Classica Sinica Medica

鍼空 简体 针空

zhēn kǒng

The needle hole · zhen kong

Also rendered: The needle hole (this site; 空 read kǒng as 王冰 glosses it, an opening that can be opened or closed) · The needle aperture; the puncture (both name the opening; only the first carries the reading that keeps it apart from 空虚, emptiness)

Core vocabulary

Reviewed · 2026-10-02

At a glance

Pinyin
zhēn kǒng
Simplified
针空
Literal
鍼 zhēn — the metal needle, from 金 with 咸 as its phonetic; 空 read kǒng here, an opening — 王冰 glosses it 空，孔也, '空 is 孔, a hole'. Together the two graphs are the opening the needle leaves in the flesh, and chapter 53's last two lines are instructions about it: for repletion the left hand opens it so that qi goes out, for vacuity the left hand closes it so that qi stays in. It is the one place in the Suwen where closing the puncture is stated as the rule of supplementation. The site reads 空 kōng in chapter 44's 大經空虚, where the word is emptiness and not an opening.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：「鍼，所以縫也，从金咸聲」；「空，竅也，从穴工聲」。王冰注本篇「鍼空」曰「空，孔也」。「鍼」讀 zhēn、**本篇2見，讀 zhēn，第五十一篇立目 1394**；「空」讀 kǒng、**本篇2見，讀 kǒng（王冰「空，孔也」）；第四十四篇「大經空虚」之「空」讀 kōng，與此異讀**；「開」讀 kāi、**「左手開鍼空」之開，本篇1見**；「閉」讀 bì、**「左手閉鍼空」之閉，本篇1見**；「手」讀 shǒu、**「左手」本篇2見**；**「鍼空」本篇2見**。

In brief

The puncture the needle leaves, and the one thing chapter 53 says must be handled after the needle is withdrawn: 入實者，左手開鍼空也；入虚者，左手閉鍼空也 — for repletion the left hand opens it, for vacuity it closes it. Read with the two lines before it, the reason is plain: repletion is qi having come in, vacuity is qi going out, so the opening is left open to let qi escape and pressed shut to keep it from escaping. 空 is read kǒng here, as 王冰’s gloss has it, not kōng.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 鍼空
鍼者金鍼，空讀 kǒng，孔也（王冰注）
入實者，左手開鍼空也 — Suwen 53
2
Why it is opened 左手開鍼空
實者氣入，開其空則氣得出，是為寫
入實者，左手開鍼空也 — Suwen 53
3
Why it is closed 左手閉鍼空
虚者氣出，閉其空則氣不泄，是為補
入虚者，左手閉鍼空也 — Suwen 53
4
The hand that does it 左手
右手持鍼而左手司其開閉，本篇二見皆曰左手
入實者，左手開鍼空也 — Suwen 53
5
What the rule rests on 夫實者，氣入也；虚者，氣出也
開閉之別，本於氣之出入
夫實者，氣入也 — Suwen 53
6
The reading of 空 空讀 kǒng
王冰「空，孔也」；不作第四十四篇「大經空虚」之 kōng
入虚者，左手閉鍼空也 — Suwen 53

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 53 Suwen 53 · 刺志論 Read in context →
入實者，左手開鍼空也；入虚者，左手閉鍼空也。 入实者，左手开针空也；入虚者，左手闭针空也。
Rù shí zhě, zuǒ shǒu kāi zhēn kǒng yě; Rù xū zhě, zuǒ shǒu bì zhēn kǒng yě.
Entering into repletion, the left hand opens the needle hole; entering into vacuity, the left hand closes the needle hole.
**「鍼空」本篇2見——「鍼」讀 zhēn、**本篇2見，讀 zhēn**；「空」讀 kǒng、**本篇2見，讀 kǒng（王冰「空，孔也」）**；「開」讀 kāi、**本篇1見，實者開其空以寫**；「閉」讀 bì、**本篇1見，虚者閉其空以補**；「手」讀 shǒu、**「左手」本篇2見**；**二句本於「實者氣入、虚者氣出」：開則氣出，閉則氣不泄**
素問·調經論 Suwen 62 · 調經論 Read in context →
歧伯曰：持鍼勿置，以定其意。𠉀呼内鍼，氣出鍼入。鍼空四塞，精無從去。方實而疾出鍼，氣入鍼出，熱不得還。閉塞其門，邪氣布散，精氣乃得存。動氣𠉀時，近氣不失，遠氣乃來，是謂追之。 歧伯曰：持针勿置，以定其意。候呼内针，气出针入。针空四塞，精无从去。方实而疾出针，气入针出，热不得还。闭塞其门，邪气布散，精气乃得存。动气候时，近气不失，远气乃来，是谓追之。
Qí bó yuē: chí zhēn wù zhì, yǐ dìng qí yì. Hòu hū nà zhēn, qì chū zhēn rù. Zhēn kǒng sì sè, jīng wú cóng qù. Fāng shí ér jí chū zhēn, qì rù zhēn chū, rè bù dé huán. Bì sè qí mén, xié qì bù sàn, jīng qì nǎi dé cún. Dòng qì hòu shí, jìn qì bù shī, yuǎn qì nǎi lái, shì wèi zhuī zhī.
Qi Bo says: hold the needle but do not set it in at once; first settle the man’s mind. Wait for the out-breath and insert: the qi goes out, the needle goes in. The hole of the needle is stopped on all four sides, so the essence has nowhere to escape. When the needle feels full, bring it out quickly: the qi goes in, the needle comes out, and the heat cannot return. Close the gate, let the evil qi scatter abroad, and the essence qi is kept. Move the needle watching for the hour of the qi: the near qi is not lost, and the far qi comes. This is called pursuing it.
「𠉀呼内鍼，氣出鍼入。鍼空四塞，精無從去」——**「鍼空」本篇1見，在補虚之法中**：**「空」此讀 kǒng，通「孔」，與第二十四篇「鍼空」同例**；**本篇「空」2見，此一見讀 kǒng，餘（脉虚空）讀 kōng，同篇二讀**；**鍼空四塞者，鍼入而孔為之塞，精氣無從外去**；**「塞」讀 sè**

Compounds built on this term

鍼空
zhēn kǒng
the needle hole
本篇2見
開鍼空
kāi zhēn kǒng
opening the needle hole
本篇一見（入實者）
閉鍼空
bì zhēn kǒng
closing the needle hole
本篇一見（入虚者）
左手
zuǒ shǒu
the left hand
本篇2見

How it has been translated

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

This sitethe needle hole空 read kǒng after 王冰's 空，孔也, because the two lines are about opening and closing an aperture
Later medicine鍼孔 zhēn kǒngwritten with 孔 in later editions; the commentaries keep the reading and the rule — open to drain, close to supplement
Modern editions针孔 needle hole; 出针后按压针孔 pressing the point after withdrawalthey describe the procedure and drop the rule that gives it

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-02

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Reading path

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