Classica Sinica Medica

兩精相搏 简体 两精相搏

liǎng jīng xiāng bó

When the two essences join · liang jing xiang bo

Also rendered: When the two essences join (literal, and it keeps the verb) · The union of the two essences (smoother, and it loses the strike)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-10-24

At a glance

Pinyin
liǎng jīng xiāng bó
Simplified
两精相搏
Literal
兩 liǎng — two; 精 jīng — essence; 相 xiāng — mutually; 搏 bó — to strike together, to join. The joining of the two essences is what the chapter calls spirit.
Shuowen
《說文》：精，擇也，引申為物之精華；搏，索持也。「兩精」本篇1見，「相搏」1見，「神」13見。此句為《本神》定義鏈之首，自精而神、而魂、而魄，层层相生。

In brief

The chapter’s definition of spirit: 故生之來謂之精，兩精相搏謂之神 — what comes with life is essence, and when the two essences join it is called spirit. The two are the essences of father and mother, or of yin and yang; the point is that spirit is not a substance added from outside but the product of a union. From it the chapter derives hun, po, heart, intention, will, thought, deliberation and wisdom in one unbroken chain.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The two essences 兩精
父母之精，或陰陽二精
The two essences whose union produces spirit.
兩精相搏謂之神 — 靈樞·本神
2
The joining 相搏
交合搏結
Their joining: the word is one of striking together, not of mixing.
兩精相搏 — 靈樞·本神
3
The result 謂之神
由精之合而生神
The result is called spirit, the third term of the chain.
兩精相搏謂之神 — 靈樞·本神

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·本神 Read in context →
故生之來謂之精，兩精相搏謂之神，隨神往來者謂之魂，並精而出入者，謂之魄。所以任物者，謂之心，心有所憶謂之意，意之所存謂之志，因志而存變謂之思，因思而遠慕謂之慮，因慮而處物謂之智。 故生之来谓之精，两精相搏谓之神，随神往来者谓之魂，并精而出入者，谓之魄。所以任物者，谓之心，心有所忆谓之意，意之所存谓之志，因志而存变谓之思，因思而远慕谓之虑，因虑而处物谓之智。
gù shēng zhī lái wèi zhī jīng, liǎng jīng xiāng bó wèi zhī shén, suí shén wǎng lái zhě wèi zhī hún, bìng jīng ér chū rù zhě, wèi zhī pò. suǒ yǐ rèn wù zhě, wèi zhī xīn, xīn yǒu suǒ yì wèi zhī yì, yì zhī suǒ cún wèi zhī zhì, yīn zhì ér cún biàn wèi zhī sī, yīn sī ér yuǎn mù wèi zhī lǜ, yīn lǜ ér chǔ wù wèi zhī zhì.
That by which life comes is called essence; when the two essences join, it is called spirit; that which comes and goes with the spirit is called hun; that which enters and leaves together with the essence is called po. That which takes charge of things is called the heart; when the heart remembers, it is called intention; where intention is kept, it is called will; when will keeps a capacity for change, it is called thought; when thought reaches far in longing, it is called deliberation; when deliberation deals with things, it is called wisdom.
《本神》以十一名相生為鏈：精、神、魂、魄、心、意、志、思、慮、智，各有界說，而「兩精相搏」為神所自出。全篇「神」13見，此其第一義。

Compounds built on this term

精氣
jīng qì
essence qi
本篇「精氣」亦見
精神
jīng shén
essence and spirit
對舉成詞

How it has been translated

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

This sitewhen the two essences jointhe sentence as the text builds it
Literalthe two essences strike togetherexact, and it sounds violent
Clinicalthe union that produces spiritclear, and it explains too much

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-24

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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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