五府

wǔ fǔ

The five strongholds · wu fu

Also rendered: the five storehouses (Literal for 府) · the five houses (Some translations use house for 府) · the five strongholds (Emphasises 身之强)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin: wǔ fǔ
Simplified: 五府
Literal: 五 five; 府 a storehouse, a treasury, and the government office that keeps it (《說文》: 文書藏也 — where documents are stored). The body's five storehouses: head, back, loins, knees, bones.
Shuowen: 《說文解字》：府，文書藏也（段注：引申為府藏、官府；醫書借為腑，與「藏」對言）。

In brief

Chapter 17’s second anatomy. Having said that the five depots are what keeps the interior (中之守), the chapter turns round and says they are also the body’s strength (身之强), and lists five places where that strength shows: the head is the storehouse of brightness, the back of the chest, the loins of the kidney, the knees of the sinews, the bones of marrow. Each has its own way of failing — the drooping head, the bent back, the loins that cannot turn, the knees that must lean, the bones that tremble. Note that these are 府, not 藏: places where something is kept and can be inspected.

Senses in the classical corpus

The five depots as the body's strength 夫五藏者，身之强也

與上文「中之守」對舉

Set against the guardianship within mentioned above.

夫五藏者，身之强也 — 素問·脉要精微論

Head: storehouse of brightness 頭者，精明之府，頭傾視深

其敗在頭傾目陷

Its ruin shows in the drooping head and sunken eyes.

頭者，精明之府，頭傾視深，精神將奪矣 — 素問·脉要精微論

Back, loins, knees 背者，胸中之府……膝者，筋之府

各有所主、各有所敗

Each has what it governs and each has its way of failing.

背者，胸中之府，背曲肩隨，府將壞矣 — 素問·脉要精微論

Bones: storehouse of marrow 骨者，髓之府，不能久立，行則振掉

骨敗則不能久立

When the bone fails, one cannot stand long.

骨者，髓之府，不能久立，行則振掉 — 素問·脉要精微論

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·脉要精微論 Read in context →

夫五藏者，身之强也。頭者，精明之府，頭傾視深，精神將奪矣；背者，胸中之府，背曲肩隨，府將壞矣；腰者，腎之府，轉摇不能，腎將憊矣；膝者，筋之府，屈伸不能，行則僂附，筋將憊矣；骨者，髓之府，不能久立，行則振掉，骨將憊矣。得强則生，失强則死。夫五脏者，身之强也。头者，精明之府，头倾视深，精神将夺矣；背者，胸中之府，背曲肩随，府将坏矣；腰者，肾之府，转摇不能，肾将惫矣；膝者，筋之府，屈伸不能，行则偻附，筋将惫矣；骨者，髓之府，不能久立，行则振掉，骨将惫矣。得强则生，失强则死。

fú wǔ zàng zhě, shēn zhī qiáng yě. tóu zhě, jīng míng zhī fǔ, tóu qīng shì shēn, jīng shén jiāng duó yǐ; bèi zhě, xiōng zhōng zhī fǔ, bèi qū jiān suí, fǔ jiāng huài yǐ; yāo zhě, shèn zhī fǔ, zhuǎn yáo bù néng, shèn jiāng bèi yǐ; xī zhě, jīn zhī fǔ, qū shēn bù néng, xíng zé lǚ fù, jīn jiāng bèi yǐ; gǔ zhě, suǐ zhī fǔ, bù néng jiǔ lì, xíng zé zhèn diào, gǔ jiāng bèi yǐ. dé qiáng zé shēng, shī qiáng zé sǐ.

The five depots are the strength of the body. The head is the storehouse of brightness: if the head droops and the gaze is sunken, the spirit is about to be taken. The back is the storehouse of the chest: if the back is bent and the shoulders sag, the storehouse is about to be ruined. The loins are the storehouse of the kidney: if they cannot turn, the kidney is about to be exhausted. The knees are the storehouse of the sinews: if they cannot bend and stretch and one must walk stooped and leaning, the sinews are about to be exhausted. The bones are the storehouse of marrow: if one cannot stand long and trembles when walking, the bones are about to be exhausted. What keeps its strength, lives; what loses it, dies.

本篇以五藏為「身之强」，而列頭、背、腰、膝、骨五者為府，各繫一臟、各舉一敗候：頭傾視深、背曲肩隨、轉摇不能、行則僂附、行則振掉，而總以「得强則生，失强則死」。「府」與上文「六府」之府義各有當，讀者勿混。

Compounds built on this term

府

fǔ

storehouse, office

說文：文書藏也

精明之府

jīng míng zhī fǔ

storehouse of brightness

指頭

胸中之府

xiōng zhōng zhī fǔ

storehouse of the chest

指背

腎之府

shèn zhī fǔ

storehouse of the kidney

指腰

髓之府

suǐ zhī fǔ

storehouse of marrow

指骨

How it has been translated

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

Common English	the five houses, or the five storehouses	House is the commonest in older translations of the 內經.
This site	the five strongholds	府 is 文書藏, a place where things are kept and can be gone through — an archive as much as a dwelling. House suggests someone lives there. Stronghold keeps both the keeping and the chapter's own word for what is at stake: 身之强, the strength of the body, with the verdict 得强則生，失强則死.

Entry status

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2026-09

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