表裏简体表里

biǎo lǐ

Exterior and interior · biao li

Also rendered: exterior and interior (Keeps the garment metaphor of the graphs) · outer and inner (Plainer; loses the sense of a coat) · the paired channels (Says what the pairing does rather than what it is called) · biao li (Bare transliteration)

Core vocabulary

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin: biǎo lǐ
Simplified: 表里
Literal: 表 is the outside of a garment — 說文 glosses it as the upper coat and explains the graph as hair worn outward, fur with the hair on the outside — and 裏 is the lining. Themedical usage keeps the picture exactly: two channels that share a name and a territory, one walking the outer face of the limb and one the inner. Chapter 24 states the pairings twice, once for the foot and once for the hand, and the second list is where the text quietly departs from the first.
Shuowen: 《說文解字》：表，上衣也。从衣从毛。古者衣裘，以毛為表；裏，衣內也。从衣里聲。本篇之目：足太陽與少陰、少陽與厥陰、陽明與太陰，手太陽與少陰、少陽與心主、陽明與太陰。

In brief

The pairing by which the six channels are organised into three couples: greater yang with lesser yin, lesser yang with ceasing yin, yang brightness with greater yin. Chapter 24 gives the pairing for the foot and then for the hand, and the hand list is the interesting one — where the foot says ceasing yin, the hand says the heart master, which is how the text names the pericardium when it needs to keep it distinct from the foot channel of the same name. Note that exterior and interior here are a relation between channels, not the depth of a disease; the chapter’s own use is anatomy, not diagnosis.

Senses in the classical corpus

The foot pairings 是爲足陰陽也

足三陽與足三陰相合為三對

足太陽與少陰爲表裏，少陽與厥陰爲表裏，陽明與太陰爲表裏 — Suwen 24

The hand pairings 是爲手之陰陽也

手三陽與手三陰相合為三對

手太陽與少陰爲表裏，少陽與心主爲表裏，陽明與太陰爲表裏 — Suwen 24

Where the two lists disagree 少陽與心主爲表裏

手經以心主代厥陰之名

少陽與心主爲表裏 — Suwen 24

A relation of channels, not of depth 今知手足陰陽所苦

由表裏之合而後可言其所苦

今知手足陰陽所苦，凡治病必先去其血 — Suwen 24

The pairing used to find the illness 凡治病必先去其血

知其表裏之合，乃知血當去於何經

凡治病必先去其血，乃去其所苦 — Suwen 24

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display

5 passages

素問·血氣形志 Suwen 24 · 血氣形志 Read in context →

足太陽與少陰爲表裏，少陽與厥陰爲表裏，陽明與太陰爲表裏，是爲足陰陽也。手太陽與少陰爲表裏，少陽與心主爲表裏，陽明與太陰爲表裏，是爲手之陰陽也。足太阳与少阴为表里，少阳与厥阴为表里，阳明与太阴为表里，是为足阴阳也。手太阳与少阴为表里，少阳与心主为表里，阳明与太阴为表里，是为手之阴阳也。

Zú tài yáng yǔ shào yīn wéi biǎo lǐ, shào yáng yǔ jué yīn wéi biǎo lǐ, yáng míng yǔ tài yīn wéi biǎo lǐ, shì wéi zú yīn yáng yě.Shǒu tài yáng yǔ shào yīn wéi biǎo lǐ, shào yáng yǔ xīn zhǔ wéi biǎo lǐ, yáng míng yǔ tài yīn wéi biǎo lǐ, shì wéi shǒu zhī yīn yáng yě.

The foot greater yang and lesser yin are exterior and interior to one another; lesser yang and ceasing yin are exterior and interior to one another; yang brightness and greater yin are exterior and interior to one another. These are the yin and yang of the foot. The hand greater yang and lesser yin are exterior and interior to one another; lesser yang and the heart master are exterior and interior to one another; yang brightness and greater yin are exterior and interior to one another. These are the yin and yang of the hand.

本篇言表裏，分足、手二節，各三對：太陽與少陰、少陽與厥陰、陽明與太陰。足經之目與手經不盡同——足經言「少陽與厥陰」，手經則言「少陽與心主」；心主者，手厥陰心包絡也，舉心主之名所以別於足之厥陰。此本篇之特例，說者多不留意。又「表裏」在此是經脈相合之關係，不是病之淺深；本篇下文「今知手足陰陽所苦」正是由表裏之合而後可言其所苦、可去其血。底本作「裏」，與本站「虚里」條（id 608）同字。第六篇《陰陽離合論》論三陰三陽之離合，可與本條互參。

素問·太陰陽明論 Suwen 29 · 太陰陽明論 Read in context →

黃帝問曰：太陰陽明爲表裏，脾胃脉也，生病而異者，何也？黄帝问曰：太阴阳明为表里，脾胃脉也，生病而异者，何也？

Huáng dì wèn yuē: tài yīn yáng míng wéi biǎo lǐ, pí wèi mài yě, shēng bìng ér yì zhě, hé yě?

The Yellow Emperor asks: Taiyin and Yangming are exterior and interior to one another — they are the vessels of spleen and stomach. When they give rise to illness, the illnesses differ. Why is that?

