五色

wǔ sè

The five colours

Also rendered: five colours (Literal, and the usual rendering) · the five complexions (Emphasises that it is the face) · five hues (Loses the diagnostic sense)

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
wǔ sè
Simplified
五色
Literal
五 five; 色 the colour of the face — 說文 glosses it as the qi of the countenance, so that a colour here is always a colour of a person, not of a thing.
Shuowen
《說文解字》:色,顔气也;五,五行也,从二,陰陽在天地閒交午也。

In brief

The chapter’s colour table, and the whole of its visual method. Five colours mean death — green like dead grass, yellow like unripe bitter orange, black like soot, red like clotted spoilt blood, white like dry bone — and five mean life: kingfisher feather, cock’s comb, crab’s belly, lard, crow’s feather. What separates them is not hue but whether the colour gleams through, as cinnabar gleams through white silk. The last rule follows from that: any face with yellow left in it does not die, because the earth qi is still there.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The five colours of death 五色之見死
草兹、枳實、炲、衃血、枯骨 — all dull, all dead on the surface
青如草兹者死,黃如枳實者死,黑如炲者死,赤如衃血者死,白如枯骨者死 — Suwen 10
2
The five colours of life 五色之見生
翠羽、雞冠、蟹腹、豕膏、烏羽 — all gleaming
青如翠羽者生,赤如雞冠者生,黃如蟹腹者生,白如豕膏者生,黑如烏羽者生 — Suwen 10
3
The colour that decides whether one dies 面黃
A face that keeps any yellow does not die, whatever the eyes are doing
面黃目青,面黃目赤,面黃目白,面黃目黑者,皆不死也 — Suwen 10

