǎo lǐ dāng jù xiè, qǔ zhī xià shù.Yáng míng zàng dú zhì, shì yáng qì chóng bìng yě. Dāng xiè yáng bǔ yīn, qǔ zhī xià shù.Shào yáng zàng dú zhì, shì jué qì yě. Qiāo qián cù dà, qǔ zhī xià shù. Shào yáng dú zhì zhě, yī yáng zhī guò yě.

When the greater yang viscus arrives alone, there is counterflow panting and empty qi rebellious upward: yin is insufficient and yang in excess. Both the exterior and the interior should be drained; take the lower transport points. When the yang brilliance viscus arrives alone, this is yang qi doubled upon itself. Drain the yang and supplement the yin; take the lower transport points. When the lesser yang viscus arrives alone, this is counterflow qi. If the region before the heel vessel swells suddenly, take the lower transport points. For the lesser yang arriving alone: it is the excess of the one yang.

本篇後半之綱。「太陽藏獨至」「陽明藏獨至」「少陽藏獨至」——三陽之氣獨盛於脈而各自為病，其治則一歸於「取之下俞」：太陽者表裏俱寫，陽明者寫陽補陰，少陽者亦取下俞。下文續以太陰之搏、一陽之嘯、一陰之至，其例相同，而其治益詳。「獨」，《說文》「犬相得而鬥也」——兩犬相遇則鬥，故一犬為獨；「至」則鳥自高下至於地，皆取「單獨而至」之意。按本篇底本「藏」字，此數處並讀 zàng，指經臟之氣，與下文「留於四臓」之「臓」（臟之異體）同一義域而用字不同。

Compounds built on this term

獨至

dú zhì

arriving alone

本篇：太陽藏獨至、陽明藏獨至、少陽藏獨至

藏

zàng

the viscus

本篇：太陽藏、陽明藏、太陰藏之藏並讀 zàng

下俞

xià shù

the lower transport points

本篇：宜治其下俞

重并

chóng bìng

doubled and merged

本篇：是陽氣重并也

厥氣

jué qì

counterflow qi

本篇：少陽藏獨至，是厥氣也

How it has been translated

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

Wiseman & Feng	[the viscus] arrives alone	They keep 至 as arriving in the pulse descriptions, which preserves the verb.
Unschuld	the [viscus] alone arrives / is present alone	He alternates between keeping the arrival and reporting only the finding.
This site	arriving alone	至 draws a bird settling to the ground, and the chapter uses it that way: something has come, singly, and for as long as it is there the field belongs to it. Present alone would make it a reading in a report rather than an event with a beginning; isolated pulse would put the judgement in the English before the chapter has finished earning it.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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