動简体动

dòng

The stirring quality · dong

Also rendered: The moving pulse (Literal) · The throbbing pulse (Clinical)

Reviewed · 2026-10-28

At a glance

Pinyin: dòng
Simplified: 动
Literal: 動 dòng — to move, to stir. As a pulse it is not the ordinary movement of any pulse but a local stirring at one position, like a bean rolling under the finger.
Shuowen: **《說文》：動，作也**，从力，重聲。**「動」五篇共18見**（經文），其為脉名者多在「名曰動」「厥厥動揺」兩語；而「動則爲痛」「數則動脾」之動，皆尋常動詞，非脉名。

In brief

The stirring quality: a pulse that stirs at one spot rather than flowing through the position, shaped like a bean and shaking under the finger. The book gives it two origins. In the first, yin and yang strike together and the pulse is named stirring; yang stirring brings sweat, yin stirring brings fever. In the second, a rapid pulse at the bar with no head or tail, big as a bean, is the stirring of contending qi. The ordinary verb 動 — as in 動則爲痛 — is not this quality, and the entry keeps them apart.

Senses in the classical corpus

In the yang family 脉大、浮、數、動、滑

動在陽脉之列

Large, floating, rapid, stirring and slippery are called the yang pulse.

凡脉大、浮、數、動、滑，此名陽也 — 傷寒論·辨脉法第一

Yin and yang strike 陰陽相搏，名曰動

陰陽相搏，其脉名動

When yin and yang strike together, the pulse is named stirring.

陰陽相搏，名曰動 — 傷寒論·辨脉法第一

What stirring does 陽動則汗出

陽動則汗出，陰動則發熱

Yang stirring brings sweating, yin stirring brings fever; with a cold body and aversion to cold, the three burners are hurt.

陽動則汗出，陰動則發熱 — 傷寒論·辨脉法第一

Like a bean 如豆大，厥厥動揺者

關上如豆動搖，名曰動

Big as a bean, shaking and stirring: this is named stirring.

如豆大，厥厥動揺者，名曰動也 — 傷寒論·辨脉法第一

On the bar 若數脉見于關上

數脉見關上而動搖，是陰陽相搏

A rapid pulse at the bar, with no head or tail above or below, big as a bean and stirring: the qi of yin and yang contending.

若數脉見于關上，上下無頭尾，如豆大，厥厥動揺者 — 傷寒論·辨脉法第一

Not the pulse name 動則爲痛

此動謂邪動而為痛，非脉名

Stirring brings pain and rapidity brings heat and restlessness: here 動 is the movement of evil, not a pulse.

動則爲痛，數則熱煩 — 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

4 passages

傷寒論·辨脉法第一 Read in context →

問曰：脉有陰陽者，何謂也？答曰：凡脉大、浮、數、動、滑，此名陽也；脉沉、濇、弱、弦、微，此名陰也。凡陰病見陽脉者生，陽病見陰脉者死。问曰：脉有阴阳者，何谓也？答曰：凡脉大、浮、数、动、滑，此名阳也；脉沉、涩、弱、弦、微，此名阴也。凡阴病见阳脉者生，阳病见阴脉者死。

wèn yuē mài yǒu yīn yáng zhě hé wèi yě dá yuē fán mài dà fú shuò dòng huá cǐ míng yáng yě mài chén sè ruò xián wēi cǐ míng yīn yě fán yīn bìng jiàn yáng mài zhě shēng yáng bìng jiàn yīn mài zhě sǐ

The Master asked: “The pulse has yin and yang — what does that mean?” The answer: “When the pulse is large, floating, rapid, moving or slippery, it is named yang; when it is deep, astringent, weak, wiry or faint, it is named yin. In yin disease, seeing a yang pulse, the patient lives; in yang disease, seeing a yin pulse, the patient dies.”

**「動」五篇共18見**（經文，不含成注），本文引第1篇第01段、第1篇第14段、第1篇第15段、第2篇第05段。

傷寒論·辨脉法第一 Read in context →

陰陽相搏，名曰動。陽動則汗出，陰動則發熱，形冷惡寒者，此三焦傷也。阴阳相搏，名曰动。阳动则汗出，阴动则发热，形冷恶寒者，此三焦伤也。

yīn yáng xiāng bó míng yuē dòng yáng dòng zé hàn chū yīn dòng zé fā rè xíng lěng wù hán zhě cǐ sān jiāo shāng yě

When yin and yang strike against each other it is called a moving pulse. Yang moving gives sweating, yin moving gives fever; if the body is cold and averse to cold, the triple burner is injured.

動之判據在「如豆大」「厥厥動揺」「見於關上」三語；若「動則爲痛」之動，乃邪動，非脉。

傷寒論·辨脉法第一 Read in context →

若數脉見于關上，上下無頭尾，如豆大，厥厥動揺者，名曰動也。若数脉见于关上，上下无头尾，如豆大，厥厥动摇者，名曰动也。

ruò shuò mài jiàn yú guān shàng shàng xià wú tóu wěi rú dòu dà jué jué dòng yáo zhě míng yuē dòng yě

If a rapid pulse appears at the bar, with no head or tail above or below, the size of a bean, stirring and shaking, it is called a moving pulse.

動之判據在「如豆大」「厥厥動揺」「見於關上」三語；若「動則爲痛」之動，乃邪動，非脉。

傷寒論·平脉法第二 Read in context →

變化相乘，陰陽相干。風則浮虚，寒則牢堅，沉潜水畜，支飲急弦，動則爲痛，數則熱煩。变化相乘，阴阳相干。风则浮虚，寒则牢坚，沉潜水畜，支饮急弦，动则为痛，数则热烦。

biàn huà xiāng chéng yīn yáng xiāng gān fēng zé fú xū hán zé láo jiān chén qián shuǐ xù zhī yǐn jí xián dòng zé wéi tòng shuò zé rè fán

When the pulse changes and one phase encroaches on another, yin and yang offend each other. With wind the pulse is floating and vacuous; with cold it is firm and hard. Where water is stored within, the pulse is deep and hidden; where there is propulsive rheum, it is tense and wiry. A moving pulse gives pain; a rapid pulse gives fever and restlessness.

動之判據在「如豆大」「厥厥動揺」「見於關上」三語；若「動則爲痛」之動，乃邪動，非脉。

Compounds built on this term

名曰動

míng yuē dòng

named stirring

辨脉法第一

厥厥動揺

jué jué dòng yáo

shaking and stirring

辨脉法第一

陽動則汗出

yáng dòng zé hàn chū

yang stirring brings sweat

辨脉法第一

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 stirring quality	a bean at one spot, not the beat itself
Literal	moving	plain, and it cannot be distinguished from the verb
Clinical	pulsating	clear, and it is everywhere in a pulse

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-28

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