八風 简体 八风

bā fēng

The eight winds

Also rendered: the eight winds (Literal) · the winds of the eight directions (Expands 八 for the reader) · eightfold wind (Awkward; the number is a list, not a division)

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
bā fēng
Simplified
八风
Literal
八 eight; 風 wind. The winds of the eight directions, each with a name and each with a place it enters the body and an organ it lodges in.
Shuowen
《說文解字》:八,別也;風,八風也(段注:風之用大矣,故凡無形而致者皆曰風)。

In brief

One of the things the physicians of middle antiquity used ten days of decoction to drive out. Wang Bing quotes the Ling shu for the eight names and for what each wind does: the child wind from the east strikes the sinews and lodges in the liver, the weak wind from the south-east strikes the flesh and lodges in the stomach, the great weak wind from the south strikes the vessels and lodges in the heart, the scheming wind from the south-west strikes the flesh and lodges in the spleen, the hard wind from the west strikes the skin and lodges in the lung, the breaking wind from the north-west strikes the small intestine channel, the great hard wind from the north strikes the bone and lodges in the kidney, and the baleful wind from the north-east strikes the armpit and flank and lodges in the large intestine.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The winds of the eight directions 八方之風
王冰引《靈樞》八方之名,各有其所中
湯液十日,以去八風五痺之病 — Suwen 13
2
Part of what colour and pulse are fitted to 四時、八風、六合
王冰:「故六合之閒,八風鼓坼,不離常候,盡可與期。」
合之金木水火土,四時、八風、六合 — Suwen 13
3
Driven out by ten days of decoction 以去八風五痺之病
病至而治之,故可十日而去
湯液十日,以去八風五痺之病 — Suwen 13
4
A named set, not a generic wind 嬰兒風、大弱風、剛風、凶風等
《靈樞·九宮八風》具列八名與八舍
(王冰引《靈樞》) — Suwen 13 (Wang Bing)