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
12 passages
素問·五藏生成 Suwen 10 · 五藏生成 Read in context →
五藏之氣,故色見青如草兹者死,黃如枳實者死,黑如炲者死,赤如衃血者死,白如枯骨者死,此五色之見死也。 五藏之气,故色见青如草兹者死,黄如枳实者死,黑如炲者死,赤如衃血者死,白如枯骨者死,此五色之见死也。
wǔ zàng zhī qì, gù sè jiàn qīng rú cǎo zī zhě sǐ, huáng rú zhǐ shí zhě sǐ, hēi rú tái zhě sǐ, chì rú pēi xuè zhě sǐ, bái rú kū gǔ zhě sǐ, cǐ wǔ sè zhī jiàn sǐ yě.
The qi of the five storing organs: a green like dead grass, a yellow like unripe bitter orange, a black like soot, a red like clotted and spoilt blood, a white like dry bone — each of these means death. These are the five colours as they appear in death.
本篇五色之見死:草兹(王冰「滋也」,《脈經》《千金》作「滋」,一說當作「玆」,黑也)、枳實、炲(同「炱」,烟煤,讀 tái)、衃血(讀 pēi,《說文》「凝血也」)、枯骨。其要在枯槁無光,與下文「如以縞裹朱」之潤相對。
素問·玉版論要 Suwen 15 · 玉版論要 Read in context →
歧伯對曰:揆度者,度病之淺深也;奇𢘆者,言奇病也。請言道之至數,五色脉變,揆度奇𢘆,道在於一。 岐伯对曰:揆度者,度病之浅深也;奇𢘆者,言奇病也。请言道之至数,五色脉变,揆度奇𢘆,道在于一。
qí bó duì yuē: kuí duó zhě, duó bìng zhī qiǎn shēn yě; qí héng zhě, yán qí bìng yě. qǐng yán dào zhī zhì shù, wǔ sè mài biàn, kuí duó qí héng, dào zài yú yī.
Qibo replies: assessment is measuring the shallowness and depth of an illness; the anomalous speaks of strange illness. Let me speak of the ultimate numbers of the Way: the shifts of the five colours, the shifts of the pulse, assessment and the anomalous — the Way lies in the one.
「五色脉變」:本篇以五色與脈並舉,與揆度、奇𢘆同歸於一。下文「容色見上下左右」「其色見淺者、其見深者、其見大深者」即五色之用:以色之淺深定湯液、齊、醪酒與十日、二十一日、百日之期。與第十篇「五色」、第十三篇「色脉」同條而本篇合之以為揆度之目。
素問·診要經終論 Suwen 16 · 診要經終論 Read in context →
歧伯曰:太陽之脉,其終也,戴眼、反折、瘈瘲,其色白,絶汗乃出,出則死矣。 岐伯曰:太阳之脉,其终也,戴眼、反折、瘈瘲,其色白,绝汗乃出,出则死矣。
qí bó yuē: tài yáng zhī mài, qí zhōng yě, dài yǎn, fǎn zhé, chì zòng, qí sè bái, jué hàn nǎi chū, chū zé sǐ yǐ.
Qibo says: When the greater yang channel ends, the eyes are rolled up, the body arches backward, there is twitching and spasm, the colour is white, and the final sweat comes out; once it comes out, death follows.
「其色白,絶汗乃出,出則死矣」:本篇後半以面色之白、青白、黄、黑別十二經之終。與第十篇「五色」、第十三篇「色脉」、第十五篇「容色」同條:第十篇以色診五藏之病,第十三篇以色與脉為診之二端,第十五篇以色之淺深定治之期,本篇則以色決經氣之終——太陽之終色白,少陽之終色先青白,陽明之終色黄,少陰之終面黑,太陰不通則面黑。
素問·脉要精微論 Suwen 17 · 脉要精微論 Read in context →
夫精明五色者,氣之華也。赤欲如白裹朱,不欲如赭;白欲如鵝羽,不欲如鹽。青欲如蒼璧之澤,不欲如藍;黄欲如羅裹雄黄,不欲如黄土;黑欲如重漆色,不欲如地蒼。五色精微象見矣,其壽不久也。 夫精明五色者,气之华也。赤欲如白裹朱,不欲如赭;白欲如鹅羽,不欲如盐。青欲如苍璧之泽,不欲如蓝;黄欲如罗裹雄黄,不欲如黄土;黑欲如重漆色,不欲如地苍。五色精微象见矣,其寿不久也。
fú jīng míng wǔ sè zhě, qì zhī huá yě. chì yù rú bái guǒ zhū, bù yù rú zhě; bái yù rú é yǔ, bù yù rú yán. qīng yù rú cāng bì zhī zé, bù yù rú lán; huáng yù rú luó guǒ xióng huáng, bù yù rú huáng tǔ; hēi yù rú chóng qī sè, bù yù rú dì cāng. wǔ sè jīng wēi xiàng xiàn yǐ, qí shòu bù jiǔ yě.
