䐜脹 简体 䐜胀

chēn zhàng

Distension from rising turbidity · chen zhang

Also rendered: Distension from rising turbidity (this site; the compound is expanded because 䐜 alone says only that the flesh is swollen upward) · Chen zhang (transliteration; used when the pair with 飱泄 is cited whole)

Reviewed · 2026-10-11

At a glance

Pinyin
chēn zhàng
Simplified
䐜胀
Literal
䐜 chēn — the flesh swollen and rising, written with the flesh radical: Wang Bing glosses it exactly so, 䐜,肉脹起也. 脹 zhàng — distension, the flesh drawn tight. Suwen 5 names the pair once, in the first paragraph, and names it as the counterpart of food-diarrhoea: 清氣在下,則生飱泄;濁氣在上,則生䐜脹. The two clauses are the chapter's demonstration that the pathology of the body is the pathology of its directions.
Shuowen
**「䐜脹」本篇1見**;**「䐜」讀 chēn,從肉,真聲,本篇1見**;**「脹」讀 zhàng,本篇1見**;**王冰注:䐜,肉脹起也**;**《說文》未收「脹」,古多作「張」**

In brief

Distension of the belly from turbidity that has risen instead of descending. Suwen 5 gives it in the chapter’s first paragraph, paired with food-diarrhoea and explaining itself: 清氣在下,則生飱泄;濁氣在上,則生䐜脹. What should rise has gone down and produces the diarrhoea; what should descend has gone up and produces the distension. The chapter then names the whole state 陰陽反作 — yin and yang acting in reverse — and calls the pair the two directions a disease can run, 逆從. Wang Bing is exact about the graph: 䐜 is the flesh swelling up.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 䐜脹
䐜者肉脹起,脹者肉脹滿
濁氣在上,則生䐜脹 — Suwen 5
2
What causes it 濁氣在上
濁陰之氣當下而反在上
濁氣在上,則生䐜脹 — Suwen 5
3
What it is set against 飱泄
清氣在下則生飱泄,濁氣在上則生䐜脹
清氣在下,則生飱泄;濁氣在上,則生䐜脹 — Suwen 5
4
The name of the whole state 陰陽反作
清濁升降失位,是為陰陽反作
此陰陽反作,病之逆從也 — Suwen 5
5
The direction the turbid should take 濁陰歸六府
濁陰本當歸六府而下出
濁陰歸六府 — Suwen 5
6
How the chapter treats fullness 中滿者,冩之於内
凡滿在中者,當瀉之於内
中滿者,冩之於内 — Suwen 5

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
1 passages
素問·陰陽應象大論 Suwen 5 · 陰陽應象大論 Read in context →
寒極生熱,熱極生寒,寒氣生濁,熱氣生清。清氣在下,則生飱泄;濁氣在上,則生䐜脹。此陰陽反作,病之逆從也。 寒极生热,热极生寒,寒气生浊,热气生清。清气在下,则生飧泄;浊气在上,则生䐜胀。此阴阳反作,病之逆从也。
hán jí shēng rè, rè jí shēng hán, hán qì shēng zhuó, rè qì shēng qīng. qīng qì zài xià, zé shēng sūn xiè; zhuó qì zài shàng, zé shēng chēn zhàng. cǐ yīn yáng fǎn zuò, bìng zhī nì cóng yě.
Cold at its extreme engenders heat; heat at its extreme engenders cold. Cold qi produces turbidity, hot qi produces clarity. When clear qi stays below, pouring diarrhoea results; when turbid qi stays above, distension results. This is yin and yang acting in reverse — the rebellion and compliance of disease.
**「䐜脹」本篇1見**;**「濁氣」本篇1見,見本站第四三八條**;**「飱泄」本篇2見,見本站第五九一條**;**「清陽」本篇5見,見本站新目**

Compounds built on this term

則生䐜脹
zé shēng chēn zhàng
then there arises distension
本篇1見
濁氣在上
zhuó qì zài shàng
the turbid qi is above
本篇1見
陰陽反作
yīn yáng fǎn zuò
yin and yang act in reverse
本篇1見
清氣在下
qīng qì zài xià
the clear qi is below
本篇1見

How it has been translated

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

This siteDistension from rising turbidity · chen zhangkeeps both halves of the pair visible: the swelling and the direction it came from
Literalfleshy swelling and distensionfaithful to 䐜 and 脹, but reads as two symptoms rather than one
Clinicalabdominal distensionwhat it is in practice; right about the symptom, silent about how it got there

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-11

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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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