肺氣 简体 肺气

fèi qì

Lung qi · fei qi

Also rendered: The qi of the lung (this site; it keeps the construction identical to 腎氣 and 肝氣, which the site already renders this way) · Fei qi (transliteration; used when the four reversals are quoted whole)

Reviewed · 2026-10-09

At a glance

Pinyin
fèi qì
Simplified
肺气
Literal
肺 fèi — the lung (《說文》: 肺,金藏也); 氣 qì — vapour, breath, the thing that moves. 肺氣 is the qi of the lung. Suwen 2 names it twice and in two different states: in the rule for autumn it is to be made pure (使肺氣清), and in the four reversals it is scorched and full (肺氣焦滿).
Shuowen
**「肺」讀 fèi,本篇3見**;**「氣」讀 qì,本篇25見**;**「肺氣」本篇2見**;**《說文》:肺,金藏也**;**本篇肺氣二見:使肺氣清、肺氣焦滿**

In brief

The qi of the lung. Suwen 2 gives it both the rule and the penalty: the rule for autumn is to keep the will from reaching outward so that the lung qi is pure, and the penalty for getting autumn wrong is that Taiyin · greater yin does not gather in and the lung qi is scorched and full. It is the one of the four storehouse qi in this chapter that the text tells you how to keep as well as how it fails.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 肺氣
肺者金藏,氣者雲氣也;肺氣謂肺之氣
無外其志,使肺氣清 — Suwen 2
2
To be made pure 使肺氣清
志不外馳,則肺氣清肅
無外其志,使肺氣清 — Suwen 2
3
Scorched and full 肺氣焦滿
焦讀 jiāo,滿讀 mǎn;不收故焦滿
逆秋氣,則太陰不收,肺氣焦滿 — Suwen 2
4
Paired with Taiyin 逆秋氣,則太陰不收
太陰不收,故肺氣焦滿
逆秋氣,則太陰不收,肺氣焦滿 — Suwen 2
5
The penalty named earlier 逆之則傷肺
傷肺與肺氣焦滿,一事兩說
逆之則傷肺,冬爲飱泄 — Suwen 2
6
One of four storehouse qi 肝氣内變、心氣内洞、肺氣焦滿、腎氣獨沉
四藏之氣,四時之逆各一
逆秋氣,則太陰不收,肺氣焦滿 — Suwen 2

