Classica Sinica Medica

上經 简体 上经

shàng jīng

The Upper Classic

Also rendered: The Upper Classic (this site; 經 kept as classic) · The Classic of What Is Above (the rendering used where the pairing with 下經 is made explicit)

Core vocabulary

Reviewed · 2026-09-30

At a glance

Pinyin
shàng jīng
Simplified
上经
Literal
上經 shàng jīng — the first of the five lost books chapter 46 glosses on its way out. Its subject is given in one clause: it speaks of qi communicating with heaven. The chapter pairs it with 下經, which speaks of the changes of disease, and the pair frames everything the Suwen does.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：上，高也；經，織也，从糸巠聲。「上」讀 shàng、**本篇1見**；「經」讀 jīng、**本篇2見**，**「上經」「下經」各一**；**與本站第一〇三五目「下經」為偶，二書皆已亡佚**。

In brief

A medical book that no longer exists, named here only to say what it was about. Chapter 46 closes by glossing the five books it has drawn on — 上經, 下經, 金匱, 揆度, 奇恒 — and gives each one clause: the Upper Classic speaks of qi communicating with heaven, and so sets the frame within which the Lower Classic speaks of how diseases change.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The two graphs 上、經
上對下而言，經者常法之書
上經者，言氣之通天也 — Suwen 46
2
What it speaks of 氣之通天
人氣與天氣相通，為其宗旨
言氣之通天也 — Suwen 46
3
Its counterpart 下經
上經言其常，下經言其變
下經者，言病之變化也 — Suwen 46
4
One of five 上經、下經、金匱、揆度、奇恒
本篇連舉五書，各以一句釋之
奇𢘆者，言奇病也 — Suwen 46
5
That it is lost 亡佚
今惟見他書所引
上經者，言氣之通天也 — Suwen 46
6
Why the chapter names it 引書以自重
論偃卧而歸之於書
論在奇恒陰陽中 — Suwen 46

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
2 passages
Suwen 46 Suwen 46 · 病能論 Read in context →
上經者，言氣之通天也。下經者，言病之變化也。 上经者，言气之通天也。下经者，言病之变化也。
Shàng jīng zhě, yán qì zhī tōng tiān yě. Xià jīng zhě, yán bìng zhī biàn huà yě.
The Upper Classic speaks of qi communicating with heaven; the Lower Classic speaks of the changes of disease.
**「上經者，言氣之通天也。下經者，言病之變化也」——**「上」讀 shàng、「經」讀 jīng、**本篇各2見、各1見**；**「上經」「下經」對舉，上言其常、下言其變**；**「變化」之化讀 huà**。
素問·氣交變大論 Suwen 69 · 氣交變大論 Read in context →
歧伯曰：請遂言之也。上經曰：夫道者，上知天文，下知地理，中知人事，可以長久。此之謂也。 歧伯曰：请遂言之也。上经曰：夫道者，上知天文，下知地理，中知人事，可以长久。此之谓也。
Qí bó yuē: qǐng suì yán zhī yě. Shàng jīng yuē: fú dào zhě, shàng zhī tiān wén, xià zhī dì lǐ, zhōng zhī rén shì, kě yǐ cháng jiǔ. Cǐ zhī wèi yě.
Qi Bo said: let me then speak of it in full. The Upper Canon says: the way — to know the patterns of heaven above, the patterns of earth below, and the affairs of human beings between — by this one may last long. This is what it means.
「上經曰：夫道者，上知天文，下知地理，中知人事，可以長久」——**「上經」本篇1見，止此一見，是本篇明引之書**；**與第四十六篇「上經者，言氣之通天也」相發：彼釋上經之義，此引上經之文**；**所引三事，即下文位天者天文、位地者地理、通於人氣之變化者人事**；**「上」讀 shàng、「經」讀 jīng**

Compounds built on this term

上經
shàng jīng
the Upper Classic
本篇所釋五書之一
下經
xià jīng
the Lower Classic
已見本站第一〇三五目
金匱
jīn guì
the Golden Casket
本篇所釋五書之一
揆度
kuí duó
assessment
已見本站第五二八目

How it has been translated

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

This sitethe Upper Classic上經 rendered as a book title, following the site's existing entry for 下經
Unschuldthe Upper Classiche keeps the上下 pairing
Wisemanthe Classic of What Is Abovea literal rendering of the pair

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09-30

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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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