Classica Sinica Medica

賢人 简体 贤人

xián rén

Xianren · worthy

Cultivation

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
xián rén
Simplified
贤人
Literal
The able one, the one of many capacities.

In brief

The lowest of the four grades in Suwen 1’s ladder — below the sage, above everyone else. What distinguishes the worthy is effort: they follow what the sages established by rule rather than by nature.

Suwen 1 ranks people: 真人, 至人, 聖人, 賢人. The worthy come last, and the description makes plain why — they proceed by taking heaven and earth as a model, sorting the stars, and keeping the seasons apart, which is work.

They also get the least: the chapter says they can extend their years, but there is a limit (亦可使益壽而有極時).

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The able person 賢人
One who follows the pattern by study rather than by nature
其次有賢人者 — Suwen 1

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
3 passages
Huangdi Neijing · Suwen Suwen 1 · On Innate Vitality in Antiquity Read in context →
其次有賢人者，法則天地，象似日月，辨列星辰，逆從陰陽，分別四時 其次有贤人者，法则天地，象似日月，辨列星辰，逆从阴阳，分别四时
qí cì yǒu xián rén zhě, fǎ zé tiān dì, xiàng sì rì yuè, biàn liè xīng chén, nì cóng yīn yáng, fēn bié sì shí
Below them were the worthy: they took heaven and earth as their model, imaged the sun and moon, sorted the constellations, met and followed yin and yang, and distinguished the four seasons.
Five verbs in a row — this is a description of effort, not of endowment.
素問·陰陽應象大論 Suwen 5 · 陰陽應象大論 Read in context →
惟賢人上配天以養頭，下象地以養足，中傍人事以養五藏。 惟贤人上配天以养头，下象地以养足，中傍人事以养五藏。
wéi xián rén shàng pèi tiān yǐ yǎng tóu, xià xiàng dì yǐ yǎng zú, zhōng bàng rén shì yǐ yǎng wǔ zàng.
Only the worthy person above matches heaven to nourish the head, below images earth to nourish the feet, and in the middle relies on human affairs to nourish the five viscera.
本篇賢人之法上配天、下象地，與第一篇「法則天地，象似日月，辨列星辰，逆從陰陽，分別四時」相發明。
素問·上古天真論 Suwen 1 · 上古天真論 Read in context →
其次有賢人者，法則天地，象似日月。辯列星辰，逆從陰陽，分別四時，將從上古，合同於道，亦可使益壽而有極時。 其次有贤人者，法则天地，象似日月。辩列星辰，逆从阴阳，分别四时，将从上古，合同于道，亦可使益寿而有极时。
Qí cì yǒu xián rén zhě, fǎ zé tiān dì, xiàng sì rì yuè. biàn liè xīng chén, nì cóng yīn yáng, fēn bié sì shí, jiāng cóng shàng gǔ, hé tóng yú dào, yì kě shǐ yì shòu ér yǒu jí shí.
Next there were the xianren · worthy. They took heaven and earth as their rule and the sun and moon as their image; they set out the stars in their ranks, went with and against yin and yang, distinguished the four seasons, followed the high antiquity that went before, and joined in accord with the way. These too can be made to add to their years — but for them there is a time of ending.
「其次有賢人者」——賢人讀 xián rén，四等人之第四；**「賢人」本篇1見**

Compounds built on this term

不肖
bù xiào
the unworthy
The antonym; used in the same line of Suwen 1
聖賢
shèng xián
sages and worthies
The conventional pairing, in that order

How it has been translated

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

This siteworthyKeeps the sense of ability rather than sanctity.
Common Englishthe wise, worthiesEither is acceptable; "sage" should be reserved for 聖人.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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