高者抑之

gāo zhě yì zhī

What is high, press it down · gao zhe yi zhi

Also rendered: What is high, press it down (this site; 抑 is to press, and the clause is one of a run in which treatment is given as verbs) · Suppress what rises (current usage; it is the sense, and it loses the pairing with 下者舉之)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-10-14

At a glance

Pinyin: gāo zhě yì zhī
Simplified: 高者抑之
Literal: 高 gāo — high, what stands above; 抑 yì — to press down, to hold back (《說文》: 抑，按也); 之 — it. The four graphs open a run of clauses in which the whole of treatment is given as verbs.
Shuowen: **《說文》：抑，按也；高，崇也**。**「高者抑之」本篇一見**；**「抑」字本篇亦止2見，皆在此句之内**；**「下者舉之」本篇一見，「舉」字5見**；**此句領十四句而成一段：高者抑之、下者舉之、有餘折之、不足補之、佐以所利、和以所宜、必安其主客、適其寒温、同者逆之、異者從之**；**「同者逆之，異者從之」即正治反治之根**

In brief

The first of the clauses in which the chapter states treatment as a series of verbs: 帝曰：善。治之柰何？歧伯曰：高者抑之，下者舉之，有餘折之，不足補之，佐以所利，和以所宜，必安其主客，適其寒温，同者逆之，異者從之. What is high is pressed down and what is low is raised: the pair is not about the disease’s seat in the body but about the direction of its aim, and the answer is to move against it. The run of clauses is deliberately mixed — three pairs of contraries (高下、有餘不足、同異), two general instructions (佐以所利、和以所宜), and one about the year (必安其主客) — so that the passage reads as the whole of treatment in ten verbs, and it is closed by the sentence from which 正治 and 反治 are drawn: 同者逆之，異者從之.

Senses in the classical corpus

The words 高者抑之

氣之高者抑而下之

高者抑之 — Suwen 74

Its pair 下者舉之

高下相對，一抑一舉

下者舉之 — Suwen 74

Its kin 有餘折之，不足補之

盛者折之，虚者補之

不足補之 — Suwen 74

What is added 佐以所利，和以所宜

治之中更有佐與和

和以所宜 — Suwen 74

What is remembered 必安其主客

治時不忘客主之勝

必安其主客 — Suwen 74

What it leads to 同者逆之，異者從之

逆從之義由此而立

同者逆之 — Suwen 74

Occurrences in the classics

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

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1 passages

Suwen 74 Suwen 74 · 至真要大論 Read in context →

帝曰：善。治之柰何？歧伯曰：高者抑之，下者舉之，有餘折之，不足補之，佐以所利，和以所宜，必安其主客，適其寒温，同者逆之，異者從之。帝曰：治寒以熱，治熱以寒，氣相得者逆之，不相得者從之，余以知之矣。其於正味何如？帝曰：善。治之奈何？歧伯曰：高者抑之，下者举之，有余折之，不足补之，佐以所利，和以所宜，必安其主客，适其寒温，同者逆之，异者从之。帝曰：治寒以热，治热以寒，气相得者逆之，不相得者从之，余以知之矣。其于正味何如？

Dì yuē: shàn. Zhì zhī nài hé? Qí bó yuē: gāo zhě yì zhī, xià zhě jǔ zhī, yǒu yú zhé zhī, bù zú bǔ zhī, zuǒ yǐ suǒ lì, hé yǐ suǒ yí, bì ān qí zhǔ kè, shì qí hán wēn, tóng zhě nì zhī, yì zhě cóng zhī. Dì yuē: zhì hán yǐ rè, zhì rè yǐ hán, qì xiāng dé zhě nì zhī, bù xiāng dé zhě cóng zhī, yú yǐ zhī zhī yǐ. Qí yú zhèng wèi hé rú?

Huang Di said: good. How is it treated? Qi Bo said: what is high, press it down; what is low, raise it up; what has a surplus, break it; what is insufficient, supplement it. Assist with what benefits and harmonise with what suits; the guest and the host must be settled, and the cold and warm suited. What is the same, treat contrarily; what is different, treat by following. Huang Di said: to treat cold with heat and heat with cold, treating contrarily what agrees in qi and by following what does not agree — I know this already. What of the upright flavours?

**「高者抑之」本篇一見，即此句**；**此句領十四句而成一治法之總段**；**「同者逆之，異者從之」二句在段末，是下文「逆者正治，從者反治」之所本**；**「抑」字本篇皆在此句之内，别無他見**

Compounds built on this term

下者舉之

xià zhě jǔ zhī

what is low, raise it

本篇一見；抑之之對

有餘折之

yǒu yú zhé zhī

what is in excess, break it

本篇一見；三分之治法之一

必安其主客

bì ān qí zhǔ kè

settle the host and the guest

本篇一見；承客主之論而言

同者逆之

tóng zhě nì zhī

what agrees, run against it

本篇一見；正治反治之根

How it has been translated

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

This site	what is high, press it down	the first of ten clauses that state treatment whole, closed by 同者逆之，異者從之
Literal	the high, press it	exact, and the English needs the particle
Descriptive	pressing down on a qi that aims upward	clear, and it drops the clause's place at the head of the run

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-14

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