所生病

suǒ shēng bìng

What it generates · suo sheng bing

Also rendered: What it generates (literal, and it keeps 生) · Diseases of the organ (interpretive, and it loses the formula)

Reviewed · 2026-10-24

At a glance

Pinyin
suǒ shēng bìng
Simplified
所生病
Literal
所 suǒ — that which; 生 shēng — to generate; 病 bìng — disease. The diseases the channel generates, as against those that arise when it merely moves.
Shuowen
《說文》:生,進也,象艸木生出土上。「所生病」本篇12見,十二經各一,皆承「是主某」而言;「生病」12見。

In brief

The second half of the formula: 是主肺所生病者 — what governs the diseases the lung generates. Where 是動 gives the symptoms of the conduit, 所生病 gives the disorders of the organ and of the substance it holds: for the lung, coughing and rising qi; for the spleen, swelling and diarrhoea; for the kidney, dryness of the mouth and pain of the spine. Later commentators read the pair as channel disease and organ disease, and the reading has governed practice ever since.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The formula 是主肺所生病者
肺所生之病
What governs the diseases the lung generates.
是主肺所生病者 — 靈樞·經脉
2
Organ disease 所生病
藏府本病
The diseases of the organ itself, as opposed to its channel.
是主脾所生病者 — 靈樞·經脉
3
The substance held 所生病
所主之氣血津液為病
Disease of the substance the organ holds, as blood for the stomach channel.
是主血所生病者 — 靈樞·經脉

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
靈樞·經脉 Read in context →
肺手太陰之脉,起于中焦,下絡大腸,還循胃口,上膈屬肺,從肺系横出腋下,下循臑内,行少陰心主之前,下肘中,循臂内上骨下廉,入寸口,上魚,循魚際,出大指之端;其支者,從腕後直出次指内廉,出其端。是動則病肺脹滿,膨膨而喘欬,缺盆中痛,甚則交兩手而瞀,此爲臂厥。是主肺所生病者,欬上氣,喘渴,煩心,胸滿,臑臂内前廉痛厥,掌中𤍠。氣盛有餘,則肩背痛,風寒,汗出中風,小便數而欠;氣虚則肩背痛寒,少氣不足以息,溺色變。爲此諸病,盛則寫之,虚則補之,𤍠則疾之,寒則留之,陷下則灸之,不盛不虚,以經取之。盛者,寸口大三倍于人迎;虚者,則寸口反小于人迎也。 肺手太阴之脉,起于中焦,下络大肠,还循胃口,上膈属肺,从肺系横出腋下,下循臑内,行少阴心主之前,下肘中,循臂内上骨下廉,入寸口,上鱼,循鱼际,出大指之端;其支者,从腕后直出次指内廉,出其端。是动则病肺胀满,膨膨而喘欬,缺盆中痛,甚则交两手而瞀,此为臂厥。是主肺所生病者,欬上气,喘渴,烦心,胸满,臑臂内前廉痛厥,掌中𤍠。气盛有余,则肩背痛,风寒,汗出中风,小便数而欠;气虚则肩背痛寒,少气不足以息,溺色变。为此诸病,盛则写之,虚则补之,𤍠则疾之,寒则留之,陷下则灸之,不盛不虚,以经取之。盛者,寸口大三倍于人迎;虚者,则寸口反小于人迎也。
fèi shǒu tài yīn zhī mài, qǐ yú zhōng jiāo, xià luò dà cháng, hái xún wèi kǒu, shàng gé zhǔ fèi, cóng fèi xì héng chū yè xià, xià xún nào nèi, xíng shào yīn xīn zhǔ zhī qián, xià zhǒu zhōng, xún bì nèi shàng gǔ xià lián, rù cùn kǒu, shàng yú, xún yú jì, chū dà zhǐ zhī duān; qí zhī zhě, cóng wàn hòu zhí chū cì zhǐ nèi lián, chū qí duān. shì dòng zé bìng fèi zhàng mǎn, péng péng ér chuǎn kài, quē pén zhōng tòng, shèn zé jiāo liǎng shǒu ér mào, cǐ wéi bì jué. shì zhǔ fèi suǒ shēng bìng zhě, kài shàng qì, chuǎn kě, fán xīn, xiōng mǎn, nào bì nèi qián lián tòng jué, zhǎng zhōng rè. qì shèng yǒu yú, zé jiān bèi tòng, fēng hán, hàn chū zhòng fēng, xiǎo biàn shuò ér qiàn; qì xū zé jiān bèi tòng hán, shǎo qì bù zú yǐ xī, niào sè biàn. wéi cǐ zhū bìng, shèng zé xiě zhī, xū zé bǔ zhī, rè zé jí zhī, hán zé liú zhī, xiàn xià zé jiǔ zhī, bù shèng bù xū, yǐ jīng qǔ zhī. shèng zhě, cùn kǒu dà sān bèi yú rén yíng; xū zhě, zé cùn kǒu fǎn xiǎo yú rén yíng yě.
The Lung channel of Hand Taiyin arises in the middle burner, descends to connect with the large intestine, returns along the stomach mouth, passes the diaphragm and belongs to the lung; from the lung system it comes out sideways below the armpit, descends along the inner side of the upper arm, in front of the shaoyin and the pericardium, to the middle of the elbow; along the inner side of the forearm above the bone, to the inch opening, up the thenar eminence, along the fish border, and out at the tip of the thumb. Its branch separates behind the wrist and goes straight out to the inner side of the index finger, to its tip. When this moves, the disease is swelling and fullness of the lung, with panting and coughing, pain in the supraclavicular hollow, and in severe cases crossing the two hands over the heart with dim sight: this is arm reversal. What it generates is coughing, rising qi, panting and gasping, vexation of the heart, fullness of the chest, pain and reversal along the inner front of the upper arm, and heat in the palm. When the qi is abundant and in excess there is pain of the upper back and shoulders, wind-cold, sweating with wind-stroke, and frequent urination with yawning; when the qi is deficient there is pain and cold of the upper back and shoulders, scant qi insufficient for breathing, and a change in the colour of the urine. For all these diseases, reduce where abundant, supplement where deficient, speed the needle where hot, retain it where cold, apply moxa where sunken, and where neither abundant nor deficient take from the channel itself. Where abundant, the inch opening is three times the neck pulse; where deficient, the inch opening is smaller than the neck pulse.
「所生病」12見,與「是動」12見相配。十二經之中,或主肺、主脾、主心,或主血、主氣、主津液、主筋、主骨、主脉,其所主不同,而其為所生之病則一。

Compounds built on this term

是動
shì dòng
when this moves
與所生病對舉
是主
shì zhǔ
this governs
所生病之前綴

How it has been translated

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

This sitewhat it generatesthe sentence's own verb
Literalthe diseases it generatesexact, and it is long
Clinicalorgan diseasesclear, and it drops the text

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-24

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