Classica Sinica Medica

頏顙 简体 颃颡

háng sǎng

The hang sang · hang sang

Also rendered: Hang sang (keeps the transliteration) · Upper throat (plain, and it loses 顙) · Nasopharynx (precise, and it is modern anatomy)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-10-25

At a glance

Pinyin
háng sǎng
Simplified
颃颡
Literal
頏 háng — the throat, the back of the neck; 顙 sǎng — the forehead, and by extension the upper passage behind the palate. The pair names the space where the throat and the nose are continuous.
Shuowen
《說文》：顙，頟也。頏，亢也。「頏顙」本篇1見，在喉嚨之上、畜門之前，為營氣入鼻之路。

In brief

The upper throat, behind and above the soft palate, where the airway turns from the throat into the nose. In this chapter it is a station on the camp qi’s ascent: the qi follows the throat, enters the orifice of the hang sang, and ends at the gate of xu. Later comment takes 頏 as the throat and 顙 as the palate, so that the compound covers the whole nasopharyngeal turn — the only place in the book where the channel’s course crosses from the breathing passage into the head.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The orifice 入頏顙之竅
进入颃颡的孔窍
It enters the orifice of the hang sang.
入頏顙之竅 — 靈樞·營氣
2
Its place on the route 上循喉嚨
上沿喉咙
It ascends along the throat.
上循喉嚨 — 靈樞·營氣

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
4 passages
靈樞·營氣 Read in context →
上行注膻中，散于三焦，從三焦注膽，出脅，注足少陽；下行至跗上，復從跗注大指間，合足厥陰。上行至肝，從肝上注肺，上循喉嚨，入頏顙之竅，究于畜門。 上行注膻中，散于三焦，从三焦注胆，出胁，注足少阳；下行至跗上，复从跗注大指间，合足厥阴。上行至肝，从肝上注肺，上循喉咙，入颃颡之窍，究于畜门。
shàng xíng zhù dàn zhōng, sàn yú sān jiāo, cóng sān jiāo zhù dǎn, chū xié, zhù zú shào yáng; xià xíng zhì fū shàng, fù cóng fū zhù dà zhǐ jiān, hé zú jué yīn. shàng xíng zhì gān, cóng gān shàng zhù fèi, shàng xún hóu lóng, rù háng sǎng zhī qiào, jiū yú xiù mén.
Ascending, it pours into the dan zhong, scatters into the triple burner, and from the triple burner pours into the gallbladder, emerges at the ribs and pours into the foot shao yang. Descending to the instep, it pours again from the instep into the space between the great toes and joins the foot jue yin. Ascending to the liver, it pours from the liver up into the lungs, ascends along the throat, enters the orifice of the hang sang and reaches the gate of xu.
「頏顙」本篇1見，在「上循喉嚨」之後、「究于畜門」之前，為營氣由喉入鼻之樞。
靈樞·逆順肥瘦 Read in context →
其上者，出於頏顙，滲諸陽，灌諸精。 其上者，出于颃颡，渗诸阳，灌诸精。
qí shàng zhě, chū yú háng sǎng, shèn zhū yáng, guàn zhū jīng.
Its upper part emerges at the nasopharynx, seeping into the yang and irrigating the essences.
「頏顙」逆順肥瘦第23段見，義與本條相合，引全段為證。
靈樞·衛氣 Read in context →
足陽明之本，在厲兑，標在人迎頰挾頏顙也。 足阳明之本，在厉兑，标在人迎颊挟颃颡也。
zú yáng míng zhī běn, zài lì duì, biāo zài rén yíng jiá xié háng sǎng yě.
The root of the foot yangming is at lidui; its tip is at renying and the cheek holding the hang-sang.
「頏顙」衛氣第8段見，義與本條相合，引全段為證。
靈樞·憂恚無言 Read in context →
少師答曰：咽喉者，水穀之道也。喉嚨者，氣之所以上下者也。會厭者，音聲之户也。口脣者，音聲之扇也。舌者，音聲之機也。懸雍垂者，音聲之關也。頏顙者，分氣之所泄也。横骨者，神氣所使，主發舌者也。 少师答曰：咽喉者，水谷之道也。喉咙者，气之所以上下者也。会厌者，音声之户也。口唇者，音声之扇也。舌者，音声之机也。悬雍垂者，音声之关也。颃颡者，分气之所泄也。横骨者，神气所使，主发舌者也。
shào shī dá yuē: yān hóu zhě, shuǐ gǔ zhī dào yě. hóu lóng zhě, qì zhī suǒ yǐ shàng xià zhě yě. huì yàn zhě, yīn shēng zhī hù yě. kǒu chún zhě, yīn shēng zhī shàn yě. shé zhě, yīn shēng zhī jī yě. xuán yōng chuí zhě, yīn shēng zhī guān yě. háng sǎng zhě, fēn qì zhī suǒ xiè yě. héng gǔ zhě, shén qì suǒ shǐ, zhǔ fā shé zhě yě.
Shao Shi answered: The throat is the road of water and grain. The windpipe is where qi goes up and down. The epiglottis is the door of the voice. The lips are the fan of the voice. The tongue is the trigger of the voice. The uvula is the bolt of the voice. The nasopharynx is where the divided qi leaks away. The hyoid bone is what the spirit qi employs, and it governs the raising of the tongue.
「頏顙」憂恚無言第2段見，義與本條相合，引全段為證。

Compounds built on this term

頏顙之竅
háng sǎng zhī qiào
the orifice of the hang sang
鼻後孔
畜門
xiù mén
the gate of xu
頏顙深處

How it has been translated

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

This sitethe hang sangthe text's own name
Literalthroat-foreheadexact, and it is opaque
Clinicalthe nasopharyngeal vaultclear, and it is an identification

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-25

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Reading path

Guided routes through the corpus, each built on a handful of chapters and their key terms.

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