五音

wǔ yīn

The five tones · wu yin

Also rendered: The five tones (this site; the five notes of the old scale, named 宫商角徵羽, which is how the chapter writes them out) · The five notes; the pentatonic scale (both correct as music; only the first keeps the number, and the number is what the chapter is doing with them)

Cosmology

Reviewed · 2026-10-02

At a glance

Pinyin: wǔ yīn
Simplified: 五音
Literal: 五 wǔ — five. 音 yīn — a sound that has been given shape: 《說文》 glosses 音 as 聲也, and adds 生於心，有節於外，謂之音 — what is born in the heart and has measure without is called 音, which is what separates it from 聲, a sound plainly. The five are 宫商角徵羽, and chapter 54 is the only chapter transcribed here that writes all five out: 以候宫商角徴羽, by which to watch gong, shang, jue, zhi and yu. The base writes the fourth of them 徴, the form of 徵, read zhǐ.
Shuowen: 《說文解字》：「五，五行也，从二，陰陽在天地閒交午也」；「音，聲也，生於心有節於外謂之音，从言含一」。「五」讀 wǔ、**本篇10見**；「音」讀 yīn、**「五音」之音讀 yīn，本篇4見**；「宫」讀 gōng、**五音之一，本篇1見**；「商」讀 shāng、**五音之一，本篇1見**；「角」讀 jué、**五音之一，讀 jué，本篇2見**；「徴」讀 zhǐ、**「徵」之異體，五音之一讀 zhǐ；第十七篇「徴其脉」讀 zhēng，與此異讀。本篇1見**；「羽」讀 yǔ、**五音之一，本篇1見**；「聲」讀 shēng、**「五聲」「人聲」之聲，本篇2見**；「律」讀 lǜ、**「六律」之律讀 lǜ，本篇4見**；「星」讀 xīng、**「七星」之星，本篇3見**；「風」讀 fēng、**「八風」之風，本篇4見**；「野」讀 yě、**「九野」之野讀 yě，本篇3見**；「應」讀 yìng、**本篇20見皆讀 yìng**；「宜」讀 yí、**「各有所宜」之宜，本篇2見**；**「五音」本篇3見**

In brief

The five notes — 宫商角徵羽 — and the fifth term in the series by which chapter 54 sets the nine needles against the numbers of the world: one to heaven, two to earth, three to man, four to the seasons, five to the tones, six to the pitch-pipes, seven to the stars, eight to the winds, nine to the wilds. The chapter does more than list them. 人聲應音 puts a person’s voice against the tones, 五聲應五音六律 sets the five voices against the tones and the pipes together, and 以候宫商角徴羽 makes the five of them something to be watched for in a patient. The number is the point: five of nine, in a count that runs from the sky down to the body and back.

Senses in the classical corpus

The graphs 五音

五者數，音者成文之聲（《說文》「音，聲也，生於心有節於外」）；與「聲」有別

夫一天、二地、三人、四時、五音 — Suwen 54

Its place in the count 四時、五音、六律、七星、八風、九野

一於天、二於地、三於人、四於四時，五則於音，九數之一

夫一天、二地、三人、四時、五音 — Suwen 54

The five named 以候宫商角徴羽

宫、商、角、徵、羽；「徵」底本作「徴」，讀 zhǐ，與第十七篇讀 zhēng 者異

以候宫商角徴羽 — Suwen 54

What in the body answers to it 人聲應音

人之聲應於五音，與皮應天、肉應地同例

人聲應音 — Suwen 54

Voices and pipes together 五聲應五音六律

五聲與五音、六律相配，本篇三見五音、三見六律

五聲應五音六律 — Suwen 54

Why the chapter counts them 身形亦應之，鍼各有所宜

數自天而降於人身，鍼亦各有所宜，故曰九鍼

身形亦應之，鍼各有所宜 — Suwen 54

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display

2 passages

Suwen 54 Suwen 54 · 鍼解 Read in context →

歧伯曰：夫一天、二地、三人、四時、五音、六律、七星、八風、九野，身形亦應之，鍼各有所宜，故曰九鍼。歧伯曰：夫一天、二地、三人、四时、五音、六律、七星、八风、九野，身形亦应之，针各有所宜，故曰九针。

Qí bó yuē: fú yī tiān, èr dì, sān rén, sì shí, wǔ yīn, liù lǜ, qī xīng, bā fēng, jiǔ yě, shēn xíng yì yìng zhī, zhēn gè yǒu suǒ yí, gù yuē jiǔ zhēn.

