天符

tiān fú

Heaven tally · tian fu

Also rendered: Heaven tally (this site; literal — 符 is the matching half of a tally, and the word is chosen for the fit rather than for the heaven) · Heavenly concordance (a freer rendering; it catches the agreement, and it loses the object that makes the image work)

Reviewed · 2026-10-05

At a glance

Pinyin
tiān fú
Simplified
天符
Literal
天 tiān — heaven, the sky, and in this chapter the qi that governs the year from above; 符 fú — a tally, the two halves of a warrant that have to fit before anything can be done (《說文》: 符,信也,漢制以竹,分而相合). A heaven tally is a year in which the circuit that governs it answers to the qi presiding above it: the two halves match. One occurrence, in 應天爲天符,承歲爲歲直,三合爲治 — eleven graphs that name all three of the chapter's kinds of agreement and explain none of them.
Shuowen
**「天」讀 tiān,本篇25見**;**「符」讀 fú,本篇1見,在「應天爲天符」一句**;**《說文》:符,信也;漢制以竹,分而相合**;**「應」讀 yìng,本篇6見而二讀,此讀 yìng**;**「爲」讀 wéi**;**「歲直」本篇1見,「三合」本篇1見,與「天符」同在一句**

In brief

The first of the three agreements in 應天爲天符,承歲爲歲直,三合爲治. 應天 — answering to heaven — means the circuit qi of the year matches the qi that presides above it; when the two fit, the year is a 天符. The chapter gives the three in ascending order, says that 三合 is what makes a year governable, and then moves on. The full working-out belongs to the later chapters of the book, where the same three are set out with what follows from each; here the word is a name and a metaphor, 符 being the tally whose two halves have to close.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 天符
天者在上之氣;符者分而相合之信
應天爲天符 — Suwen 66
2
What answers to what 應天
歲運之氣與上見之氣相合
應天爲天符 — Suwen 66
3
The sentence it comes from 承歲爲歲直
三事並舉:應天、承歲、三合
應天爲天符,承歲爲歲直,三合爲治。 — Suwen 66
4
What the three are for 氣可與期
知迎知隨,則氣可與期,三事之驗在此
知迎知隨,氣可與期。 — Suwen 66
5
Its counterpart 歲直
應天者與在上之氣合,承歲者與歲支合
承歲爲歲直 — Suwen 66
6
The third of the three 三合
天符與歲直兼之而後三合
三合爲治。 — Suwen 66

Occurrences in the classics

Passages where the term does real work, with the original, pinyin and English on the same line.

