諺語 · a single proverb
怪病多痰
What does 怪病多痰 (guài bìng duō tán) mean?
怪病多痰 (guài bìng duō tán) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語). Word for word it reads "Strange diseases mostly involve phlegm." In use it means: When a patient presents unusual or hard-to-diagnose symptoms, the experienced TCM physician considers phlegm accumulation as the likely culprit. Phlegm in Chinese medicine is both visible mucus and an invisible pathological substance that can lodge anywhere in the body. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Earth note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Rooster.
Literally: "Strange diseases mostly involve phlegm."
The reading
Phlegm in Chinese medicine is far more than chest congestion. It is an invisible, sticky pathological substance that can lodge in the joints, cloud the mind, form lumps under the skin, or disrupt the heart's rhythm. When a condition defies easy categorization, when symptoms wander, fluctuate, or simply make no conventional sense, the seasoned clinician considers phlegm first. Resolving it often clears conditions that had resisted every other approach.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Attributed to Zhu Danxi school of medicine, Yuan dynasty, widely cited in TCM internal medicine
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rooster, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 怪病多痰 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 怪病多痰 (guài bìng duō tán) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語), and it comes from Attributed to Zhu Danxi school of medicine, Yuan dynasty, widely cited in TCM internal medicine. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 怪病多痰?
In Mandarin it is guài bìng duō tán. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 怪病多痰 aloud in Mandarin.