Qibo says: one is heaven, two is earth, three is man, four the seasons, five the tones, six the pitch-pipes, seven the stars, eight the winds, nine the wilds — the body in its form answers to them as well, and each needle has what it is fitted to; hence they are called the nine needles.

**「五音」本篇3見——「五」讀 wǔ、**本篇10見**；「音」讀 yīn、**本篇4見**；「夫」讀 fú、**「夫一天」之夫為發語辭，讀 fú，本篇1見**；「應」讀 yìng、**本篇20見皆讀 yìng（相應），不作 yīng**；「律」讀 lǜ、**「六律」讀 liù lǜ，本篇4見**；「星」讀 xīng、**「七星」本篇3見**；「風」讀 fēng、**「八風」本篇4見**；「野」讀 yě、**「九野」讀 yě，本篇3見**；「宜」讀 yí、**「各有所宜」本篇2見**；**九數自天而降於人身，故曰九鍼；五音居其五**

素問·脉要精微論 Suwen 17 · 脉要精微論 Read in context →

微妙在脉，不可不察。察之有紀，從陰陽始。始之有經，從五行生；生之有度，四時爲宜。補冩勿失，與天地如一，得一之情，以知死生。是故聲合五音，色合五行，脉合陰陽。微妙在脉，不可不察。察之有纪，从阴阳始。始之有经，从五行生；生之有度，四时为宜。补写勿失，与天地如一，得一之情，以知死生。是故声合五音，色合五行，脉合阴阳。

wēi miào zài mài, bù kě bù chá. chá zhī yǒu jì, cóng yīn yáng shǐ. shǐ zhī yǒu jīng, cóng wǔ xíng shēng; shēng zhī yǒu dù, sì shí wéi yí. bǔ xiě wù shī, yǔ tiān dì rú yī, dé yī zhī qíng, yǐ zhī sǐ shēng. shì gù shēng hé wǔ yīn, sè hé wǔ xíng, mài hé yīn yáng.

The subtle and the minute lie in the pulse, and must be examined. Examination has a rule: begin with yin and yang. The beginning has a standard, born of the five phases; their birth has a measure, and the four seasons are what suit it. Do not err in supplementing and draining; be one with heaven and earth. Grasp the truth of the One, and thereby know life and death. Thus sound accords with the five tones, colour with the five phases, and the pulse with yin and yang.

「聲合五音」，聲合五音、色合五行、脉合陰陽。五音宮商角徵羽，為診之參驗。

Compounds built on this term

五音

wǔ yīn

the five tones

本篇三見

五聲

wǔ shēng

the five voices

本篇一見（五聲應五音六律）

宫商角徴羽

gōng shāng jué zhǐ yǔ

gong, shang, jue, zhi, yu

本篇一見，五音之名

六律

liù lǜ

the six pitch-pipes

本篇三見，與五音並舉

How it has been translated

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

This site	the five tones	written out in the chapter as 宫商角徵羽, with 徵 read zhǐ and not zhēng
Later medicine	五音 wǔ yīn	kept as a set of five and married to the five phases — 宫 to earth, 商 to metal, 角 to wood, 徵 to fire, 羽 to water
Modern editions	五音 the five notes of the pentatonic scale	described as music; what is left out is the count the chapter puts them in, five of nine, running from heaven down to the body

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-02

Search the glossary

Reading path

Guided routes through the corpus, each built on a handful of chapters and their key terms.

See all reading paths