Classica Sinica Medica

伏

fú

The hidden quality · fu

Also rendered: The prostrate pulse (Literal) · The deep-lying pulse (Clinical)

Vessels

Reviewed · 2026-10-28

At a glance

Pinyin
fú
Simplified
伏
Literal
伏 fú — to lie down, to crouch out of sight. As a pulse it lies below the deep, so that even heavy pressure barely finds it.
Shuowen
**《說文》：伏，司也**，从人从犬，謂犬伏伺人。**「伏」五篇共7見**（經文），其為脉名者僅「趺陽脉伏而濇」一處；餘如「伏氣」「坐而伏」皆非脉名，須随文别之。

In brief

The hidden quality: a pulse lying below the deep, found only when the finger presses to the bone. It occurs once as a pulse name in these chapters, at the instep, paired with astringency, and the pair is diagnostic: hidden brings vomiting, astringent keeps food out, and together they name the barred passage. The other occurrences of 伏 in the book are not pulses at all — hidden qi is evil lying in wait, and 坐而伏 is a patient’s posture — so the entry separates them.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
Hidden at the instep 趺陽脉伏而濇
伏則吐逆，濇則食不得入
Hidden and astringent at the instep: hidden brings vomiting, astringent keeps food out.
趺陽脉伏而濇，伏則吐逆 — 傷寒論·平脉法第二
2
Hidden and the grain not transformed 伏則吐逆，水榖不化
伏主吐逆，水穀不化
Hidden brings vomiting and the grain is not transformed; astringent keeps food from entering, and the case is named the barred passage.
伏則吐逆，水榖不化，濇則食不得入 — 傷寒論·平脉法第二
3
Hidden qi is not a pulse 伏氣之病
伏氣謂邪伏於內，非脉之伏
The illness of hidden qi is to be awaited in the mind: within this month there may be hidden qi, and if there is, the pulse must be felt for it.
師曰：伏氣之病，以意候之 — 傷寒論·平脉法第二
4
Crouching is a posture 坐而伏者，短氣也
坐而伏，是短氣之狀，非脉
One who sits and crouches forward has shortness of breath: a posture, not a pulse.
坐而伏者，短氣也 — 傷寒論·平脉法第二

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
2 passages
傷寒論·平脉法第二 Read in context →
趺陽脉伏而濇，伏則吐逆，水榖不化，濇則食不得入，名曰關格。 趺阳脉伏而涩，伏则吐逆，水谷不化，涩则食不得入，名曰关格。
fū yáng mài fú ér sè fú zé tù nì shuǐ gǔ bù huà sè zé shí bù dé rù míng yuē guān gé
When the instep yang pulse is hidden and astringent: the hidden gives vomiting, with food and drink undigested; the astringent, so that food cannot enter — it is named closing and barring.
**「伏」五篇共7見**（經文，不含成注），本文引第2篇第54段、第2篇第22段。
傷寒論·平脉法第二 Read in context →
師曰：伏氣之病，以意候之。今月之内，欲有伏氣。假令舊有伏氣，當須脉之。若脉微弱者，當喉中痛似傷，非喉痺也。病人云：實咽中痛，雖爾，今復欲下利。 师曰：伏气之病，以意候之。今月之内，欲有伏气。假令旧有伏气，当须脉之。若脉微弱者，当喉中痛似伤，非喉痹也。病人云：实咽中痛，虽尔，今复欲下利。
shī yuē fú qì zhī bìng yǐ yì hòu zhī jīn yuè zhī nèi yù yǒu fú qì jiǎ lìng jiù yǒu fú qì dāng xū mài zhī ruò mài wēi ruò zhě dāng hóu zhōng tòng sì shāng fēi hóu bì yě bìng rén yún shí yān zhōng tòng suī ěr jīn fù yù xià lì
The Master said: “The illness of latent qi is to be awaited with attentive intent. Within this month latent qi is about to stir. If there has been latent qi before, one must examine the pulse. If the pulse is faint and weak, there will be pain in the throat as if from injury — it is not throat blockage. The patient will say: ‘Indeed my throat pains me; and for all that, now I am about to have diarrhoea.’”
伏之為脉，全篇一見；然「伏氣」「坐而伏」二處最易誤收，故並列而各著其非脉。

Compounds built on this term

脉伏
mài fú
the pulse is hidden
平脉法第二
伏而濇
fú ér sè
hidden and astringent
平脉法第二
伏氣
fú qì
hidden qi
平脉法第二

How it has been translated

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

This sitethe hidden qualityone pulse use, two ordinary ones marked off
Literalcrouchingexact as an image, wrong as a term
Clinicaldeeper than deepclear, and it is a phrase

Entry status

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2026-10-28

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Reading path

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