Classica Sinica Medica

内鍼 简体 内针

nà zhēn

Inserting the needle · na zhen

Also rendered: inserting the needle (Plain, and keeps the verb reading of 内) · introducing the needle (Slightly more formal; 'introducing' is wrong for a needle)

Core vocabulary

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
nà zhēn
Simplified
内针
Literal
内 is the graph of entering — 說文 glosses it as 入, and as going from outside to inside — and in this phrase it is not the preposition 'inside' but the verb: read nà, the same word later written 納, to bring in. 鍼 is the needle, 說文's 所以縫也, that with which one sews. So 内鍼 is the act of bringing the needle in, and chapter 27 is unusually precise about when that act happens: draining inserts on an inhalation, supplementing inserts at the end of an exhalation. The two techniques differ at exactly this point, and the chapter says so.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：內，入也。从冂入，自外而入也；鍼，所以縫也。从金咸聲。内鍼之内讀 nà，通「納」，謂進針、納針。本篇之目：吸則内鍼（瀉）；呼盡内鍼（補）。底本作「内」，不作「內」。

In brief

Bringing the needle in — insert. Chapter 27 is the clearest statement in the Suwen of the respiratory timing of insertion, because it gives both techniques and they are opposites: in draining one inserts on an inhalation and withdraws on the exhalation, so that the great qi comes out; in supplementing one inserts at the end of an exhalation and withdraws on an inhalation, so that the qi cannot get out. The reading nà is what makes the phrase a verb; read nèi it would be a location, and the sentence would have no predicate.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
Inserting, in draining 吸則内鍼
瀉法：吸氣時進針
吸則内鍼，無令氣忤 — Suwen 27
2
Inserting, in supplementing 呼盡内鍼
補法：呼氣盡時進針
呼盡内鍼，靜以久留 — Suwen 27
3
Read as a verb, not a place 内讀 nà
通納，進針之義
吸則内鍼 — Suwen 27
4
Paired with withdrawal 𠉀呼引鍼
瀉則吸進呼出
𠉀呼引鍼，呼盡乃去 — Suwen 27
5
Paired with withdrawal, supplementing 𠉀吸引鍼
補則呼進吸出
𠉀吸引鍼，氣不得出 — Suwen 27
6
The other 内 in the chapter 邪獨内著
此内讀 nèi，在内之義
邪獨内著 — Suwen 27

