Fei, wind-flaccidity · fei

Also rendered: Fei (keeps the graph) · Flaccid paralysis (clear, and it is modern) · Wind flaccidity (close to the Shuowen sense)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-10-25

At a glance

Pinyin: féi
Simplified: 痱
Literal: 痱 féi — the sickness radical over 非. 《說文》 calls it a wind disease; the graph is not the 痱 of prickly heat, which is read fèi and written of the same.
Shuowen: 《說文》：痱，風病也。「痱」本篇1見，與「偏枯」對舉：偏枯身偏不用而痛，痱則身無痛而四肢不收。

In brief

Wind-stroke of the flaccid kind, set in this chapter against 偏枯. The difference is exact: in 偏枯 half the body will not move and it hurts, while in 痱 there is no pain at all and all four limbs fail to gather, with the mind clouded but not lost. The chapter grades the prognosis by speech — faint but intelligible speech can be treated, inability to speak cannot — and gives the order of treatment when the disease began in the yang and moved into the yin: take the yang first, then the yin, and needle shallowly.

Senses in the classical corpus

The name 痱之爲病也

痱这种病

As for the disease called fei.

痱之爲病也 — 靈樞·熱病

The signs 身無痛者，四肢不收

身上不痛，四肢不能收持

There is no pain in the body, and the four limbs will not gather.

身無痛者，四肢不收 — 靈樞·熱病

The prognosis 其言微知，可治

言语微弱而尚能知晓，可以治

If speech is faint but awareness remains, it can be treated.

其言微知，可治 — 靈樞·熱病

The order 先取其陽，後取其陰

先取它的阳分，后取它的阴分

First take its yang, afterwards its yin.

先取其陽，後取其陰 — 靈樞·熱病

Occurrences in the classics

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

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1 passages

靈樞·𤍠病 Read in context →

痱之爲病也，身無痛者，四肢不收，智亂不甚，其言微知，可治；甚則不能言，不可治也。病先起于陽，後入于陰者，先取其陽，後取其陰，浮而取之。痱之为病也，身无痛者，四肢不收，智乱不甚，其言微知，可治；甚则不能言，不可治也。病先起于阳，后入于阴者，先取其阳，后取其阴，浮而取之。

féi zhī wéi bìng yě, shēn wú tòng zhě, sì zhī bù shōu, zhì luàn bù shèn, qí yán wēi zhī, kě zhì; shèn zé bù néng yán, bù kě zhì yě. bìng xiān qǐ yú yáng, hòu rù yú yīn zhě, xiān qǔ qí yáng, hòu qǔ qí yīn, fú ér qǔ zhī.

In fei disease there is no pain, the four limbs cannot be gathered, and the mind is not greatly confused; if the speech is faint but intelligible it can be treated. If it goes so far that the patient cannot speak, it cannot be treated. When the disease begins in yang and later enters yin, take the yang first and the yin afterwards, needling shallow.

「痱」本篇1見，與前段「偏枯」相對：一痛一不痛，一偏一四末，判然兩病。

Compounds built on this term

四肢不收

sì zhī bù shōu

the four limbs will not gather

痱之主證

偏枯

piān kū

half-body withering

與痱對舉

How it has been translated

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

This site	flaccid paralysis	what the signs describe
Literal	fei	exact, and it needs the gloss
Clinical	wind-stroke without pain	clear, and it is an interpretation

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-25

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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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