Classica Sinica Medica

熱爭 简体 热争

rè zhēng

Heat contending · re zheng

Also rendered: heat struggle (Literal, but 'struggle' in English suggests effort rather than opposition) · heat at war (Too figurative for a clinical term)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
rè zhēng
Simplified
热争
Literal
熱 rè, heat; 爭 zhēng, to contend, to struggle against. The heat is no longer simply present in the body; it is fighting the upright qi, and the fight is what produces the violent symptoms. The word marks a stage rather than a degree: the same disease before 熱爭 is quiet, and after it is raving, restless, or in pain.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：爭，引也，从𠬪从厂——「熱」讀 rè，本篇四十見；**「爭」讀 zhēng，本篇七見，是本篇分證之眼目**。**本篇五藏熱病皆分兩截而書**：先言「先…」諸證（熱未爭之常），繼言「熱爭，則…」諸證（熱既爭之變）。肝：先小便黃、腹痛多卧、身熱；爭則狂言及驚、脅滿痛、手足躁。心：先不樂；爭則卒心痛、煩悶善嘔、頭痛面赤無汗。脾：先頭重頰痛、顔青欲嘔；爭則腰痛不可用俛仰、腹滿泄、兩頷痛。肺：先淅然厥、起毫毛、惡風寒；爭則喘欬、痛走胸膺背、不得大息。腎：先腰痛䯒痠、苦渴數飲；爭則項痛而強、䯒寒且痠、足下熱、不欲言。**五藏之「爭」各因其經而異，而皆較「先」諸證為劇**——此本篇書法之要，讀者當合五節而觀之。「則」讀 zé；「狂」讀 kuáng；「言」讀 yán；「及」讀 jí；「驚」讀 jīng；「脅」讀 xié；「滿」讀 mǎn；「手」讀 shǒu；「足」讀 zú；「躁」讀 zào；「得」讀 dé；「安」讀 ān；「卧」讀 wò。

In brief

The stage at which the heat stops sitting in the body and begins to fight the upright qi. Chapter 32 uses the word as a hinge: every one of the five depot heat diseases is written in two halves, the quiet opening signs and then the violent signs of 熱爭. What changes is not the amount of heat but whether a struggle has begun, and the struggle is what makes the patient rave, startle, fret, or double up with pain.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
A stage, not a degree 熱爭，則狂言及驚
爭者邪正相搏，其證乃劇
熱爭，則狂言及驚 — Suwen 32
2
The liver's contending 熱爭，則狂言及驚，脅滿痛，手足躁
肝熱既爭則狂、驚、躁
熱爭，則狂言及驚，脅滿痛，手足躁 — Suwen 32
3
The heart's contending 熱爭，則卒心痛，煩悶善嘔
心熱既爭則卒痛、煩悶、善嘔
熱爭，則卒心痛，煩悶善嘔 — Suwen 32
4
The spleen's contending 熱爭則腰痛不可用俛仰
脾熱既爭則腰痛不可俯仰、腹滿泄
熱爭則腰痛不可用俛仰 — Suwen 32
5
The lung's contending 熱爭，則喘欬，痛走胸膺背
肺熱既爭則喘欬、痛走、不得大息
熱爭，則喘欬，痛走胸膺背 — Suwen 32
6
The kidney's contending 熱爭，則項痛而強
腎熱既爭則項強、足下熱、不欲言
熱爭，則項痛而強 — Suwen 32

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
1 passages
素問·剌熱 Suwen 32 · 剌熱 Read in context →
熱爭，則狂言及驚，脅滿痛，手足躁，不得安卧。 热争，则狂言及惊，胁满痛，手足躁，不得安卧。
Rè zhēng, zé kuáng yán jí jīng, xié mǎn tòng, shǒu zú zào, bù dé ān wò.
When heat contends, there is raving speech and fright, fullness and pain in the flanks, fretting of the hands and feet, and no quiet lying down.
肝熱病「熱爭」之證。「狂」讀 kuáng，狂亂而言也；「及」讀 jí，與也；「驚」讀 jīng；**「脅」讀 xié，本篇四見**，肝脉之所循；**「躁」讀 zào，本篇二見**，手足躁擾不寧也；「安」讀 ān；「卧」讀 wò，本篇二見。**「不得安卧」與上句「多卧」對看**：未爭時多卧，既爭則躁而不得安卧——一卧一躁之間，即邪正未爭與既爭之別，此本篇於肝熱病著語最細處。

Compounds built on this term

熱爭
rè zhēng
heat contending
本篇七見，五藏各有其一
爭見
zhēng jiàn
appearing in contention
本篇二見（與厥陰脉爭見、與少陰脉爭見），指病色與他經之色並見相爭
正邪
zhèng xié
upright and evil
本站已立目（id 820），「爭」即正與邪爭
熱病
rè bìng
heat disease
本站已立目（id 947），本篇承第三十一篇而言

How it has been translated

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

Wiseman & Feng(when) heat contendsThey keep 爭 as 'contend', which preserves the sense of two parties in opposition.
Unschuld(when) the heat fights'Fights' is plainer but reads as a single actor doing something, not as a contest.
This siteheat contendingWe keep 'contending'. The point of the word is that there are now two parties — the heat and the upright qi — and the symptoms are the noise of the contest, not the heat itself.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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Reading path

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