The brightness of the eyes and the five colours are the flower of the qi. Red should be like cinnabar wrapped in white silk, not like ochre. White should be like a goose’s feather, not like salt. Green-blue should be like the sheen of a grey-green jade disc, not like indigo. Yellow should be like realgar wrapped in gauze, not like yellow earth. Black should be like a heavy coat of lacquer, not like dull earth. When the subtle signs of the five colours show themselves thus laid bare, that life will not be long.
「夫精明五色者,氣之華也。赤欲如白裹朱,不欲如赭……五色精微象見矣,其壽不久也」:本篇論色最詳,於五色各立「欲」與「不欲」二格。與第十篇「五色」、第十三篇「色脉」、第十五篇「容色」同條:第十篇以色診五藏之病,第十三篇以色與脈為診之二端,第十五篇以色之淺深定治之緩急,本篇則以色之明潤與枯晦決死生——色貴含蓄明潤,忌枯夭外露;真藏之色外現而不含蓄者,其壽不久。
素問·玉機真藏論 Suwen 19 · 玉機真藏論 Read in context →
帝瞿然而起,再拜而稽首曰:善。吾得脉之大要,天下至數,五色脉變,揆度奇恒,道在於一。神轉不迴,迴則不轉,乃失其機。至數之要,迫近以微,著之玉版,藏之藏府,每旦讀之,名曰《玉機》。 帝瞿然而起,再拜而稽首曰:善。吾得脉之大要,天下至数,五色脉变,揆度奇恒,道在于一。神转不回,回则不转,乃失其机。至数之要,迫近以微,著之玉版,藏之藏府,每旦读之,名曰《玉机》。
Dì jù rán ér qǐ, zài bài ér qǐ shǒu yuē: shàn. Wú dé mài zhī dà yào, tiān xià zhì shù, wǔ sè mài biàn, kuí duó qí héng, dào zài yú yī. Shén zhuǎn bù huí, huí zé bù zhuǎn, nǎi shī qí jī. Zhì shù zhī yào, pò jìn yǐ wēi, zhù zhī yù bǎn, cáng zhī zàng fǔ, měi dàn dú zhī, míng yuē Yù jī.
The Emperor starts up in alarm, bows twice and touches his head to the ground: “Good. I have the great essentials of the pulse — the ultimate numbers under heaven, the changes of the five colours and the pulse, assessment and the anomalous-constant. The way lies in the one. The spirit turns and does not turn back; if it turns back it no longer turns, and the pivot is lost. The essential of the ultimate numbers is immediate and minute: write it on a jade tablet, store it in the storehouse of the viscera, read it every morning, and call it the Jade Mechanism.”
「五色脉變,揆度奇恒,道在於一」:本篇五色之義,與脈並舉而歸於一。與第十篇「五色」(五色之見於面,以決五藏之病)、第十三篇「色脉」(色以應日、脉以應月)、第十五篇「五色脉變」、第十七篇「夫精明五色者,氣之華也」同條:第十篇論五色之吉凶(青如翠羽者生,如草兹者死),第十三篇以色脉為上古之診,第十七篇以五色為氣之華,本篇則以色與脈之變同歸於「道在於一」——下文「神轉不迴」即其一之所在。
素問·舉痛論 Suwen 39 · 舉痛論 Read in context →
歧伯曰:五藏六府,固盡有部,視其五色,黄赤爲熱,白爲寒,青黑爲痛。 歧伯曰:五藏六府,固尽有部,视其五色,黄赤为热,白为寒,青黑为痛。
Qí bó yuē: wǔ zàng liù fǔ, gù jìn yǒu bù, shì qí wǔ sè, huáng chì wéi rè, bái wéi hán, qīng hēi wéi tòng.
Qi Bao says: the five stores and six palaces each certainly have their region. Look at the five colours — yellow and red mean heat, white means cold, blue-black means pain.
**本篇「五色」1見**,**在「視而可見」一答之中**。**本篇診法分三途,逐層設問**:**言而可知(問也)、視而可見(色也)、捫而可得(脉也)**——**三者並舉,本篇特標而出之**。**「視其五色,黄赤爲熱,白爲寒,青黑爲痛」**:**以五色配三證,與第十篇「五色之見死」「五色之見生」同為望診之綱,而詳略不同**——**彼列死生之色各五,此則以三色分三證**。「青」讀 qīng、**「黑」讀 hēi,**二字本篇各1見、1見**;「捫」讀 mén,**讀 mén,以手按尋也**;「視」讀 shì,**本篇5見**。
素問·大奇論 Suwen 48 · 大奇論 Read in context →
脉至如頺土之狀,按之不得,是肌氣予不足也,五色先見,黑白壘發,死。 脉至如颓土之状,按之不得,是肌气予不足也,五色先见,黑白垒发,死。
Mài zhì rú tuí tǔ zhī zhuàng, àn zhī bù dé, shì jī qì yǔ bù zú yě, wǔ sè xiān xiàn, hēi bái lěi fā, sǐ.
