Classica Sinica Medica

移精變氣 简体 移精变气

yí jīng biàn qì

Shifting the essence and changing the qi

Also rendered: shifting the essence and changing the qi (Literal, keeps both verbs) · moving the spirit and transforming qi (Loose; drops 精 in favour of 神) · psychotherapy (Modern reading; the text does name a cause, not a technique)

Core vocabulary

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
yí jīng biàn qì
Simplified
移精变气
Literal
移 to shift, to move across; 精 essence, the refined reserves of a person; 變 to change; 氣 qi, the thing that moves and warms. The phrase is a pair of verbs with two objects: it names an operation performed on the patient, not on the disease. Nothing is expelled and nothing is attacked.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：移，禾相倚移也（段注：引申為遷徙、移易）；精，擇也（段注：引申為精華、精氣）；變，更也；氣，雲氣也（醫籍引申為一身之氣）。

In brief

The whole therapy of high antiquity, and the title of this chapter. Wang Bing glosses the two verbs plainly: 移 is to shift, 變 is to alter, and both are done so that evil does not injure the upright and the spirit is restored and strong and guarded within. The chapter’s argument is that this used to be enough, and is not any more — not because the method was lost, but because the kind of person it worked on no longer exists.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
To shift the essence 移精
王冰：「移，謂移易。」使精神復強而內守
惟其移精變氣 — Suwen 13
2
To change the qi 變氣
王冰：「變，謂變改。皆使邪不傷正，精神復強而內守也。」
惟其移精變氣 — Suwen 13
3
Enough on its own, once 可祝由而已
邪不能深入，故無假毒藥、不勞鍼石
故可移精，祝由而已 — Suwen 13
4
No longer enough 故祝由不能已也
今世之人神散，內至五藏骨髓，非移精可及
所以小病必甚，大病必死，故祝由不能已也 — Suwen 13

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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1 passages
素問·移精變氣論 Suwen 13 · 移精變氣論 Read in context →
黄帝問曰：余聞古之治病，惟其移精變氣，可祝由而已。今世治病，毒藥治其内，鍼石治其外，或愈或不愈，何也？ 黄帝问曰：余闻古之治病，惟其移精变气，可祝由而已。今世治病，毒药治其内，针石治其外，或愈或不愈，何也？
huáng dì wèn yuē: yú wén gǔ zhī zhì bìng, wéi qí yí jīng biàn qì, kě zhù yóu ér yǐ. jīn shì zhì bìng, dú yào zhì qí nèi, zhēn shí zhì qí wài, huò yù huò bù yù, hé yě?
The Yellow Emperor asks: I have heard that in antiquity they treated illness by nothing more than shifting the essence and changing the qi, and it could be settled with invocation. In the present age we treat illness with potent drugs on the inside and the needle and stone on the outside, and yet some are cured and some are not. Why is that?
全篇發端之問。王冰：「移，謂移易。變，謂變改。皆使邪不傷正，精神復強而內守也。《生氣通天論》曰：聖人傳精神，服天氣。《上古天真論》曰：精神內守，病安從來。」楊上善：「上古之時有疾，但以祝為去病所由，其病即已。」

Compounds built on this term

移
yí
to shift
說文：禾相倚移也；王冰：移易
精
jīng
essence
說文：擇也；醫籍為一身之精
變
biàn
to change
說文：更也
氣
qì
qi
說文：雲氣也
精神內守
jīng shén nèi shǒu
the spirit guarded within
王冰引《上古天真論》，為移精變氣所欲致之效

How it has been translated

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

Common Englishmoving the essence and transforming the qiThe usual pair of verbs; transforming flatters 變, which here only means alter.
This siteshifting the essence and changing the qi移 and 變 are the plainest verbs in the language, and Wang Bing glosses them with the plainest glosses (移易、變改). Rendering them as shift and change keeps the sentence modest, which is the point: the therapy is small, and the chapter's question is why something so small used to be sufficient.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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Reading path

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