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
7 passages
素問·移精變氣論 Suwen 13 · 移精變氣論 Read in context →
上古使僦貸季,理色脉而通神明,合之金木水火土,四時、八風、六合,不離其常,變化相移,以觀其妙,以知其要。 上古使僦贷季,理色脉而通神明,合之金木水火土,四时、八风、六合,不离其常,变化相移,以观其妙,以知其要。
shàng gǔ shǐ jiù dài jì, lǐ sè mài ér tōng shén míng, hé zhī jīn mù shuǐ huǒ tǔ, sì shí, bā fēng, liù hé, bù lí qí cháng, biàn huà xiāng yí, yǐ guān qí miào, yǐ zhī qí yào.
In high antiquity they commissioned Jiu daiji to order colour and pulse and thereby reach through to spirit brightness: binding them to metal, wood, water, fire and earth, to the four seasons, the eight winds and the six conjunctions, never leaving what is constant. As change shifts one into another, he observed the subtlety thereby and knew the essential point.
王冰:「先師以色白脈毛而合金應秋,以色青脈弦而合木應春,以色黑脈石而合水應冬,以色赤脈洪而合火應夏,以色黃脈代而合土應長夏及四季,然以是色脈下合五行之休王,上副四時之往來,故六合之閒,八風鼓坼,不離常候,盡可與期。」
素問·玉版論要 Suwen 15 · 玉版論要 Read in context →
行奇𢘆之法,以太陰始。行所不勝曰逆,逆則死。行所勝曰從,從則活。八風四時之勝,終而復始,逆行一過,不復可數。論要畢矣。 行奇𢘆之法,以太阴始。行所不胜曰逆,逆则死。行所胜曰从,从则活。八风四时之胜,终而复始,逆行一过,不复可数。论要毕矣。
xíng qí héng zhī fǎ, yǐ tài yīn shǐ. xíng suǒ bù shèng yuē nì, nì zé sǐ. xíng suǒ shèng yuē cóng, cóng zé huó. bā fēng sì shí zhī shèng, zhōng ér fù shǐ, nì xíng yī guò, bù fù kě shǔ. lùn yào bì yǐ.
To practise the method of the anomalous, begin with the greater yin. To move into what does not conquer is called rebellion, and rebellion is death; to move into what one conquers is called compliance, and compliance means living. The conquests of the eight winds and the four seasons end and begin again; once the counter-movement has passed over, the count cannot be taken up again. The discourse on essentials is complete.
「八風四時之勝,終而復始,逆行一過,不復可數」:本篇結語以八風與四時並舉,謂二者遞相勝復而周而復始;若逆行一過而不能復常序,則生化之數不復可計。與第十三篇「八風」同詞:第十三篇以八風為五風之一以論邪之中人,本篇則以八風之勝復為四時之序,用以結「論要」之全篇。
素問·脉要精微論 Suwen 17 · 脉要精微論 Read in context →
帝曰:諸癰腫筋攣骨痛,此皆安生?歧伯曰:此寒氣之腫,八風之變也。帝曰:治之奈何? 帝曰:诸痈肿筋挛骨痛,此皆安生?岐伯曰:此寒气之肿,八风之变也。帝曰:治之奈何?
dì yuē: zhū yōng zhǒng jīn luán gǔ tòng, cǐ jiē ān shēng? qí bó yuē: cǐ hán qì zhī zhǒng, bā fēng zhī biàn yě. dì yuē: zhì zhī nài hé?
The Emperor says: All the swellings, the sinew contractures and the bone pains — how do these arise? Qibo says: These are swellings of cold qi, the changes of the eight winds. The Emperor says: How does one treat them?
「此寒氣之腫,八風之變也」:本篇以癰腫筋攣骨痛為八風之變。與第十三篇「八風」同條:第十三篇以八風為四時之正風而主生長收藏,本篇則以八風之變為病——寒氣客於形則為腫,故曰「治之奈何?此四時之病,以其勝治之愈也」,以五行相勝之法各因其時而治之。
素問·八正神明論 Suwen 26 · 八正神明論 Read in context →
八正者,所以𠉀八風之虚邪,以時至者也。 八正者,所以候八风之虚邪,以时至者也。
Bā zhèng zhě, suǒ yǐ hòu bā fēng zhī xū xié, yǐ shí zhì zhě yě.
The eight standards are what one watches in order to catch the empty evil of the eight winds, which arrives each in its season.
「八正者,所以𠉀八風之虚邪,以時至者也」——八風之所以可候,在於其「以時至」:八方之風各以其時而來,不以其時而至者即為虚邪,是本篇候風之法。「至」讀 zhì;「𠉀」讀 hòu,候之異體。與《靈樞·九宮八風》之說相表裡,可與本站本篇「虚邪」條、「虛邪賊風」條(id 154)參讀。
素問·鍼解 Suwen 54 · 鍼解 Read in context →
歧伯曰:夫一天、二地、三人、四時、五音、六律、七星、八風、九野,身形亦應之,鍼各有所宜,故曰九鍼。 歧伯曰:夫一天、二地、三人、四时、五音、六律、七星、八风、九野,身形亦应之,针各有所宜,故曰九针。
Qí bó yuē: fú yī tiān, èr dì, sān rén, sì shí, wǔ yīn, liù lǜ, qī xīng, bā fēng, jiǔ yě, shēn xíng yì yìng zhī, zhēn gè yǒu suǒ yí, gù yuē jiǔ zhēn.
Qibo says: one is heaven, two is earth, three is man, four the seasons, five the tones, six the pitch-pipes, seven the stars, eight the winds, nine the wilds — the body in its form answers to them as well, and each needle has what it is fitted to; hence they are called the nine needles.
「八「風」讀 fēng、九野,身形亦應之」——**本篇「八風」2見,讀 bā fēng**;**一在九數之八,一在「人心意應八風」**;**本目為第十三篇所立,以八方之風各有其名、各有所中**;**本篇則以之配人身:人出入氣應風、人心意應八風**
素問·上古天真論 Suwen 1 · 上古天真論 Read in context →
其次有聖人者,處天地之和,從八風之理,適嗜欲於世俗之間,无恚嗔之心,行不欲離於世,被服章舉不欲觀於俗,外不勞形於事,内无思想之患,以恬愉爲務,以自得爲功,形體不敝,精神不散,亦可以百數。 其次有圣人者,处天地之和,从八风之理,适嗜欲于世俗之间,无恚嗔之心,行不欲离于世,被服章举不欲观于俗,外不劳形于事,内无思想之患,以恬愉为务,以自得为功,形体不敝,精神不散,亦可以百数。
Qí cì yǒu shèng rén zhě, chǔ tiān dì zhī hé, cóng bā fēng zhī lǐ, shì shì yù yú shì sú zhī jiān, wú huì chēn zhī xīn, xíng bù yù lí yú shì, bèi fú zhāng jǔ bù yù guān yú sú, wài bù láo xíng yú shì, nèi wú sī xiǎng zhī huàn, yǐ tián yú wéi wù, yǐ zì dé wéi gōng, xíng tǐ bù bì, jīng shén bù sàn, yì kě yǐ bǎi shù.
Next there were the shengren · sages. They dwelt in the harmony of heaven and earth and followed the order of the eight winds; they measured their appetites among the customs of the age, and had no heart of resentment or anger. In their conduct they did not seek to stand apart from the world, and in their dress and bearing they did not seek to be stared at by the common. Outwardly they did not weary the body with affairs, and inwardly they had no affliction of anxious thought. They made tranquillity and ease their task and counted self-possession their achievement; the body was not worn out and the spirit was not scattered. These too could reach their hundred years.
「從八風之理」——八風讀 bā fēng;**「八風」本篇1見**
素問·金匱真言論 Suwen 4 · 金匱真言論 Read in context →
黃帝問曰:天有八風,經有五風,何謂?歧伯對曰:八風發邪,以爲經風,觸五藏,邪氣發病。 黄帝问曰:天有八风,经有五风,何谓?歧伯对曰:八风发邪,以为经风,触五藏,邪气发病。
huáng dì wèn yuē: tiān yǒu bā fēng, jīng yǒu wǔ fēng, hé wèi? qí bó duì yuē: bā fēng fā xié, yǐ wéi jīng fēng, chù wǔ zàng, xié qì fā bìng.
The Yellow Emperor asks: heaven has eight winds, the channels have five winds — what does this mean? Qi Bo replies: the eight winds give off evil; becoming the wind of the channels, it touches the five viscera, and the evil qi brings forth disease.
「天有八風」——本篇開篇設問,天有八風而經有五風;**「八風」本篇2見**

Compounds built on this term

八
bā
eight
說文:別也
風
fēng
wind
說文:八風也;醫籍為外邪之長
虛風
xū fēng
the empty wind
《靈樞·九宮八風》之名,與本篇「賊風」互見
賊風
zéi fēng
the thieving wind
本篇「賊風數至」,讀 shuò

How it has been translated

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

Common Englishthe eight windsUniversal, and the names are usually left as they are.
This sitethe eight windsKept. Where Wang Bing's list is quoted, the names are translated (child wind, great weak wind, hard wind, baleful wind) rather than transliterated, because the names are descriptive and the reader who sees them in English can tell that these are not personifications but a wind rose.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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