Display
3 passages
Suwen 66 Suwen 66 · 天元紀大論 Read in context →
鬼臾區曰:陰陽之氣,各有多少,故曰三陰,三陽也。形有盛衰,謂五行之治,各有太過不及也。故其始也,有餘而往,不足隨之;不足而往,有餘從之。知迎知隨,氣可與期。應天爲天符,承歲爲歲直,三合爲治。 鬼臾区曰:阴阳之气,各有多少,故曰三阴,三阳也。形有盛衰,谓五行之治,各有太过不及也。故其始也,有余而往,不足随之;不足而往,有余从之。知迎知随,气可与期。应天为天符,承岁为岁直,三合为治。
Guǐ yú qū yuē: yīn yáng zhī qì, gè yǒu duō shǎo, gù yuē sān yīn, sān yáng yě. Xíng yǒu shèng shuāi, wèi wǔ xíng zhī zhì, gè yǒu tài guò bù jí yě. Gù qí shǐ yě, yǒu yú ér wǎng, bù zú suí zhī; bù zú ér wǎng, yǒu yú cóng zhī. Zhī yíng zhī suí, qì kě yǔ qī. Yìng tiān wéi tiān fú, chéng suì wéi suì zhí, sān hé wéi zhì.
Gui Yu Qu said: the qi of yin and yang each has its greater and lesser measure, and this is why one speaks of the three yin and the three yang. Form has its flourishing and decline: this means that in the government of the five phases there is in every case excess and deficit. Thus at its beginning, when there is surplus and it moves on, insufficiency follows; when there is insufficiency and it moves on, surplus follows after. Know what is to be met and what is to be followed, and the qi can be anticipated. Answering to heaven is the heaven tally; receiving the year is the year’s directness; the three in conjunction is government.
**「天符」本篇1見,在第十三段之末**;**「符」讀 fú,本篇1見;「天」讀 tiān,本篇25見**;**「應」讀 yìng,本篇6見而二讀,此讀 yìng**;**「歲直」讀 suì zhí,本篇1見;「三合」讀 sān hé,本篇1見,三事同在一句**;**本篇「歲」17見**;**三事者:應天為天符,承歲為歲直,三者皆合則三合為治**
素問·六微㫖大論 Suwen 68 · 六微㫖大論 Read in context →
歧伯曰:天之與會也,故天元冊曰天符。天符歲會何如?歧伯曰:太一天符之會也。 歧伯曰:天之与会也,故天元册曰天符。天符岁会何如?歧伯曰:太一天符之会也。
Qí bó yuē: tiān zhī yǔ huì yě, gù tiān yuán cè yuē tiān fú. Tiān fú suì huì hé rú? Qí bó yuē: tài yī tiān fú zhī huì yě.
Qi Bo said: this is meeting with heaven, and so the Celestial Primordial Register calls it the heaven tally. And when the heaven tally and the year meeting come together — what then? Qi Bo said: this is the meeting of the great unity heaven tally.
「天之與會也,故天元冊曰天符」——**「天符」本篇5見,其中二見在「太一天符」之內**;**「天元冊」本篇1見,底本作「冊」,不作「册」,已入校勘**;**下文「天符爲執法,歲位爲行令,太一天符爲貴人」是其貴賤之差**;**「太一天符」本篇2見,別立新目**
Suwen 71 Suwen 71 · 六元正紀大論 Read in context →
帝曰:加者何謂?歧伯曰:太過而加同天符,不及而加同歲會也。帝曰:臨者何謂?歧伯曰:太過不及,皆曰天符,而變行有多少,病形有微甚,生死有早晏耳。帝曰:夫子言用寒遠寒,用熱遠熱,余未知其然也。願聞何謂遠?歧伯曰:熱無犯熱,寒無犯寒,從者和,逆者病,不可不敬畏而遠之,所謂時興六位也。帝曰:温涼何如? 帝曰:加者何谓?歧伯曰:太过而加同天符,不及而加同岁会也。帝曰:临者何谓?歧伯曰:太过不及,皆曰天符,而变行有多少,病形有微甚,生死有早晏耳。帝曰:夫子言用寒远寒,用热远热,余未知其然也。愿闻何谓远?歧伯曰:热无犯热,寒无犯寒,从者和,逆者病,不可不敬畏而远之,所谓时兴六位也。帝曰:温凉何如?
Dì yuē: jiā zhě hé wèi? Qí bó yuē: tài guò ér jiā tóng tiān fú, bù jí ér jiā tóng suì huì yě. Dì yuē: lín zhě hé wèi? Qí bó yuē: tài guò bù jí, jiē yuē tiān fú, ér biàn xíng yǒu duō shǎo, bìng xíng yǒu wēi shèn, shēng sǐ yǒu zǎo yàn ěr. Dì yuē: fú zǐ yán yòng hán yuǎn hán, yòng rè yuǎn rè, yú wèi zhī qí rán yě. Yuàn wén hé wèi yuǎn? Qí bó yuē: rè wú fàn rè, hán wú fàn hán, cóng zhě hé, nì zhě bìng, bù kě bù jìng wèi ér yuǎn zhī, suǒ wèi shí xīng liù wèi yě. Dì yuē: wēn liáng hé rú?
Huang Di said: what is meant by adding? Qi Bo said: what is in surplus and adds is the same as a heaven tally, and what falls short and adds is the same as a year meeting. Huang Di said: what is meant by coming down? Qi Bo said: surplus and shortfall are both called heaven tallies; only the movement of change has more and less, the form of the illness slight and severe, and death and life early and late. Huang Di said: you have spoken of using cold and keeping far from cold, using heat and keeping far from heat; I do not yet understand how it is so. I wish to hear what is meant by keeping far. Qi Bo said: do not offend heat with heat, nor cold with cold; those who follow are harmonious and those who oppose fall ill; one cannot but stand in awe and keep far from them — this is what is called the six positions rising in season. Huang Di said: and warm and cool?
**「天符」本篇15見,多在天干紀年之下,如「丙辰天符」**;**此段「太過不及,皆曰天符」,為天符立界**

Compounds built on this term

歲直
suì zhí
year directness
本篇1見;承歲者為歲直,與天符相對
三合
sān hé
threefold conjunction
本篇1見;天符與歲直二者兼之
五運
wǔ yùn
the five circuits
本篇4見;天符以歲運之氣言
太過不及
tài guò bù jí
excess and deficit
本篇1見;本篇論五行之治,三事即承其下

How it has been translated

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

This siteheaven tally符 is the two halves of a warrant that must fit; kept because the chapter's three words — 應天、承歲、三合 — are all about whether things close
Later usagetian fu, a heaven-tally yearhow the term is given in writing on the circuit-qi doctrine, usually with a gloss; accurate, and it leaves 符 unexplained
Technicala year in which the circuit and the presiding qi agreewhat the term comes to; correct, and too long to be a name

Entry status

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2026-10-05

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