風水简体风水

fēng shuǐ

Wind water · feng shui

Also rendered: wind edema (Clinically clearer but drops the water the text keeps pairing with wind) · wind-water swelling (Adds a word the name does not carry)

Pathology

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin: fēng shuǐ
Simplified: 风水
Literal: 風 fēng, wind; 水 shuǐ, water. The name the chapter gives to what kidney wind becomes five days after it has been needled against the prohibition. Its signs fill a long sentence: shortness of breath and periodic heat rising from chest and back to the head, sweating with hot hands, a dry bitter mouth, yellow urine, swelling below the eyes, rumbling in the belly, heaviness that makes walking hard, absent menses, inability to eat, inability to lie flat, and coughing when lying flat. The chapter then explains them one by one.
Shuowen: 《說文解字》：水，準也，北方之行，象眾水並流。「風」讀 fēng；**「水」讀 shuǐ，本篇六見**；「病」讀 bìng；「名」讀 míng；「曰」讀 yuē；「論」讀 lùn；「在」讀 zài；「剌」讀 cì；「法」讀 fǎ；「中」讀 zhōng。「至」讀 zhì；「必」讀 bì；「少」讀 shǎo（少氣）；「氣」讀 qì；「時」讀 shí；「熱」讀 rè；「從」讀 cóng；「胸」讀 xiōng；「背」讀 bèi；「上」讀 shàng；「頭」讀 tóu；「手」讀 shǒu；「口」讀 kǒu；**「乾」讀 gān**；「苦」讀 kǔ；「渴」讀 kě；「小」讀 xiǎo；「便」讀 biàn；「黄」讀 huáng；「目」讀 mù；「腫」讀 zhǒng；「腹」讀 fù；「鳴」讀 míng；「身」讀 shēn；「重」讀 zhòng；「難」讀 nán；「行」讀 xíng；「月」讀 yuè；「事」讀 shì；「來」讀 lái；「煩」讀 fán；「能」讀 néng；「食」讀 shí；「正」讀 zhèng；「偃」讀 yǎn；「則」讀 zé；「欬」讀 kài。**「風水」之名，後世為水腫之一大門類**，《金匱要略》有「水氣病脈證並治」專篇而風水居其首，其源即在此。

In brief

What kidney wind turns into when it is needled in spite of vacuity: a water illness with wind. Its long list of signs is the chapter’s set piece, and the rest of the text takes them one at a time — the yellow urine from heat in the lower abdomen, the inability to lie flat from disharmony in the stomach, the swelling below the eyes because water and the region under the eyes are both yin, the absent menses because the womb vessel is closed.

Senses in the classical corpus

A named disease 病名曰風水

誤剌後五日所變之名

病名曰風水 — Suwen 33

Where it is discussed 論在剌法中

其論具在剌法之中

論在剌法中 — Suwen 33

The heat rising 時熱從胸背上至頭，汗出手熱

熱自胸背上衝至頭

時熱從胸背上至頭 — Suwen 33

Water below the eyes 諸有水氣者，微腫先見於目下也

水氣之腫先見目下

微腫先見於目下也 — Suwen 33

Cannot lie flat 不能正偃者，胃中不和也

胃不和故不能仰臥

不能正偃者，胃中不和也 — Suwen 33

The menses do not come 月事不來者。胞脉閉也

胞脉閉故月事不來

月事不來者 — Suwen 33

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display

3 passages

素問·評熱病論 Suwen 33 · 評熱病論 Read in context →

歧伯曰：至必少氣時熱，時熱從胸背上至頭，汗出手熱，口乾苦渴，小便黄，目下腫，腹中鳴，身重難以行，月事不來，煩而不能食，不能正偃，正偃則欬，病名曰風水，論在剌法中。歧伯曰：至必少气时热，时热从胸背上至头，汗出手热，口干苦渴，小便黄，目下肿，腹中鸣，身重难以行，月事不来，烦而不能食，不能正偃，正偃则咳，病名曰风水，论在刺法中。

Qí bó yuē: zhì bì shǎo qì shí rè, shí rè cóng xiōng bèi shàng zhì tóu, hàn chū shǒu rè, kǒu gān kǔ kě, xiǎo biàn huáng, mù xià zhǒng, fù zhōng míng, shēn zhòng nán yǐ xíng, yuè shì bù lái, fán ér bù néng shí, bù néng zhèng yǎn, zhèng yǎn zé kài, bìng míng yuē fēng shuǐ, lùn zài cì fǎ zhōng.

