Bone opening · gu kong

At a glance

Pinyin

gǔ kōng

Simplified

骨空

Literal

骨 gǔ — 《說文》 gives it as 肉之覈也, the hard kernel inside the flesh; the graph draws a frame with meat over it, and the chapter takes for granted that what matters about a bone is that it can be got through. 空 kōng — 《說文》 空，竅也, an aperture, 穴 with 工 for sound; it is the ordinary word for a hole and it is read as written throughout this chapter, kōng, and not kǒng as it is in 鍼空 in chapter 24, where it stands for 孔. Put together the two graphs say exactly what the chapter means by a place to treat: not a mark on the skin but a passage through bone. The chapter never argues this; it walks the skeleton — 髓空在腦後三分, 脊骨上空在風府上, 脊骨下空在凥骨下空, 或骨空在口下當兩肩, 兩髆骨空在髆中之陽, 臂骨空在臂陽, 股骨上空在股陽, 䯒骨空在輔骨之上端, 股際骨空在毛中動下, 凥骨空在髀骨之後 — and gives the opening in each. Where it counts rather than locates it says 穴 instead: 水俞五十七穴者, 行六穴. Two words, two jobs. The last thing the chapter says on the subject is the negative case, 扁骨有滲理，湊無髓孔，易髓無空 — a flat bone has vessels that seep through it, it joins to its neighbours, it exchanges marrow, and it has no opening; which is the chapter telling you what kind of bone has a 空 at all.

Shuowen

「骨」讀 gǔ、**本篇「骨」28見，讀 gǔ**；「空」讀 kōng、**本篇「空」14見，皆讀 kōng，如字；本站第二十四篇「鍼空」讀 kǒng 通「孔」，與此異讀**；「髓」讀 suǐ、**「髓空」本篇2見，讀 suǐ kōng；本篇「髓」4見**；「孔」讀 kǒng、**「湊無髓孔」之孔讀 kǒng，與如字之「空」異讀，本篇「髓孔」1見**；「穴」讀 xué、**本篇計穴之處言「穴」，言骨之竅則言「空」，二字並行；本篇「穴」2見**；「扁」讀 biǎn、「滲」讀 shèn、**「扁骨有滲理」：扁讀 biǎn，滲讀 shèn，本篇「扁」1見、「滲」1見**；「湊」讀 còu、**「湊無髓孔」之湊讀 còu，聚合也**；「易」讀 yì、**「易髓無空」之易讀 yì，交易也**；「腦」讀 nǎo、**「髓空在腦後三分」之腦讀 nǎo**；「項」讀 xiàng、**「項後中復骨下」之項讀 xiàng，本篇「項」4見**；「顱」讀 lú、**「顱際鋭骨」之顱讀 lú**；「際」讀 jì、**「顱際」之際讀 jì**；「鋭」讀 ruì、**「鋭骨」：底本作从兌之「鋭」，通行本作「銳」，此从底本**；「齗」讀 yín、**「齗基下」之齗讀 yín，齒齦也**；「基」讀 jī、**「齗基」之基讀 jī**；「脊」讀 jǐ、**「脊骨上空」「脊骨下空」之脊讀 jǐ，本篇「脊」7見**；「髆」讀 bó、**「兩髆骨空」之髆讀 bó，肩胛也**；「臂」讀 bì、**「臂骨空在臂陽」之臂讀 bì，本篇「臂」4見**；「股」讀 gǔ、**「股骨上空」「股際骨空」之股讀 gǔ，本篇「股」4見**；「髀」讀 bì、**「凥骨空在髀骨之後」之髀讀 bì**；「凥」讀 jū、**「凥骨空」「凥骨下空」之凥讀 jū，尸下从几，為「居」之本字，不作「尻」kāo；本篇「凥」4見**；「踝」讀 huái、**「去踝四寸兩骨空之間」之踝讀 huái，本篇「踝」4見**