Classica Sinica Medica

六元正紀 简体 六元正纪

liù yuán zhèng jì

The six origins and the regular order · liu yuan zheng ji

Also rendered: The six origins and the regular order (this site; 元 as the beginning each qi brings, 紀 as an ordered record) · Six origins, regular record (shorter, and it drops the sense of order that 正 carries against 邪氣化)

Cosmology

Reviewed · 2026-10-14

At a glance

Pinyin
liù yuán zhèng jì
Simplified
六元正纪
Literal
Six origins, and the regular record of them. 元 yuán is a beginning, the head of a thing (《說文》: 元，始也); in the 運氣 method the six qi that take charge of a year in turn are its six origins, since each of them begins the years it governs. 紀 jì is a thread, and from that a record kept in order (《說文》: 紀，絲别也) — the same graph that gives 六十紀, a sixty-year round. So the four graphs say: the six beginnings, and the ordered account of what each of them does.
Shuowen
**《說文》：元，始也；紀，絲别也**。**「六元正紀」本篇一見，即全篇終句「請藏之靈蘭之室，署曰六元正紀」**；**「六元」本篇亦止一見，即此四字之内**；**「六」本篇19見，「元」本篇1見，「正」本篇60見，「紀」本篇18見**；**篇題「六元正紀大論」即此語，明人馬蒔謂六元者六氣之元，六氣各主一元，紀者紀其常變**

In brief

The name the chapter gives itself. 六元 are the six qi — 少陽、陽明、太陽、厥陰、少陰、太陰 — each of which is the 元, the beginning, of the years it governs; 正紀 is the regular record of what those years do, set against the irregularity that the chapter calls 邪氣化. The phrase closes the whole discourse, spoken as a thing to be sealed: 請藏之靈蘭之室，署曰六元正紀，非齋戒不敢示. It is therefore both the title and the colophon: the chapter begins by asking after 六化六變 and ends by naming the book it has written.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The four graphs 六元正紀
六氣各為一歲之元，紀其常變
署曰六元正紀 — Suwen 71
2
The six origins 六元
六氣迭主一歲，各為其一元
六元正紀 — Suwen 71
3
The record 正紀
正者對邪氣化而言，紀者絲别而有序
六元正紀 — Suwen 71
4
What it is set against 邪氣化
正化日與邪氣化日相對
所謂邪氣化日也 — Suwen 71
5
Where it is kept 藏之靈蘭之室
與《靈蘭秘典論》同歸一室
請藏之靈蘭之室 — Suwen 71
6
Its condition 非齋戒不敢示
傳之鄭重，非其人弗授
非齋戒不敢示，慎傳也 — Suwen 71

Occurrences in the classics

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

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1 passages
Suwen 71 Suwen 71 · 六元正紀大論 Read in context →
帝曰：至哉！聖人之道。天地大化，運行之節，臨御之紀，陰陽之政，寒暑之今，非夫子孰能通之？請藏之靈蘭之室，署曰六元正紀，非齋戒不敢示，慎傳也。 帝曰：至哉！圣人之道。天地大化，运行之节，临御之纪，阴阳之政，寒暑之今，非夫子孰能通之？请藏之灵兰之室，署曰六元正纪，非斋戒不敢示，慎传也。
Dì yuē: zhì zāi! Shèng rén zhī dào. Tiān dì dà huà, yùn xíng zhī jié, lín yù zhī jì, yīn yáng zhī zhèng, hán shǔ zhī jīn, fēi fú zǐ shú néng tōng zhī? Qǐng cáng zhī líng lán zhī shì, shǔ yuē liù yuán zhèng jì, fēi zhāi jiè bù gǎn shì, shèn chuán yě.
Huang Di said: how great it is! The way of the sage — the great transformation of heaven and earth, the seasons of their movement, the order of their coming down to govern, the governance of yin and yang, the commands of cold and heat: but for you, who could master it? Let it be stored in the Orchid Chamber of the Numinous, inscribed as the Six Origins and the Regular Order; unless one has fasted and purified, one dare not show it. Hand it down with care.
**「六元正紀」本篇1見，即此句**；**此為全篇終句，帝請藏之靈蘭之室而署以此名，故篇題即此語**；**上文「六化六變」為問，此語為署，首尾相應**

Compounds built on this term

六元
liù yuán
the six origins
篇中惟此一見，在「六元正紀」之内
六氣
liù qì
the six qi
本篇5見；六元即六氣之為元者
靈蘭之室
líng lán zhī shì
the Chamber of the Numinous Orchid
本篇一見；藏書之室，本站已立目
正化
zhèng huà
upright transformation
與邪氣化相對，本篇所稱正化日者是

How it has been translated

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

This sitethe six origins and the regular orderthe title and the colophon; the chapter uses 正 as a verdict, and the rendering keeps it
Literalsix beginnings, upright recordexact and unreadable as a book's name
Descriptivethe record of the six qi, each in the year it beginsclear, and too long for a title

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-14

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