A pulse arriving like crumbling earth, which cannot be found under pressure, means the qi of the flesh is spent. The five colours show first, black and white break out in turn, and the person dies.
「「五」讀 wǔ色先見,黑白「壘」讀 lěi發,死」——**本篇「五色」1見**;「壘」讀 lěi、**本篇惟此一見,通「藟」,謂黑白之色如葛藟之發**;「頺」讀 tuí、**本篇惟此一見,讀 tuí,通行本作「頹」**。
素問·鍼解 Suwen 54 · 鍼解 Read in context →
人一,以觀動靜,天二,以候五色,七星應之,以候髮毋澤,五音一,以候宫商角徴羽,六律有餘不足應之二。 人一,以观动静,天二,以候五色,七星应之,以候发毋泽,五音一,以候宫商角征羽,六律有余不足应之二。
Rén yī, yǐ guān dòng jìng, tiān èr, yǐ hòu wǔ sè, qī xīng yìng zhī, yǐ hòu fà wú zé, wǔ yīn yī, yǐ hòu gōng shāng jué zhǐ yǔ, liù lǜ yǒu yú bù zú yìng zhī èr.
Man as one, by which to observe movement and stillness; heaven as two, by which to watch the five colours; the seven stars answer to it, by which to watch whether the hair has lost its sheen; the five tones as one, by which to watch gong, shang, jue, zhi and yu; the surplus and the deficit of the six pitch-pipes answer to it as two.
「天二,以候五「色」讀 sè」——**本篇「五色」1見,讀 wǔ sè**;**本目為第十篇所立,以色之澤與不澤決死生**;**本篇「以候五色」者,五色亦為所候之一,與本篇「以候髮毋澤」「以候緩急」「以候相反」同一句法**;**此句在篇末錯簡之中,見章首按語**
素問·皮部論 Suwen 56 · 皮部論 Read in context →
其色多青則痛,多黑則痺,黄赤則熱,多白則寒,五色皆見,則寒熱也。 其色多青则痛,多黑则痹,黄赤则热,多白则寒,五色皆见,则寒热也。
Qí sè duō qīng zé tòng, duō hēi zé bì, huáng chì zé rè, duō bái zé hán, wǔ sè jiē jiàn, zé hán rè yě.
Where its colour is much blue-green there is pain; much black, obstruction; yellow and red, heat; much white, cold. When the five colours are all seen together, it is cold and heat.
「其色多青則痛,多黑則痺,黄赤則熱,多白則寒,「五」讀 wǔ「色」讀 sè皆見,則寒熱也」——**本篇「五色」1見,讀 wǔ sè**;**本篇望絡之法全在五色:多青則痛、多黑則痺、黄赤則熱、多白則寒;五色皆見則寒熱並見**;**與本目以五色決死生者同為望色之法,而本篇所望者在浮絡之色,非面之色**;「青」讀 qīng、**「多青」之青讀 qīng**;「黑」讀 hēi、**「多黑」之黑讀 hēi**;「赤」讀 chì、**「黄赤」之赤讀 chì**;「白」讀 bái、**「多白」之白讀 bái**
素問·經絡論 Suwen 57 · 經絡論 Read in context →
黄帝問曰:夫絡脉之見也,其五色各異,青黄赤白黑不同,其故何也? 黄帝问曰:夫络脉之见也,其五色各异,青黄赤白黑不同,其故何也?
Huáng dì wèn yuē: fú luò mài zhī jiàn yě, qí wǔ sè gè yì, qīng huáng chì bái hēi bù tóng, qí gù hé yě?
The Emperor asks: the network vessels as they are seen — their five colours are each different, blue-green, yellow, red, white and black are not alike. Why is it so?
「黄帝問曰:夫絡脉之見也,其「五」讀 wǔ「色」讀 sè各異,青黄赤白黑不同,其故何也?」——**本篇「五色」2見,讀 wǔ sè**:**一見於此問,所問者即五色之所以各異**;**一見於末答「五色具見者,謂之寒熱」,五色並見則為病**;**本目以五色決生死,所望者在面目之色;本篇所望者在絡脉之色**——**望之所施不同,而以色為診則一**;「青」讀 qīng、「黄」讀 huáng、「赤」讀 chì、「白」讀 bái、「黑」讀 hēi、**五色之名具於一句:本篇「青」3見、「黄」4見、「赤」3見、「白」2見、「黑」3見**
Suwen 70 Suwen 70 · 五常政大論 Read in context →
根于外者亦五,故生化之别,有五氣、五味、五色、五類、五宜也。帝曰:何謂也?歧伯曰:根于中者,命曰神機,神去則機息。根于外者,命曰氣立,氣止則化絶。故各有制,各有勝,各有生,各有成。 根于外者亦五,故生化之别,有五气、五味、五色、五类、五宜也。帝曰:何谓也?歧伯曰:根于中者,命曰神机,神去则机息。根于外者,命曰气立,气止则化绝。故各有制,各有胜,各有生,各有成。
