Classica Sinica Medica

君火

jūn huǒ

Sovereign fire · jun huo

Also rendered: Sovereign fire (this site; literal — 君 is the ruler, and the whole point of the line is that this fire rules by being bright) · Ruling fire (the plainer paraphrase; close, and it flattens 君 from an office into an adjective)

Cosmology

Reviewed · 2026-10-05

At a glance

Pinyin
jūn huǒ
Simplified
君火
Literal
君 jūn — a ruler, one who gives out commands (《說文》: 君，尊也，从尹；發號，故从口); 火 huǒ — fire (《說文》: 火，燬也，南方之行). Sovereign fire is the first of the two fires, and the chapter says what it does in two graphs: 君火以明, the sovereign fire by its brightness. It occurs once, in the sentence 君火以明，相火以位, which is built as a pair of offices — one that shines, one that holds its post — and which is the chapter's answer to why there are six qi when there are only five phases. Fire is counted twice.
Shuowen
**「君」讀 jūn，本篇1見，在「君火以明」一句**；**「火」讀 huǒ，本篇11見**；**《說文》：君，尊也，从尹；發號，故从口**；**《說文》：火，燬也，南方之行，炎而上**；**「明」讀 míng，本篇7見**；**「位」讀 wèi，本篇4見**；**「相火」本篇2見，與「君火」同在一句**

In brief

The first of the two fires in 君火以明，相火以位. The chapter needs six qi for five phases, and fire is the one that is doubled: 木火土金水火 is the list it gives for earth, with fire appearing at both ends. Of the doubled pair, the sovereign fire is the one that rules by being bright rather than by acting — 以明 — while the minister fire 以位, by holding its station. The chapter itself puts the minister fire on 少陽 (少陽之上，相火主之) and gives lesser yin heat (少陰之上，熱氣主之), which is why later writing on the circuit qi assigns 君火 to 少陰 and 相火 to 少陽.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 君火
君者尊也，發號者也；火者南方之行
君火以明 — Suwen 66
2
The sentence it belongs to 君火以明，相火以位
二火並立，君以明而相以位
君火以明，相火以位。 — Suwen 66
3
Why fire is doubled 五六相合
五運而六氣，以火分為二
五六相合 — Suwen 66
4
What 明 does here 以明
君火不主事而主照，猶君之垂拱
君火以明 — Suwen 66
5
Where the other fire sits 少陽之上，相火主之
本篇於六氣之目獨列相火
少陽之上，相火主之 — Suwen 66
6
Where this fire is understood to sit 少陰之上，熱氣主之
後世以君火屬少陰，本篇少陰之上熱氣主之
少陰之上，熱氣主之 — Suwen 66

