Classica Sinica Medica

至人

zhì rén

Zhiren · the ultimate person

Also rendered: The one who has arrived (this site; it keeps the verb in 至, and the chapter's four rungs are a road walked, not a set of types) · Zhi ren (transliteration; used when the four kinds of people are listed together and the English is carrying the ordering)

Cultivation

Reviewed · 2026-10-08

At a glance

Pinyin
zhì rén
Simplified
至人
Literal
至 zhì — to arrive, to reach the furthest point (《說文》: 至，鳥飛从高下至地也：a bird flying down from the height and reaching the ground); 人 rén — a person (《說文》: 人，天地之性最貴者也). 至人 is therefore the one who has arrived — not a person who is perfect, but a person who has reached the end of a road. The chapter places them second of four: below the 真人, whose years have no ending, and above the 聖人, who still lives among the common.
Shuowen
**「至」讀 zhì，本篇3見**；**「人」讀 rén，本篇12見**；**「至人」本篇1見**；**《說文》：至，鳥飛从高下至地也；人，天地之性最貴者也**；**本篇四等人以次而降：真人、至人、聖人、賢人，至人居其二**

In brief

The second of the four kinds of people at the close of Suwen 1. Their de · virtue is pure and the way is complete in them; they are in harmony with yin and yang and in tune with the four seasons; they leave the age and keep clear of the common, store up essence and make the spirit whole, and travel between heaven and earth with seeing and hearing reaching beyond the eight directions. They add to the span of their lives and stay strong — and, the chapter says, they too are counted with the true persons. What separates them from the 真人 above them is that they have not gone beyond ending; what separates them from the 聖人 below is that they have left the world.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 至人
至者到也，人者人也；至人謂有所至之人
中古之時，有至人者 — Suwen 1
2
The second of four 有至人者，淳德全道
四等人之中居第二
中古之時，有至人者，淳德全道，和於陰陽 — Suwen 1
3
In tune with the seasons 調於四時
和陰陽而調四時
調於四時，去世離俗 — Suwen 1
4
Clear of the age 去世離俗
去其世而離其俗
去世離俗，積精全神 — Suwen 1
5
Travelling 游行天地之間
神全故能游行於天地之間
游行天地之間，視聽八達之外 — Suwen 1
6
Counted with the true persons 亦歸於真人
益壽而强，故亦得歸於真人之列
此蓋益其壽命而強者也，亦歸於真人 — Suwen 1

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
1 passages
素問·上古天真論 Suwen 1 · 上古天真論 Read in context →
中古之時，有至人者，淳德全道，和於陰陽。調於四時，去世離俗，積精全神，游行天地之間，視聽八達之外。此蓋益其壽命而強者也，亦歸於真人。 中古之时，有至人者，淳德全道，和于阴阳。调于四时，去世离俗，积精全神，游行天地之间，视听八达之外。此盖益其寿命而强者也，亦归于真人。
Zhōng gǔ zhī shí, yǒu zhì rén zhě, chún dé quán dào, hé yú yīn yáng. tiáo yú sì shí, qù shì lí sú, jī jīng quán shén, yóu xíng tiān dì zhī jiān, shì tīng bā dá zhī wài. cǐ gài yì qí shòu mìng ér qiáng zhě yě, yì guī yú zhēn rén.
In middle antiquity there were the ultimate persons. Their de · virtue was pure and the way complete in them; they were in harmony with yin and yang and in tune with the four seasons; they left the age and kept clear of the common; they stored up essence and made the spirit whole; they travelled between heaven and earth, and their seeing and hearing reached beyond the eight directions. These were the ones who added to the span of their lives and stayed strong, and they too are counted with the true persons.
**「至人」本篇1見**；**「淳德全道」本篇1見，是至人之德**；**「亦歸於真人」一句，是本篇定其次第之語**；**「游行」之游，底本不从辵**

Compounds built on this term

淳德全道
chún dé quán dào
pure in virtue, complete in the way
本篇1見；至人之德
去世離俗
qù shì lí sú
leaving the age and the common
本篇1見
積精全神
jī jīng quán shén
storing essence and making spirit whole
本篇1見
真人
zhēn rén
the true person
本篇2見；至人所歸之列

How it has been translated

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

This siteZhiren · the ultimate persontransliteration first: the four rungs of this chapter are always cited by their Chinese names
Literalthe one who has arrivedexact to 至 as a verb, and it keeps the sense that this is a stage reached rather than a rank held
Descriptivethe perfectedthe usual rendering in writing on self-cultivation; wider than the chapter means, which is one rung below the true person

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-08

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