Classica Sinica Medica

腦風 简体 脑风

nǎo fēng

Brain wind · nao feng

Also rendered: Brain wind (this site; nao feng given at the headword) · Wind in the brain (the plainer rendering, where the context needs no term)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
nǎo fēng
Simplified
脑风
Literal
腦風 nǎo fēng — wind that has followed the wind palace upward into the head. The chapter names it in the same breath as eye wind: one is wind rising by the palace at the nape, the other wind that binds the head.
Shuowen
《說文解字》無「腦」，其正篆作「匘」——匘，頭髓也。「腦」讀 nǎo，**本篇1見，即此**；「風」讀 fēng。**「風府」——「府」讀 fǔ**——**督脉之穴，在項後，風邪所聚**；**「循」讀 xún**。

In brief

Brain wind is the first of the two head winds chapter 42 names: wind qi that travels up by 風府, the point at the nape where wind gathers. Wang Bing explains the route — above the wind palace lies the brain door, and so wind that follows the palace upward reaches the brain.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
What the graph says 腦
頭髓也；說文正篆作匘
則爲腦風 — Suwen 42
2
The route 風氣循風府而上
自風府上行，即入於腦
風氣循風府而上 — Suwen 42
3
Why that route 風府之上即腦户
王冰：腦户者，督脉足太陽之會
則爲腦風 — Suwen 42 (Wang Bing)
4
What it is paired with 目風眼寒
一循風府而上，一入係於頭
風入係頭，則爲目風眼寒 — Suwen 42
5
Where it sits in the list 飲酒、入房、新沐之前
先言部位，後言得之之由
則爲腦風 — Suwen 42
6
What it is not 非藏府之風
與五藏風別，不入五藏之目
則爲腦風 — Suwen 42

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 42 Suwen 42 · 風論 Read in context →
風氣循風府而上，則爲腦風；風入係頭，則爲目風眼寒。 风气循风府而上，则为脑风；风入系头，则为目风眼寒。
Fēng qì xún fēng fǔ ér shàng, zé wéi nǎo fēng; fēng rù xì tóu, zé wéi mù fēng yǎn hán.
When wind qi follows the wind palace upward, it is brain wind; when wind enters and binds the head, it is eye wind with cold in the eyes.
**「風氣循風府而上，則爲腦風」——「風府」已立目**（第三十一篇「邪氣客於風府」同）；**王冰：「自風府而上則腦户也，腦户者督脉足太陽之會，故循風府而上則為腦風也」**；**「係」讀 xì，係屬也，不讀 jì**。

Compounds built on this term

腦風
nǎo fēng
brain wind
本篇惟此一見
風氣循風府而上
fēng qì xún fēng fǔ ér shàng
wind qi follows the wind palace upward
腦風之由
風府
fēng fǔ
the wind palace
第十六、三十一篇已見
目風眼寒
mù fēng yǎn hán
eye wind with cold in the eyes
與腦風同條並舉

How it has been translated

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

This sitebrain windtranslated, with nao feng at the headword
Unschuldbrain windthe same
Wisemanbrain windthe same

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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Reading path

Guided routes through the corpus, each built on a handful of chapters and their key terms.

See all reading paths