Gēn yú wài zhě yì wǔ, gù shēng huà zhī bié, yǒu wǔ qì, wǔ wèi, wǔ sè, wǔ lèi, wǔ yí yě. Dì yuē: hé wèi yě? Qí bó yuē: gēn yú zhōng zhě, mìng yuē shén jī, shén qù zé jī xī. Gēn yú wài zhě, mìng yuē qì lì, qì zhǐ zé huà jué. Gù gè yǒu zhì, gè yǒu shèng, gè yǒu shēng, gè yǒu chéng.
What is rooted without is also five; hence the distinctions of engendering and transforming are the five qi, the five flavours, the five colours, the five classes and the five suitabilities. Huang Di said: what does that mean? Qi Bo said: what is rooted within is named the spirit mechanism — when the spirit goes the mechanism ceases. What is rooted without is named the standing of qi — when the qi stops transformation is cut off. Therefore each has its constraint, each its prevailing, each its engendering, each its completion.
**「五色」本篇1見,止在「有五氣、五味、五色、五類、五宜也」**;**五色與五氣、五味、五類、五宜並列,為生化之別**
Suwen 74 Suwen 74 · 至真要大論 Read in context →
太陽司天爲寒化,在泉爲鹹化,司氣爲𤣥化,間氣爲藏化。故治病者,必明六化分治,五味五色所生,五藏所宜,乃可以言盈虚,病生之緒也。 太阳司天为寒化,在泉为咸化,司气为𤣥化,间气为藏化。故治病者,必明六化分治,五味五色所生,五藏所宜,乃可以言盈虚,病生之緒也。
Tài yáng sī tiān wéi hán huà, zài quán wéi xián huà, sī qì wéi xuán huà, jiān qì wéi cáng huà. Gù zhì bìng zhě, bì míng liù huà fēn zhì, wǔ wèi wǔ sè suǒ shēng, wǔ zàng suǒ yí, nǎi kě yǐ yán yíng xū, bìng shēng zhī xù yě.
When greater yang governs the heaven, it is the cold transformation; lying in the spring, the salty transformation; in the qi it has charge of, the dark transformation; in the intercalary position, the storing transformation. Therefore one who treats illness must understand the six transformations dividing the governance, the flavours and colours each brings forth, and what suits each of the five viscera; only then can he speak of fullness and emptiness, and of the thread from which illness arises.
**「五色」本篇1見,止在此句**;**此段「五味五色所生」,五味五色皆隨六化而分**

Compounds built on this term

色
sè
the colour of the face
說文:顔气也
五色微診
wǔ sè wēi zhěn
the fine reading of the five colours
What the eye can be trained to see
外榮
wài róng
the outer bloom
The name the chapter gives to the healthy colour
面黃目青
miàn huáng mù qīng
yellow face, green eyes
The pattern that does not die

How it has been translated

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

Common Englishfive coloursStandard; 色 is routinely rendered either colour or complexion.
This sitefive coloursKept. 色 is glossed in 說文 as the qi of the countenance, so colour already carries the face with it, and complexion would make 五色微診 read as if the physician were reading a mood.

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2026-09

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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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