血脉

• Pinyin: xuè mài
• Hanzi breakdown: 血 = pictograph of a vessel containing blood; 脉 = 月 + 永 (flesh + flowing water — the vessels through which blood flows)

Meaning

Bloodline; blood vessels; lineage. The biological connection through shared blood; also used metaphorically for deep cultural or spiritual ties.

Carries both a literal medical sense (blood vessels, circulatory pathways) and a powerful metaphorical sense (family lineage, ancestral bonds, national or ethnic kinship). The phrase 血脉相连 (connected by blood) is frequently used to express ties between family members, ethnic groups, or compatriots.

Examples

1. 中华民族无论身处世界哪个角落，血脉相连的情感纽带始终将大家紧紧凝聚在一起。 No matter where they are in the world, members of the Chinese nation remain bound together by the feelings of a shared bloodline.
2. 他是家族中唯一的男丁，父母将延续血脉的希望全部寄托在他的身上，这份压力让他倍感沉重。 He’s the only son in the family, and his parents have placed all their hopes of carrying on the family line on him, a pressure that weighs heavily on him.
3. 针灸理论认为，人体的血脉遍布全身，气血运行畅通则百病不生，阻滞则生疾病。 Acupuncture theory holds that the body’s blood vessels run throughout the entire body; when qi and blood flow smoothly, illness won’t arise, but when they’re blocked, disease develops.

Usage Guide

Context: family, national identity, traditional Chinese medicine, literature

Tone: solemn

Do Say

• 两岸人民同根同源，血脉相连，尽管长期处于政治分隔的状态，但文化与情感上的纽带从未断绝。(The people on both sides of the strait share the same roots and ancestry, connected by blood; despite long-term political separation, the cultural and emotional ties have never been severed.)
• 老人临终前最大的心愿，就是看到家族血脉得以延续，子孙繁衍兴旺，让祖先的名字永远被后人铭记。(The dying elder's greatest wish was to see the family bloodline continue and descendants flourish, so that the ancestors' names would always be remembered by future generations.)

Don't Say

• 我跑步后血脉很好 — in the medical sense, use 血液循环良好 or 血流畅通 to describe good circulation after exercise; 血脉 in isolation sounds archaic or literary when used for physical health status and is not the natural clinical term

Origin & History

血 (blood) + 脉 (vessel/pulse/vein) — the pathways through which blood flows; extended to mean lineage as the flow of blood across generations

Cultural Context

Era: Traditional/Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal