Piercing the clothes · che yi

Also rendered: Stripping the clothes (vivid, and it sounds like a change of dress) · Piercing through the garment (literal, and it misses the figure) · Piercing the clothes (the site's convention, keeping the paradox)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-10-26

At a glance

Pinyin: chè yī
Simplified: 彻衣
Literal: 徹 chè — to pierce through, to strip away; 衣 yī — clothes. Together: the method that removes the clothes — the heat that makes a man throw them off, driven out until he no longer wants to.
Shuowen: 《說文》：徹，通也。从彳从攴从育。衣，依也，上曰衣，下曰裳。此篇「徹衣」非真解衣，謂熱盛畏熱、近不可近身，刺之使熱去，如衣之見徹而去。

In brief

Piercing the clothes is the fourth of the five joints. Its case is a man whose yang is in excess and whose yin is not enough: within, heat; without, heat; 内𤍠相摶，𤍠於懷炭 — the heat is like carrying coals, so that he cannot bear cloth next to him nor sit on a mat, the seams of the skin are shut and no sweat comes, the tongue is scorched, the lips dry, the throat parched, and he no longer cares whether his food is good. The method is to pierce all the extraordinary transports of the yang — 盡刺諸陽之奇輸 — a set of points with no fixed place, together with 天府 and 大杼 three times each, 中膂 to take the heat away, and the foot and hand greater yin filled to stop the sweat. When the heat goes and the sweat thins, the cure is quicker than taking off a coat: 疾於徹衣.

Senses in the classical corpus

名目四曰徹衣

四叫徹衣

The fourth of the five: piercing the clothes.

四曰徹衣 — 靈樞·刺節真邪

取義𤍠去汗稀，疾於徹衣

熱退汗少，比脫衣還快

Quicker than undressing — the figure that gives the method its name.

疾於徹衣 — 靈樞·刺節真邪

刺法盡刺諸陽之奇輸

遍刺陽經的奇輸

Drain all the extraordinary transports of the yang, having no fixed place.

盡刺諸陽之奇輸 — 靈樞·刺節真邪

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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靈樞·刺節真邪 Read in context →

歧伯曰：是陽氣有餘，而陰氣不足，陰氣不足則内𤍠，陽氣有餘則外𤍠，内𤍠相摶，𤍠於懷炭，外畏綿帛，近不可近身，又不可近席，腠理閉塞，則汗不出，舌焦脣槁，腊乾嗌燥，飲食不讓美惡。黃帝曰：善。取之奈何？歧伯曰：或之於其天府大杼三痏，又刺中膂以去其𤍠，補足手太陰以去其汗，𤍠去汗稀，疾於徹衣。黃帝曰：善。歧伯曰：是阳气有余，而阴气不足，阴气不足则内𤍠，阳气有余则外𤍠，内𤍠相抟，𤍠于怀炭，外畏绵帛，近不可近身，又不可近席，腠理闭塞，则汗不出，舌焦唇槁，腊干嗌燥，饮食不让美恶。黄帝曰：善。取之奈何？歧伯曰：或之于其天府大杼三痏，又刺中膂以去其𤍠，补足手太阴以去其汗，𤍠去汗稀，疾于彻衣。黄帝曰：善。

Qí Bó yuē: shì yáng qì yǒu yú, ér yīn qì bù zú, yīn qì bù zú zé nèi rè, yáng qì yǒu yú zé wài rè, nèi rè xiāng tuán, rè yú huái tàn, wài wèi mián bó, jìn bù kě jìn shēn, yòu bù kě jìn xí, còu lǐ bì sāi, zé hàn bù chū, shé jiāo chún gǎo, xī gān yì zào, yǐn shí bù ràng měi è. Huáng Dì yuē: shàn. qǔ zhī nài hé? Qí Bó yuē: huò zhī yú qí tiān fǔ dà zhù sān wěi, yòu cì zhōng lǚ yǐ qù qí rè, bǔ zú shǒu tài yīn yǐ qù qí hàn, rè qù hàn xī, jí yú chè yī. Huáng Dì yuē: shàn.

Qi Bo said: This is yang qi in excess and yin qi insufficient. When yin is insufficient there is inner heat; when yang is excessive there is outer heat; inner and outer strike each other, hot as if carrying coals, so that outside he fears silk and cloth, and cannot bear to have anything near his body or near his mat. The interstices are closed and sweat does not come; tongue scorched, lips dry, dried meat parched and throat dry, and in food and drink he cannot tell good from bad. The Emperor said: Good. How is it taken? Qi Bo said: Take Tian Fu and Da Zhu three times, and needle Zhong Lü to remove the heat; tonify the foot greater yin and hand greater yin to remove the sweat. When the heat goes and the sweat thins, it is faster than piercing a garment. The Emperor said: Good.

「徹衣」本篇4見，自陽氣有餘陰氣不足至熱去汗稀疾於徹衣，病狀、取穴、效驗俱在，故引三段。

Compounds built on this term

奇輸

qí shū

extraordinary transport

諸陽之奇輸，無常處

天府

tiān fǔ

Tianfu

取以去熱

大杼

dà zhù

Dazhu

三痏

How it has been translated

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

This site	piercing the clothes	the figure as a name
Literal	penetrating the garment	exact, and opaque
Clinical	draining the yang to end heat intolerance	clear, and it explains the case

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-26

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