When it comes there is sure to be shortness of qi and periodic heat, the heat rising from chest and back up to the head; sweating with hot hands; a dry and bitter mouth with thirst; yellow urine; swelling below the eyes; rumbling in the belly; heaviness of the body that makes walking hard; and in women the menses do not come. There is fretting and inability to eat, and inability to lie flat — lying flat brings on coughing. The disease is called wind water, and it is discussed among the needling methods.

第四證變證之全貌。「至」讀 zhì；「必」讀 bì；「少」讀 shǎo（少氣）；「氣」讀 qì；「時」讀 shí；「熱」讀 rè；「胸」讀 xiōng；「背」讀 bèi；「上」讀 shàng；「頭」讀 tóu；「汗」讀 hàn；「出」讀 chū；「手」讀 shǒu；「口」讀 kǒu；「乾」讀 gān；「苦」讀 kǔ；「渴」讀 kě；「小」讀 xiǎo；「便」讀 biàn；**「黄」此處作，下文「小便黃者」作，同篇二形並見**；「目」讀 mù；「下」讀 xià；「腫」讀 zhǒng；「腹」讀 fù；「中」讀 zhōng；「鳴」讀 míng；「身」讀 shēn；「重」讀 zhòng；「難」讀 nán；「以」讀 yǐ；「行」讀 xíng；「月」讀 yuè；「事」讀 shì；「不」讀 bù；「來」讀 lái；「煩」讀 fán；「而」讀 ér；「能」讀 néng；「食」讀 shí；「正」讀 zhèng；「偃」讀 yǎn；「則」讀 zé；「欬」讀 kài；「病」讀 bìng；「名」讀 míng；「曰」讀 yuē；「風」讀 fēng；「水」讀 shuǐ；「論」讀 lùn；「在」讀 zài；「剌」讀 cì；「法」讀 fǎ。**此一段是本篇最長之一句**，連舉十六證而後出其名，與開卷陰陽交之「六字定生死」者，一疏一密，筆法相對。

素問·大奇論 Suwen 48 · 大奇論 Read in context →

腎肝并沈，爲石水。并浮，爲風水。并虚，爲死。并小絃，欲驚。肾肝并沉，为石水。并浮，为风水。并虚，为死。并小弦，欲惊。

Shèn gān bìng chén, wéi shí shuǐ. Bìng fú, wéi fēng shuǐ. Bìng xū, wéi sǐ. Bìng xiǎo xián, yù jīng.

When the kidney and liver vessels are both sunken it is stone water. Both floating, wind water. Both empty, it is death. Both small and string-like, the person is about to startle.

「并浮，爲「風」讀 fēng水」——**本篇「風水」1見**；**「風」字本篇惟此一見，且在「風水」病名之内，故本站不更挂「風」目而以「風水」當之**；「浮」讀 fú、**本篇7見，此其一**。

素問·水熱穴論 Suwen 61 · 水熱穴論 Read in context →

本之於腎，名曰風水。本之于肾，名曰风水。

Běn zhī yú shèn, míng yuē fēng shuǐ.

Its root is in the kidney. It is called wind water.

「本之於腎，名曰「風」讀 fēng「水」讀 shuǐ」——**「風水」本篇1見**；**本篇之風水自腎汗出逢風而來，客於玄府、行於皮裏、傳爲胕腫，與第三十三篇腎風誤刺而成者同源異途**；**「風」讀 fēng、「水」讀 shuǐ**

Compounds built on this term

風水

fēng shuǐ

wind water

本篇第四證之變名，後世水腫之首門

少氣時熱

shǎo qì shí rè

shortness of qi and periodic heat

風水之主證

目下腫

mù xià zhǒng

swelling below the eyes

水病先見之微腫

不得正偃

bù dé zhèng yǎn

unable to lie flat

水氣上迫肺之徵

How it has been translated

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

Wiseman & Feng	wind water	They keep the two nouns side by side, as the Chinese does, rather than resolving the phrase into a diagnosis.
Unschuld	wind water	Unschuld likewise leaves it literal, since the combination is the point: wind on the outside, water within.
This site	wind water	We keep the literal pair. The chapter explains each sign separately, so the reader meets wind and water as two things acting together rather than as a single modern category.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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