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 66 Suwen 66 · 天元紀大論 Read in context →
鬼臾區曰：天以六爲節，地以五爲制。周天氣者，六期爲一備；終地紀者，五歲爲一周。君火以明，相火以位。五六相合，而七百二十氣爲一紀，凡三十歲，千四百四十氣，凡六十歲，而爲一周，不及太過，斯皆見矣。 鬼臾区曰：天以六为节，地以五为制。周天气者，六期为一备；终地纪者，五岁为一周。君火以明，相火以位。五六相合，而七百二十气为一纪，凡三十岁，千四百四十气，凡六十岁，而为一周，不及太过，斯皆见矣。
Guǐ yú qū yuē: tiān yǐ liù wéi jié, dì yǐ wǔ wéi zhì. Zhōu tiān qì zhě, liù qī wéi yī bèi; zhōng dì jì zhě, wǔ suì wéi yī zhōu. Jūn huǒ yǐ míng, xiàng huǒ yǐ wèi. Wǔ liù xiāng hé, ér qī bǎi èr shí qì wéi yī jì, fán sān shí suì, qiān sì bǎi sì shí qì, fán liù shí suì, ér wéi yī zhōu, bù jí tài guò, sī jiē jiàn yǐ.
Gui Yu Qu said: heaven takes six as its measure, earth takes five as its rule. What circles the qi of heaven has six periods as one completion; what brings the earthly record to its end has five years as one circuit. The sovereign fire acts through brightness, the minister fire through position. Five and six joined give seven hundred and twenty qi as one record, which is thirty years; one thousand four hundred and forty qi, which is sixty years, make one circuit — and deficit and excess are all seen therein.
**「君火」本篇1見，在第十九段「君火以明，相火以位」一句**；**「君」讀 jūn，本篇1見；「火」讀 huǒ，本篇11見**；**「明」讀 míng，本篇7見；「位」讀 wèi，本篇4見**；**「相火」讀 xiàng huǒ，本篇2見：此一見，第二十七段「少陽之上，相火主之」一見**；**本篇「相」10見而二讀：相火二見讀 xiàng，相感、相召、相臨、相錯、相合八見讀 xiāng**；**五運而六氣者，火分為二，君火與相火是也**
素問·六微㫖大論 Suwen 68 · 六微㫖大論 Read in context →
歧伯曰：物生其應也，氣脉其應也。帝曰：善。願聞地理之應，六節氣位何如？歧伯曰：顯明之右，君火之位也。君火之右，退行一步，相火治之；復行一步，土氣治之；復行一步，金氣治之；復行一步，水氣治之；復行一步，木氣治之；復行一步，君火治之； 歧伯曰：物生其应也，气脉其应也。帝曰：善。愿闻地理之应，六节气位何如？歧伯曰：显明之右，君火之位也。君火之右，退行一步，相火治之；复行一步，土气治之；复行一步，金气治之；复行一步，水气治之；复行一步，木气治之；复行一步，君火治之；
Qí bó yuē: wù shēng qí yìng yě, qì mài qí yìng yě. Dì yuē: shàn. Yuàn wén dì lǐ zhī yìng, liù jié qì wèi hé rú? Qí bó yuē: xiǎn míng zhī yòu, jūn huǒ zhī wèi yě. Jūn huǒ zhī yòu, tuì xíng yī bù, xiàng huǒ zhì zhī; fù xíng yī bù, tǔ qì zhì zhī; fù xíng yī bù, jīn qì zhì zhī; fù xíng yī bù, shuǐ qì zhì zhī; fù xíng yī bù, mù qì zhì zhī; fù xíng yī bù, jūn huǒ zhì zhī;
Qi Bo said: the growing of things is its answer; the qi and the pulse are its answer. Huang Di said: good. I wish to hear the answer of the pattern of the earth — how do the positions of the six divisions of qi stand? Qi Bo said: to the right of the manifest brightness is the position of sovereign fire. To the right of sovereign fire, retiring one step, minister fire governs; advancing one step further, earth qi governs; one step further, metal qi governs; one step further, water qi governs; one step further, wood qi governs; one step further, sovereign fire governs.
「顯明之右，君火之位也」——**「君火」本篇4見：本段三見（君火之位、君火之右、君火治之），第八段「君火之下，陰精承之」一見**；**「火」本篇12見**；**本篇以顯明之右為君火之位，退行一步而相火治之，復行而土、金、水、木，終而復歸君火**；**下文「所謂二火也」即指君火與相火二者**

Compounds built on this term

相火
xiàng huǒ
minister fire
本篇2見；君火之對，少陽之上所主
少陰
shào yīn
shaoyin · lesser yin
本篇3見；後世運氣家以君火屬少陰
少陽
shào yáng
shaoyang · lesser yang
本篇2見；相火之所主
熱氣
rè qì
heat qi
本篇1見；少陰之上所主之氣

How it has been translated

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

This sitesovereign fireliteral; 君 is a ruler and 明 is what a ruler does here — it gives light rather than acting — and the sentence is a pair of offices, not a pair of temperatures
Later usagejun huo, the sovereign firestandard in English writing on the 運氣 doctrine, nearly always given with 相火 xiang huo beside it; faithful, and widely recognised
Clinicalheart firehow the pairing is often cashed out, the sovereign being the heart; useful, and it reads a line about the calendar as a line about an organ

Entry status

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2026-10-05

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