Classica Sinica Medica

神志

shén zhì

Spirit and will · shen zhi

Also rendered: Spirit and will (plain, and it keeps both terms technical) · Mind and will (smooth, and it loses 神 as the heart's spirit)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-10-18

At a glance

Pinyin
shén zhì
Simplified
神志
Literal
神 shén — the spirit, what is alert and responsive; 志 zhì — the will, what a person is set on. The pair that must grieve together before the water rises to the eye.
Shuowen
《說文》：神，天神，引出萬物者也，從示申。志，意也，從心之聲。「神志」本篇1見，即「水火相感，神志俱悲」；「神」字7見、「志」字12見，二字皆本篇之骨。神屬火、志屬水，故曰「水火相感」；二者俱悲，則目之水乃生。

In brief

Spirit and will taken as one pair. The argument runs: 夫水之精爲志，火之精爲神，水火相感，神志俱悲，是以目之水生也 — water’s essence is the will, fire’s essence is the spirit; water and fire stir each other, and when spirit and will grieve together, the water is born in the eye. The pair is not decorative: 神 and 志 belong to different viscera, heart and kidney, and to different elements, fire and water, and the tear comes only when both are moved. Later the pair comes apart: 神不慈則志不悲 — if the spirit is not kind, the will does not grieve, and no tears come.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The pair 神志俱悲
神與志同悲
Spirit and will grieve together.
神志俱悲 — 素問·解精微論
2
Water's essence 夫水之精爲志
腎水之精為志
The essence of kidney water is the will.
夫水之精爲志 — 素問·解精微論
3
Fire's essence 火之精爲神
心火之精為神
The essence of heart fire is the spirit.
火之精爲神 — 素問·解精微論
4
Their stirring 水火相感
水火之氣互相感應
The qi of water and fire respond to each other.
水火相感 — 素問·解精微論
5
Drawn apart 神不慈則志不悲
神不慈則志亦不悲，故無淚
If the spirit is not kind the will does not grieve either, and no tears come.
神不慈則志不悲 — 素問·解精微論
6
Both leave 精神去目
志去則神不守精，精神俱去
When the will departs the spirit no longer guards the essence; both leave.
精神去目 — 素問·解精微論

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·解精微論 Read in context →
夫水之精爲志，火之精爲神，水火相感，神志俱悲，是以目之水生也。 夫水之精为志，火之精为神，水火相感，神志俱悲，是以目之水生也。
Fú shuǐ zhī jīng wéi zhì, huǒ zhī jīng wéi shén, shuǐ huǒ xiāng gǎn, shén zhì jù bēi, shì yǐ mù zhī shuǐ shēng yě.
The essence of water is the will, the essence of fire is the spirit; water and fire stir each other, and when spirit and will grieve together, the water of the eye is born.
「神志」本篇1見，即「神志俱悲」；「神」字7見、「志」字12見。水之精為志，火之精為神，故曰「水火相感」；俱悲則水生，不俱悲則淚不出，全篇兩番答語皆以此為樞。

Compounds built on this term

神志俱悲
shén zhì jù bēi
spirit and will grieve together
本篇本文
神不慈
shén bù cí
the spirit is not kind
下篇答語
志悲
zhì bēi
the will's grief
諺語所云
水火相感
shuǐ huǒ xiāng gǎn
water and fire stir each other
本篇語

How it has been translated

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

This sitespirit and willthe heart's spirit and the kidney's will
Literalgod and intentexact for the graphs, wrong for the medicine
Clinicalmental and volitional activityclear, and it is a later category

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-18

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Reading path

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