Classica Sinica Medica

眴仆

xuàn pū

Dizzy collapse

Also rendered: Dizzy collapse (this site; both halves carried into English) · Fainting fit (where the loss of awareness is put first)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-09-30

At a glance

Pinyin
xuàn pū
Simplified
眴仆
Literal
眴仆 xuàn pū — how inversion shows itself in the great yang: the head swells and is heavy, the feet will not walk, and then it erupts as this. The first graph is the added interest: the base text writes 眴 where most modern editions write 眩, and the site's own older entries keep this very graph.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：眴，目搖也；仆，頓也。「眴」讀 xuàn、**本篇1見，通「眩」；第十七篇「爲眴仆」、第三十六篇「目眴眴然」並同此字**；「仆」讀 pū、**本篇2見**；**「仆」讀 pū，向前傾頓也**。

In brief

A dizzy fall: vision swimming, then the body going down. It is the great yang’s version of inversion in this chapter, and the graph 眴 is the one that carries the reading — the base text’s own form, kept here rather than normalised to 眩.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 眴、仆
眴者目搖而視亂，仆者身頓而倒
發爲眴仆 — Suwen 45
2
What leads into it 腫首頭重，足不能行
巨陽之厥，頭為之腫重，足為之不行
則腫首頭重 — Suwen 45
3
That the base writes 眴 眴
底本作眴，讀 xuàn，通「眩」；通行本多作眩
發爲眴仆 — Suwen 45
4
Which conduit it names 巨陽之厥
巨陽即太陽，篇前用巨陽、篇後用太陽，同篇二名
巨陽之厥 — Suwen 45
5
Read with the value essays 爲眴仆
ch17「浮而散者，爲眴仆」，同一語
發爲眴仆 — Suwen 45
6
Read with the dizziness entry 眩冒
本站 ch41「眩冒」為頭目昏冒，此則昏而仆
發爲眴仆 — Suwen 45

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
2 passages
Suwen 45 Suwen 45 · 厥論 Read in context →
歧伯曰：巨陽之厥，則腫首頭重，足不能行，發爲眴仆。 歧伯曰：巨阳之厥，则肿首头重，足不能行，发为眴仆。
Qí bó yuē: jù yáng zhī jué, zé zhǒng shǒu tóu zhòng, zú bù néng xíng, fā wéi xuàn pū.
Qi Bo says: in inversion of the great yang, the head swells and is heavy, the feet cannot walk, and it erupts as dizzy collapse.
**「發爲眴仆」——**「眴」讀 xuàn、**本篇1見，底本作眴，讀 xuàn，通「眩」**；「仆」讀 pū、**仆者向前傾頓，讀 pū**；**篇首稱「巨陽」而下文稱「太陽」，一名二稱，本篇如此**。
素問·脉要精微論 Suwen 17 · 脉要精微論 Read in context →
有脉俱沉細數者，少陰厥也。沈細數散者，寒熱也。浮而散者，爲眴仆。 有脉俱沉细数者，少阴厥也。沉细数散者，寒热也。浮而散者，为眴仆。
yǒu mài jù chén xì shuò zhě, shào yīn jué yě. chén xì shuò sàn zhě, hán rè yě. fú ér sàn zhě, wéi xuàn pū.
When the pulse is at once sunken, fine and rapid, this is counterflow of the lesser yin. When it is sunken, fine, rapid and scattered, this is cold and heat. When it is floating and scattered, this becomes dizziness and falling.
「爲眴仆」，浮而散者為眴仆。眴即目眩，本目從底本作眴，他本作眩。

Compounds built on this term

眴仆
xuàn pū
dizzy collapse
本篇一見
發爲眴仆
fā wéi xuàn pū
it erupts as dizzy collapse
巨陽之厥之變
目眴眴然
mù xuàn xuàn rán
the eyes swim and swim
ch36 同此字
腫首頭重
zhǒng shǒu tóu zhòng
the head swells and is heavy
眴仆之前奏

How it has been translated

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

This sitedizzy collapse眴 is read as the swimming of the eyes and 仆 as the fall, so both parts survive translation
Unschulddizzy collapsehe keeps the two halves apart in the same way
Wisemandizzy falling仆 is rendered as the fall rather than the collapse

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09-30

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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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