Classica Sinica Medica

諸陽之本 简体 诸阳之本

zhū yáng zhī běn

The root of all the yang · zhu yang zhi ben

Also rendered: the root of all the yang (Keeps 本 as root and 諸 as all the) · the basis of the yang (Abstract; loses the botanical sense of 本)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
zhū yáng zhī běn
Simplified
诸阳之本
Literal
諸 all the, 陽 yang, 之 of, 本 root. The four limbs, chapter 30 says, are the root of all the yang — 四支者，諸陽之本也. This is the sentence that lets the chapter explain its hardest puzzle: how a man too ill to eat can climb walls. If the limbs are where yang collects, then exuberant yang makes them full, and full limbs can do what empty ones cannot. The chapter borrows nothing from the language of spirit or mind; it explains a marvellous strength as a surplus in the extremities.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：本，木下曰本，从木，一在其下——**「本」讀 běn，根本也**；**「諸」讀 zhū，眾也**，底本作「諸」，不作「诸」；「陽」讀 yáng；「之」讀 zhī；**「四」讀 sì；「支」讀 zhī，底本作「支」，不作「肢」**——《內經》言四肢多作「四支」，「肢」為後起之形。「諸陽之本」本篇一見，與第二十九篇「四支皆稟氣於胃」義相表裏：彼言四肢稟氣之源，此言四肢為諸陽之會。

In brief

Chapter 30’s account of the four limbs: they are the root of all the yang, which is why exuberant yang makes them full and a full limb can climb where an ordinary one cannot. The sentence is the chapter’s answer to its own hardest question — how illness can make a man able to do what health could not — and it is answered entirely in terms of what the extremities have too much of.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The claim 四支者，諸陽之本也
四肢為諸陽經氣之所本
四支者，諸陽之本也 — Suwen 30
2
What follows from it 陽盛則四支實
陽氣充溢，故四肢實而有餘力
陽盛則四支實，實則能登高也 — Suwen 30
3
What it explains 實則能登高也
力倍於常，故能為素所不能為
實則能登高也 — Suwen 30
4
The puzzle it answers 病反能者
病中反能為平日所不能為
所上之處，皆非其素所能也，病反能者，何也 — Suwen 30
5
Its counterpart in chapter 29 四支皆稟氣於胃
彼言稟氣之源，此言諸陽之會
四支者，諸陽之本也 — Suwen 30
6
Why the strength is not real strength 陽衰則復如常
所恃者一時之陽盛，非真能
陽盛則四支實，實則能登高也 — Suwen 30

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·陽明脉解 Suwen 30 · 陽明脉解 Read in context →
歧伯曰：四支者，諸陽之本也，陽盛則四支實，實則能登高也。 歧伯曰：四支者，诸阳之本也，阳盛则四支实，实则能登高也。
Qí bó yuē: sì zhī zhě, zhū yáng zhī běn yě, yáng shèng zé sì zhī shí, shí zé néng dēng gāo yě.
Qibo says: the four limbs are the root of all the yang. When yang is exuberant the four limbs become full, and being full they are able to climb high.
此句是答「病反能者」之大綱。「歧」讀 qí；「伯」讀 bó；「曰」讀 yuē；**「四」讀 sì，本篇二見**；**「支」讀 zhī，本篇二見，底本作「支」，不作「肢」**——《內經》言四肢多作「四支」，「肢」為後起之形，本站各篇皆從底本作「支」；「者」讀 zhě；「陽」讀 yáng；「之」讀 zhī；**「本」讀 běn，根本也**；「也」讀 yě；**「盛」讀 shèng，本篇四見**；「則」讀 zé；**「實」讀 shí，本篇二見，底本作「實」，不作「实」**——此處「實」謂充實有力，與「虚實」之實同名而取義稍別；「能」讀 néng；「登」讀 dēng；「高」讀 gāo。**此句與第二十九篇「四支皆稟氣於胃」義相表裏**：彼言四肢稟氣之源，此言四肢為諸陽之會，合觀則陽明與四肢之關係益明。

Compounds built on this term

諸陽之本
zhū yáng zhī běn
the root of all the yang
本篇一見，答語之綱
四支者，諸陽之本也
sì zhī zhě, zhū yáng zhī běn yě
the four limbs are the root of all the yang
本篇一見
陽盛則四支實
yáng shèng zé sì zhī shí
when yang is exuberant the four limbs become full
本篇一見
四支
sì zhī
the four limbs
本站已立目（id 894），本篇二見

How it has been translated

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

Wiseman & Feng(rendered as) the root of all the yangThey keep 本 as root and leave yang untranslated, as they do throughout.
Unschuld(rendered as) the basis of all yang (conduits)Unschuld's 'basis' is more abstract than 本 and loses the image of a trunk from which things grow.
This sitethe root of all the yangWe keep 本 as root. The image is load-bearing here: what grows in the extremities grows from something, and the chapter's argument is that when the something is over-full the growth is excessive. 'Basis' states the relation without the consequence.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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