Glossary

Sanshi 三屍 "Three Corpses" or Sanchong 三蟲 "Three Worms" (sometimes also the "Three Worms and Crouching Corpses" 三蟲伏尸, Sanchong Fushi and the "Three Corpses and Nine Worms", 三屍九蟲, Sanshi Jiuchong) are a Daoist concept of parasitic entities that exist in the three Dantian centres from conception attempting to weaken the body and initiate sickness. The upper worm causes us to love finery and spectacles injuring the intellect, the middle causes us to indulge in fine flavours harming the five Zang while the lower causes sexual licentiousness weakening the Essence (Jing). Van Straten (1983) considers them as an expression of the Yin/Yang dichotomy at the most fundamental level of life where the instincts necessary for survival also sap our vitality and draw us closer to death whenever they are indulged. Addictions are a straightforward example of this.

Pomen Bl-42 is the only acupuncture point specifically associated with this disorder in Deadman (2001) with little explanation given. Presumably it is due to their association with the Po which are seen as similar endogenous pathogenic entities often under their command in some Daoist schools (Huang, 2011). There were several ritual methods of attempting to remove them, such as cutting the finger and toe nails and burning them on specific days when they are thought to reside here, or bathing and fumigating the lower body from morning to evening to eliminate them from the intestines (Van Straten, 1983). Another way of thwarting their plans involved staying awake on specific nights when they were thought to leave the body and ascend to Heaven, reporting our misdeeds to the Director of Destinies, who would then punish us with a shortened lifespan. However, as the concept became more developed, a more standardised method predominated which involved taking a three-pronged approach of:

1. Avoidance of Grains (辟穀 Bigu) on which they feed
2. External Alchemy (Waidan 外丹) to poison them with medicines. These often contained toxic compounds, with recipes by Ge Hong advising Zhu Sha and Da Huang (Ware, 1966; Campany, 2002), while Sun Si Miao favoured Sheng Qi (Maspero, 1981). The Great Numinous Treasure tradition used Shang Lu in a formula known as Xian Ren Xia San Chong Fu Shi Fang that would cause violent bloody diarrhoea and hallucinations, which were seen as the Corpse-Worms being expelled and attempting to resist the regimen (Raz, 2012). Fortunately, the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing included some less toxic alternatives such as Tian Men Dong, Shan Zhu Yu, Bian Xu, Yi Yi Gen, Chuan Lian Zi, Wu Zhu Yu, Hou Po and Di Long, and the Great Numinous Treasure tradition also suggested Huai Jiao and even a ritual practice called "Ingesting the Five Sprouts" as being equally as effective as violent purging (Raz, 2012).
3. Internal Alchemy (Neidan 內丹), to eliminate their hold on the body by controlling desire with meditation practices

There was also a connection to the concept of Gu (蠱, Poison), which contains three 蟲 Chong in a vessel, although 蠱 Gu was generally thought to be a toxin contracted from external sources such as sorcery or ghosts.

Several modern therapies can be seen as adaptations on this idea. Addiction treatments that use a combination of therapies to eliminate triggers and starve opportunities for relapse, condition an aversion with emetic medication and cultivate mindfulness to manage current stresses seem to be following the same principle of starve, purge and meditate. The treatment of metabolic syndromes are also often centred around reducing sugar and carbohydrate intake, mainly obtained from grains, and accompanying it with exercise and dietary choices, many of which are polyphenol rich herbs to stimulate mitochondrial adaptation. Theories that the gut microbiome drives our cravings are more literally similar seeing our addictions as due to parasitic influence and teach that we should avoid sugars and simple carbohydrates on which microorganisms feed whilst administering medication to eliminate infections and cultivate a new ecosystem.

For more information see:
Campany, R.F. (2002), To Live As Long As Heaven and Earth: Ge Hong's Traditions of Divine Transcendents, University of California Press.
Huang (2011), Daoist Imagery of Body and Cosmos Part 2: Body Worms and Internal Alchemy, Journal of Daoist Studies Vol. 4.
Maspero, H. (1981). Taoism and Chinese Religion (trans. F.A.Kierman). Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.
Raz, G. (2012). Imbibing the Universe: Methods of Ingesting the Five Sprouts. Asian Medicine, 7(1), 65-100. https://doi.org/10.1163/15734218-12341244
Van Straten (1983), Concepts of Health, Disease and Vitality in Traditional Chinese Society: A Psychological Interpretation Based on the Material of Georg Koeppen. Franz Steiner Verlag GMBH: Wiesbaden
Ware, J.R. (1966). Alchemy, Medicine and Religion in the China of A.D. 320: The Nei Pien of Ko Hung. Cambridge,Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Woodley, S. (2024). Mitochondria in Chinese Medicine Part 1: Mitochondria and Adaptation. RCHM Journal, Winter 2025.