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
4 passages
素問·四氣調神大論 Suwen 2 · 四氣調神大論 Read in context →
逆春氣,則少陽不生,肝氣内變;逆夏氣,則太陽不長,心氣内洞;逆秋氣,則太陰不收,肺氣焦滿;逆冬氣,則少陰不藏,腎氣獨沉。 逆春气,则少阳不生,肝气内变;逆夏气,则太阳不长,心气内洞;逆秋气,则太阴不收,肺气焦满;逆冬气,则少阴不藏,肾气独沉。
Nì chūn qì, zé shào yáng bù shēng, gān qì nèi biàn; nì xià qì, zé tài yáng bù zhǎng, xīn qì nèi dòng; nì qiū qì, zé tài yīn bù shōu, fèi qì jiāo mǎn; nì dōng qì, zé shào yīn bù cáng, shèn qì dú chén.
Going against the qi of spring, Shaoyang · lesser yang does not give life, and the liver qi changes inwardly. Going against the qi of summer, Taiyang · greater yang does not grow, and the heart qi is hollow within. Going against the qi of autumn, Taiyin · greater yin does not gather in, and the lung qi is scorched and full. Going against the qi of winter, Shaoyin · lesser yin does not store, and the kidney qi sinks alone.
**「肺氣」本篇2見**;**「焦滿」之焦讀 jiāo,滿讀 mǎn**;**肺氣二見,一為所養之清,一為所逆之焦滿**
素問·脉要精微論 Suwen 17 · 脉要精微論 Read in context →
甚飽則夢予,甚飢則夢取。肝氣盛,則夢怒,肺氣盛,則夢哭。短蟲多,則夢聚衆,長蟲多,則夢相擊毁傷。 甚饱则梦予,甚饥则梦取。肝气盛,则梦怒,肺气盛,则梦哭。短虫多,则梦聚众,长虫多,则梦相击毁伤。
shèn bǎo zé mèng yǔ, shèn jī zé mèng qǔ. gān qì shèng, zé mèng nù, fèi qì shèng, zé mèng kū. duǎn chóng duō, zé mèng jù zhòng, cháng chóng duō, zé mèng xiāng jī huǐ shāng.
Very full, one dreams of giving; very hungry, one dreams of taking. If liver qi is exuberant one dreams of anger; if lung qi is exuberant one dreams of weeping. With many short worms one dreams of crowds gathering; with many long worms one dreams of striking and wounding one another.
「肺氣盛,則夢哭」,與「肝氣盛,則夢怒」對舉,五藏氣盛各象其所主之情。
素問·玉機真藏論 Suwen 19 · 玉機真藏論 Read in context →
因而喜大虚則腎氣乘矣,怒則肝氣乘矣,悲則肺氣乘矣,恐則脾氣乘矣,憂則心氣乘矣,此其道也。故病有五,五五二十五變,及其傳化。傳乘之名也。 因而喜大虚则肾气乘矣,怒则肝气乘矣,悲则肺气乘矣,恐则脾气乘矣,忧则心气乘矣,此其道也。故病有五,五五二十五变,及其传化。传乘之名也。
Yīn ér xǐ dà xū zé shèn qì chéng yǐ, nù zé gān qì chéng yǐ, bēi zé fèi qì chéng yǐ, kǒng zé pí qì chéng yǐ, yōu zé xīn qì chéng yǐ, cǐ qí dào yě. Gù bìng yǒu wǔ, wǔ wǔ èr shí wǔ biàn, jí qí chuán huà. Chuán chéng zhī míng yě.
Thus great joy leaves a great emptiness and the kidney qi encroaches; anger lets the liver qi encroach; sorrow lets the lung qi encroach; fear lets the spleen qi encroach; anxiety lets the heart qi encroach. Such is its way. So there are five diseases, and five times five — twenty-five variations, through their transmission and transformation. These are the names of transmission and encroachment.
「悲則肺氣乘矣」,悲則肺氣乘肝之虛,與「怒則肝氣乘」「恐則脾氣乘」並列,見五志各有所乘。
Suwen 70 Suwen 70 · 五常政大論 Read in context →
帝曰:願卒聞之。歧伯曰:少陽司天,火氣下臨,肺氣上從,白起金用,草木眚,火見燔爇,革金且耗,大暑以行,欬嚏鼽衄鼻窒曰瘍,寒熱胕腫。風行于地,塵沙飛揚。心痛胃脘痛,厥逆鬲不通,其主暴速。 帝曰:愿卒闻之。歧伯曰:少阳司天,火气下临,肺气上从,白起金用,草木眚,火见燔爇,革金且耗,大暑以行,咳嚏鼽衄鼻窒曰疡,寒热胕肿。风行于地,尘沙飞扬。心痛胃脘痛,厥逆鬲不通,其主暴速。
Dì yuē: yuàn cù wén zhī. Qí bó yuē: shào yáng sī tiān, huǒ qì xià lín, fèi qì shàng cóng, bái qǐ jīn yòng, cǎo mù shěng, huǒ xiàn fán ruò, gé jīn qiě hào, dà shǔ yǐ xíng, kài tì qiú nǜ bí zhì yuē yáng, hán rè fū zhǒng. Fēng xíng yú dì, chén shā fēi yáng. Xīn tòng wèi wǎn tòng, jué nì gé bù tōng, qí zhǔ bào sù.
Huang Di said: I wish to hear it all. Qi Bo said: when lesser yang governs the heaven the qi of fire descends upon it and the qi of the lung follows upward; white arises and metal comes into use; grass and trees suffer calamity; fire appears and blazes and burns, and metal is changed and consumed; great heat thereby moves. The illness is cough, sneezing, snivelling, nosebleed, blocked nose and sores, cold and heat and water swelling. Wind moves over the earth and dust and sand fly. The illness is pain in the heart, pain in the stomach duct, counterflow and obstruction of the diaphragm; its charge is suddenness and speed.
**「肺氣」本篇2見:一在此段少陽司天「肺氣上從」,一在少陰司天「肺氣上從」**;**此段為少陽司天,火氣下臨而肺金上從**

Compounds built on this term

使肺氣清
shǐ fèi qì qīng
letting the lung qi be pure
本篇1見
肺氣焦滿
fèi qì jiāo mǎn
the lung qi scorched and full
本篇1見
逆秋氣
nì qiū qì
going against the qi of autumn
本篇1見
冬爲飱泄
dōng wéi sūn xiè
in winter, food-diarrhoea
本篇1見

How it has been translated

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

This siteLung qi · fei qitwo words, lower case, matching kidney qi and liver qi elsewhere on the site
Literalthe vapour of the lungover-literal for 氣, and it makes the rule 使肺氣清 sound stranger than it is
Descriptivepulmonary qithe clinical register; it reads as a modern organ where the chapter means the storehouse

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-09

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Reading path

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