「表裏」之目於本站已立，本篇開卷即用：「太陰陽明爲表裏，脾胃脉也」。太陰為裏、陽明為表，一陰一陽相配，而下文「陽者天氣也，主外；陰者地氣也，主内」「陽受之則入六府，陰受之則入五藏」皆由此生出。**「爲」讀 wéi，本篇九見，底本無一處作「為」**；**「表」讀 biǎo，「裏」讀 lǐ，底本作「裏」，不作「裡」**；「太」讀 tài；「陰」讀 yīn；「陽」讀 yáng；「明」讀 míng；「黃」讀 huáng，本篇惟此一見，底本作「黃」，不作「黄」——與第二十八篇底本之作「黄」者異；「帝」讀 dì；「問」讀 wèn；「曰」讀 yuē；「脾」讀 pí；「胃」讀 wèi；**「脉」讀 mài，本篇三見，底本皆作「脉」，無一處作「脈」**；「生」讀 shēng；「病」讀 bìng；「而」讀 ér；「異」讀 yì，本篇四見；「者」讀 zhě；「何」讀 hé；「也」讀 yě。「脾胃脉也」四字直指本篇所論之體：太陰陽明非泛論陰陽，而是脾胃二經之脉。

素問·評熱病論 Suwen 33 · 評熱病論 Read in context →

歧伯曰：表裏剌之，飲之服湯。歧伯曰：表里刺之，饮之服汤。

Qí bó yuē: biǎo lǐ cì zhī, yǐn zhī fú tāng.

Needle both the outer and the inner, and give a decoction to drink.

「表裏」之目於本站已立（id 764）：第二十四篇列足三對、手三對之配，第二十九篇「太陰陽明爲表裏，脾胃脉也」言其配之為病。**彼二條皆言其配，本篇獨言其用**：「表裏剌之，飲之服湯」——**「表」讀 biǎo，本篇 2 見**；**「裏」讀 lǐ**——底本从衣，不作「里」（「里」）；**「剌」讀 cì，本篇 6 見**——讀 cì，底本無一作「刺」（「刺」）；「之」讀 zhī；**「飲」讀 yǐn，本篇 1 見**——此為使之飲，與「口乾苦渴」之為自欲飲者語氣有別；「服」讀 fú；「湯」讀 tāng。**風厥一病，邪在巨陽之表而少陰從之於裏，故表裏並剌**；此即上文「少陰與其爲表裏也」之配，落實為治法。而又飲以湯液，是針藥並行——**《素問》言治多重針而略藥，本篇「剌之」與「服湯」並舉，是其特例**。與第三十二篇之專言剌者相較尤見分際：彼篇通篇取經而無一語及湯液，本篇則表裏既剌而復飲之，**以風厥之邪涉表裏二經，非獨針可了**。

素問·調經論 Suwen 62 · 調經論 Read in context →

歧伯曰：五藏者，故得六府與爲表裏，經絡支節，各生虚實。歧伯曰：五藏者，故得六府与为表里，经络支节，各生虚实。

Qí bó yuē: wǔ zàng zhě, gù dé liù fǔ yǔ wéi biǎo lǐ, jīng luò zhī jié, gè shēng xū shí.

Qi Bo says: the five depots have the six palaces for their outer and inner from of old; the channels, network vessels, limbs and joints each give rise to their own deficiency and excess.

「五藏者，故得六府與爲表裏，經絡支節，各生虚實」——**「表裏」本篇1見，在答十二經脉何以合於五藏一節**：**五藏為裏、六府為表，藏府相合而經絡支節各生虚實**；**「裏」讀 lǐ，底本作「裏」，不从「裡」「裏」，本篇1見**；**「表」讀 biǎo**

素問·金匱真言論 Suwen 4 · 金匱真言論 Read in context →

此皆陰陽、表裏、內外、雌雄相輸應也，故以應天之陰陽也。此皆阴阳、表里、内外、雌雄相输应也，故以应天之阴阳也。

cǐ jiē yīn yáng, biǎo lǐ, nèi wài, cí xióng xiāng shū yìng yě, gù yǐ yìng tiān zhī yīn yáng yě.

All these are the mutual conveyance and answering of yin and yang, exterior and interior, inner and outer, female and male — and thereby they answer to the yin and yang of heaven.

「此皆陰陽、表裏、內外、雌雄相輸應也」——人身之陰陽表裏，與天之陰陽相輸應；**「表裏」本篇2見**

Compounds built on this term

三陰三陽

sān yīn sān yáng

the three yin and three yang

本站第六篇已立目（id 298）

足太陽

zú tài yáng

the foot greater yang

與足少陰相為表裏

心主

xīn zhǔ

the heart master

手厥陰之名，本篇別立目

表

biǎo

the exterior

與「裏」對，謂陽經所行

裏

lǐ

the interior

底本作「裏」，讀 lǐ，今簡作「里」

How it has been translated

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

Wiseman & Feng	exterior/interior	They keep the pair as a fixed technical dyad, which is how the term functions in later literature.
Unschuld	the outer and the inner	He drops the garment and states the relation directly, at the cost of the picture.
This site	exterior and interior	The graphs are a coat and its lining, and the medical sense is still spatial — one channel on the outer face of the limb, one on the inner. Keeping the garment word keeps that in view.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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Reading path

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