容平

róng píng

Settled and level · rong ping

Also rendered: The composed and the even (this site; it keeps 容 as bearing, so that autumn is read as a settled bearing rather than a flat surface) · Rong ping (transliteration; used when the four season names are quoted together as a set)

Cosmology

Reviewed · 2026-10-09

At a glance

Pinyin: róng píng
Simplified: 容平
Literal: 容 róng — the countenance, and the bearing that goes with it (《說文》: 容，盛也；一曰容者，容儀也); 平 píng — level, even, settled (《說文》: 平，語平舒也). 容平 describes autumn as the season when growth has stopped and things stand at their full measure, neither rising nor falling: the bearing is composed and the level is even. Wang Bing takes it of the season's qi — the summer's rising has come to rest.
Shuowen: **「容」讀 róng，本篇1見**；**「平」讀 píng，本篇2見**；**「容平」本篇1見**；**《說文》：容，盛也；平，語平舒也**；**王冰以容平為秋氣既定之狀，萬物至此而容貌平定**

In brief

The name Suwen 2 gives to the three months of autumn. Growth has stopped; things stand at their measure. The rule drawn from it is the rule for autumn: sleep early and rise early, get up with the cockerel, calm the will so as to soften the flaying of autumn, gather the spirit and the qi in, and let the lung qi be pure. Breaking it harms the lung, and winter brings food-diarrhoea.

Senses in the classical corpus

The graphs 容平

容者容儀，平者平定；容平謂萬物之容貌至此而平定

秋三月，此謂容平 — Suwen 2

Heaven sharp, earth clear 天氣以急，地氣以明

天氣勁急，地氣清明

天氣以急，地氣以明 — Suwen 2

Rising with the cockerel 早卧早起，與雞俱興

興讀 xīng，起也；與雞同時而起

早卧早起，與雞俱興，使志安寧 — Suwen 2

Softening the flaying 以緩秋刑

秋氣肅殺，故謂之刑，緩之以安志

使志安寧，以緩秋刑 — Suwen 2

Gathering in 收斂神氣，無外其志

收其神氣而不外馳

收斂神氣，使秋氣平，無外其志，使肺氣清 — Suwen 2

What breaking it costs 逆之則傷肺，冬爲飱泄

逆秋氣則肺傷，至冬而為飱泄

逆之則傷肺，冬爲飱泄，奉藏者少 — Suwen 2

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display

1 passages

素問·四氣調神大論 Suwen 2 · 四氣調神大論 Read in context →

秋三月，此謂容平。天氣以急，地氣以明，早卧早起，與雞俱興，使志安寧，以緩秋刑，收斂神氣，使秋氣平，無外其志，使肺氣清。此秋氣之應，養收之道也。逆之則傷肺，冬爲飱泄，奉藏者少。秋三月，此谓容平。天气以急，地气以明，早卧早起，与鸡俱兴，使志安宁，以缓秋刑，收敛神气，使秋气平，无外其志，使肺气清。此秋气之应，养收之道也。逆之则伤肺，冬为飧泄，奉藏者少。

Qiū sān yuè, cǐ wèi róng píng. tiān qì yǐ jí, dì qì yǐ míng, zǎo wò zǎo qǐ, yǔ jī jù xīng, shǐ zhì ān níng, yǐ huǎn qiū xíng, shōu liǎn shén qì, shǐ qiū qì píng, wú wài qí zhì, shǐ fèi qì qīng. cǐ qiū qì zhī yìng, yǎng shōu zhī dào yě. nì zhī zé shāng fèi, dōng wéi sūn xiè, fèng cáng zhě shǎo.

The three months of autumn are called the settled and the level. The qi of heaven turns sharp; the qi of earth turns clear. Sleep early and rise early, get up with the cockerel, keep the will at peace so as to soften the flaying of autumn, gather in the spirit and the qi so that the qi of autumn is level, keep the will from reaching outward, and let the lung qi be pure. This is the answer to the qi of autumn, and it is the way of nourishing the gathering in. Going against it harms the lung; in winter there is food-diarrhoea, and there is little to hand on to what must be stored.

**「容平」本篇1見**；**「與雞俱興」之興讀 xīng，起也**；**「秋刑」二字，是本篇以秋氣為肅殺之辭**

Compounds built on this term

天氣以急

tiān qì yǐ jí

the qi of heaven turning sharp

本篇1見

與雞俱興

yǔ jī jù xīng

rising together with the cockerel

本篇1見

以緩秋刑

yǐ huǎn qiū xíng

to soften the flaying of autumn

本篇1見

收斂神氣

shōu liǎn shén qì

gathering in spirit and qi

本篇1見

How it has been translated

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

This site	Settled and level · rong ping	容 as bearing and 平 as level together say what autumn looks like from outside: nothing still rising
Literal	composed and even	close, but it reads the two graphs as one quality instead of the two the chapter names
Descriptive	the season of balance	smooth, and it misses that 容 is a bearing — the word is about how things hold themselves

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-09

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