The solitary fu · gu zhi fu

Also rendered: The solitary fu (plain, and it keeps the force of 孤) · The orphan fu (vivid, and it overstates the pathos)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-10-24

At a glance

Pinyin: gū zhī fǔ
Simplified: 孤之府
Literal: 孤 gū — orphaned, standing alone; 府 fǔ — a storehouse, hence an organ that transmits rather than stores. The fu that has no zang to pair with.
Shuowen: **《說文》：孤，無父也**；**府，文書藏也**，引申為藏物之所。**「孤之府」本篇1見**，指三焦；**「孤」字1見**，無他用。**三焦之所以孤，以其無藏可配**：肺合大腸、心合小腸、肝合膽、脾合胃、腎合膀胱，五配已盡，三焦獨遺。

In brief

The name the chapter gives the triple burner, and the reason it gives is structural: every other fu is paired with a zang — lung with large intestine, heart with small intestine, liver with gallbladder, spleen with stomach, kidney with bladder — and the triple burner is left over. Yet it is not functionless. It is 中瀆之府, the fu of the central sluice; 水道出焉, the waterway issues from it; it attaches to the bladder and constrains the lower burner. The chapter thus states in one line the problem later physiology argued for centuries — an organ with a function and no shape — and refuses to solve it, because its business is pairing, and pairing is what the triple burner does not do.

Senses in the classical corpus

The name 是孤之府也

三焦無藏可配，故謂之孤

The fu that stands alone, having no viscus to pair with.

三焦者，中瀆之府也，水道出焉，屬膀胱，是孤之府也 — 靈樞·本輸

Its office 中瀆之府

瀆者溝也，水所由行

The fu of the central sluice, through which water passes.

三焦者，中瀆之府也 — 靈樞·本輸

Its attachment 屬膀胱

雖屬膀胱，膀胱自有腎配，故仍為孤

It attaches to the bladder, but the bladder already has the kidney.

屬膀胱，是孤之府也 — 靈樞·本輸

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display

1 passages

靈樞·本輸 Read in context →

肺合大腸，大腸者，傳道之府。心合小腸，小腸者，受盛之府。肝合膽，膽者，中精之府。脾合胃，胃者，五榖之府。腎合膀胱，膀胱者，津液之府也。少陽屬腎，腎上連肺，故將兩藏。三焦者，中瀆之府也，水道出焉，屬膀胱，是孤之府也。是六府之所與合者。肺合大肠，大肠者，传道之府。心合小肠，小肠者，受盛之府。肝合胆，胆者，中精之府。脾合胃，胃者，五榖之府。肾合膀胱，膀胱者，津液之府也。少阳属肾，肾上连肺，故将两藏。三焦者，中渎之府也，水道出焉，属膀胱，是孤之府也。是六府之所与合者。

fèi hé dà cháng, dà cháng zhě, chuán dào zhī fǔ. xīn hé xiǎo cháng, xiǎo cháng zhě, shòu chéng zhī fǔ. gān hé dǎn, dǎn zhě, zhōng jīng zhī fǔ. pí hé wèi, wèi zhě, wǔ gǔ zhī fǔ. shèn hé páng guāng, páng guāng zhě, jīn yè zhī fǔ yě. shào yáng zhǔ shèn, shèn shàng lián fèi, gù jiāng liǎng zàng. sān jiāo zhě, zhōng dú zhī fǔ yě, shuǐ dào chū yān, zhǔ páng guāng, shì gū zhī fǔ yě. shì liù fǔ zhī suǒ yǔ hé zhě.

The lung pairs with the large intestine, and the large intestine is the fu of transmission. The heart pairs with the small intestine, and the small intestine is the fu of receiving and holding. The liver pairs with the gallbladder, and the gallbladder is the fu of central essence. The spleen pairs with the stomach, and the stomach is the fu of the five grains. The kidney pairs with the bladder, and the bladder is the fu of fluids. Shaoyang attaches to the kidney, and the kidney connects upward with the lung, so it commands two zang. The triple burner is the fu of the central sluice; the waterway issues from it, it attaches to the bladder, and it is the solitary fu. Such is the pairing of the six fu.

**「孤之府」本篇1見**，全篇論府之配合，終於此句。**五配既盡而三焦獨遺**，故曰孤；然「中瀆」「水道」「屬膀胱」「約下焦」四語繼之，孤而不廢。**讀此句當與《素問·靈蘭秘典》「決瀆之官」對看**：彼言其職，此言其無偶。

Compounds built on this term

中瀆之府

zhōng dú zhī fǔ

the fu of the central sluice

三焦之職

水道

shuǐ dào

the waterway

三焦所出

下焦

xià jiāo

the lower burner

三焦所約

How it has been translated

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

This site	the solitary fu	one fu without a partner, which is what the chapter says
Literal	the fu of the orphan	exact to 孤, and misleading in English
Clinical	the unpaired fu	clear, and it gives up the name

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-24

Search the glossary

Reading path

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

See all reading paths