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
3 passages
素問·離合真邪論 Suwen 27 · 離合真邪論 Read in context →
呼盡内鍼，靜以久留，以氣至爲故，如待所貴，不知日暮。其氣以至，適而自䕶，𠉀吸引鍼，氣不得出，各在其處，推闔其門，令神氣存，大氣留止，故命曰補。 呼尽内针，静以久留，以气至为故，如待所贵，不知日暮。其气以至，适而自护，候吸引针，气不得出，各在其处，推阖其门，令神气存，大气留止，故命曰补。
Hū jìn nà zhēn, jìng yǐ jiǔ liú, yǐ qì zhì wéi gù, rú dài suǒ guì, bù zhī rì mù.Qí qì yǐ zhì, shì ér zì hù, hòu xī yǐn zhēn, qì bù dé chū, gè zài qí chù, tuī hé qí mén, lìng shén qì cún, dà qì liú zhǐ, gù mìng yuē bǔ.
Insert the needle at the end of an exhalation; rest quietly and hold it long, the aim being that the qi arrive. Wait as one waits for someone honoured, unaware that the day is ending. Once the qi has arrived, settle and guard it yourself; wait for an inhalation to withdraw the needle, so that the qi cannot get out and each part stays where it belongs. Then push the gate shut, letting the spirit qi be kept in and the great qi rest and remain. This is what is called supplementing.
補法一段與上文瀉法一段句句相對，而最要緊的對待就在「内鍼」二字上：瀉「吸則内鍼」「𠉀呼引鍼」，補「呼盡内鍼」「𠉀吸引鍼」——進出之際，呼吸相反，而補瀉之別全在於此。**「内」讀 nà，通「納」**，本篇三見：此處與第十四段之「吸則内鍼」讀 nà，第四十一段「邪獨内著」之內讀 nèi；「鍼」讀 zhēn，本篇八見，底本無針形。「靜以久留」四字與瀉法重出，「留」讀 liú——補瀉皆須靜守，所異者只在呼吸進出之際。「如待所貴，不知日暮」（「貴」讀 guì，「暮」讀 mù）狀候氣之專一，與第二十五篇「如臨深淵，手如握虎」同一精神；「適而自䕶」之「䕶」讀 hù，即「護」之異體，本篇惟此一見；「推闔其門」之「闔」讀 hé——瀉則開門以出邪，補則閉門以存氣，一開一閉之間，補瀉之義盡矣。
素問·長刺節論 Suwen 55 · 長刺節論 Read in context →
刺大者多血，小者深之，必端内鍼爲故止。 刺大者多血，小者深之，必端内针为故止。
Cì dà zhě duō xuè, xiǎo zhě shēn zhī, bì duān nà zhēn wéi gù zhǐ.
For a large abscess let much blood; for a small one go deeper. Either way make it the rule that the needle goes straight in — 内 nà, insert — and stop there.
「刺大者多血，小者深之，必端「内」讀 nà「鍼」讀 zhēn爲故止」——**本篇底本作「内鍼」，「内」讀 nà，通「納」，刺入也；吳崑注「內，納同」**；**本目為第二十七篇「内鍼」所立，其第三義正曰「讀作動詞，不作方位」**；**本篇「必端内鍼爲故止」者，謂不論癰之大小，皆以針身端直刺入為準則**
素問·調經論 Suwen 62 · 調經論 Read in context →
歧伯曰：持鍼勿置，以定其意。𠉀呼内鍼，氣出鍼入。鍼空四塞，精無從去。方實而疾出鍼，氣入鍼出，熱不得還。閉塞其門，邪氣布散，精氣乃得存。動氣𠉀時，近氣不失，遠氣乃來，是謂追之。 歧伯曰：持针勿置，以定其意。候呼内针，气出针入。针空四塞，精无从去。方实而疾出针，气入针出，热不得还。闭塞其门，邪气布散，精气乃得存。动气候时，近气不失，远气乃来，是谓追之。
Qí bó yuē: chí zhēn wù zhì, yǐ dìng qí yì. Hòu hū nà zhēn, qì chū zhēn rù. Zhēn kǒng sì sè, jīng wú cóng qù. Fāng shí ér jí chū zhēn, qì rù zhēn chū, rè bù dé huán. Bì sè qí mén, xié qì bù sàn, jīng qì nǎi dé cún. Dòng qì hòu shí, jìn qì bù shī, yuǎn qì nǎi lái, shì wèi zhuī zhī.
Qi Bo says: hold the needle but do not set it in at once; first settle the man’s mind. Wait for the out-breath and insert: the qi goes out, the needle goes in. The hole of the needle is stopped on all four sides, so the essence has nowhere to escape. When the needle feels full, bring it out quickly: the qi goes in, the needle comes out, and the heat cannot return. Close the gate, let the evil qi scatter abroad, and the essence qi is kept. Move the needle watching for the hour of the qi: the near qi is not lost, and the far qi comes. This is called pursuing it.
「𠉀呼内鍼，氣出鍼入。鍼空四塞，精無從去」——**「内鍼」本篇3見、「俱内」1見，「内」皆讀 nà，吳崑「內，納同」**：**「不足則視其虚經，内鍼其脉中」一見（補血之不足）**；**「氣盛，乃内鍼，鍼與氣俱内，以開其門」一見（寫實）**；**「𠉀呼内鍼，氣出鍼入」一見（補虚，候呼氣而出鍼之時納鍼）**；**本目正為此讀而立，出第二十七篇，本篇三見皆合**；**本篇「内」凡10見，餘皆讀 nèi（在内、内連骨髓、内熱）**

Compounds built on this term

内鍼
nà zhēn
inserting the needle
本篇二見，一吸一呼，分屬補瀉
引鍼
yǐn zhēn
withdrawing the needle
與内鍼對舉，本篇二見
轉鍼
zhuǎn zhēn
turning the needle
吸則轉鍼，瀉法中事
九鍼
jiǔ zhēn
the nine needles
本站已立目（id 456），鍼讀 zhēn

How it has been translated

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

Wiseman & Fenginsert the needleThey read 内 as nà and render it throughout as insert, which is the only way the timing instructions make sense.
Unschuldpush in the needleUnschuld adds the physical push, which is not in the Chinese but is not wrong for the act; it does however blur the contrast the chapter draws between 内 and 引.
This siteinserting the needleWe keep a neutral verb for 内 so that it pairs cleanly with 引鍼 withdrawing; the chapter's whole point is that these two moves are set at opposite phases of the breath, and a vivid verb on one side would spoil the symmetry.

Entry status

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2026-09

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Reading path

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