Dimness of sight · xuan xuan

At a glance

Pinyin

xuàn xuàn

Simplified

眴眴

Literal

眴眴 xuàn xuàn — 眴 is the eye radical over 旬, and the 說文 glosses it as the eye wavering; the Kangxi dictionary quotes this very line of the Suwen under it. It is the dizziness in which the eyes will not hold still, or will not focus: things swim. The chapter puts it in the kidney malaria between the difficult stool and the cold hands and feet, so that the whole picture is of a body whose inward processes have stopped running: the bowel will not move, the eyes will not steady, the extremities are cold.

Shuowen

《說文解字》：䀏，目搖也，从目勻省聲；眴，䀏或从旬——**「目搖」二字是眴之本義，謂目之搖動不明**。「眴」讀 xuàn，本篇2見，**皆在「眴眴」一詞，讀 xuàn**——《康熙字典》引《素問》「腎瘧者目眴眴然」；**眴另有讀 shùn（以目示意）、讀 xún（目眩）者，此處不取**；**不从「眩」（「眩」讀 xuàn）**。「目」讀 mù；「手」讀 shǒu；「足」讀 zú；「寒」讀 hán。**「大便難，目眴眴然，手足寒」十二字，寫腎瘧之三閉**——**大便難者下閉，目眴眴者上不明，手足寒者外不溫**，**三者皆「閉」之象，而腎瘧主之**。**「洒洒然」與「手足寒」對照**：**洒洒者寒之動，手足寒者寒之靜**——**一為戰慄，一為不溫**，**二態并見而後為腎瘧**。