Classica Sinica Medica

主氣 简体 主气

zhǔ qì

The qi in charge · zhu qi

Also rendered: The qi in charge (this site; 主 as the host standing in its own place) · Host qi (compact, and it pairs with visiting qi, which is what 客氣 means)

Cosmology

Reviewed · 2026-10-14

At a glance

Pinyin
zhǔ qì
Simplified
主气
Literal
主 zhǔ — to have charge of, to be host to (《說文》: 主，鐙中火主也); 氣 qì — qi. The qi in charge of a position, as against the 客氣 that visits it: the fixed six qi of the seasons standing where they always stand, while the year's own qi comes and lodges with them.
Shuowen
**《說文》：主，鐙中火主也**。**「主氣」本篇1見，止在此句**；**與之相對者為「客氣」，本篇1見，亦止一見，同在篇末**；**主氣不足，客氣勝，故有假其氣者可以用藥無禁**；**「主」本篇9見，多作「主歲」「主之」，作「主氣」者止此**

In brief

The qi that holds its place. At the end of the chapter, after the four prohibitions and the licence to offend against them when the weather has turned, comes the last question: 假者何如？ and the answer 有假其氣，則無禁也，所謂主氣不足，客氣勝也. The six 主氣 are the fixed seasonal qi — 厥陰風木、少陰君火、少陽相火、太陰濕土、陽明燥金、太陽寒水 — each in charge of two months; the 客氣 is the qi the year brings. When the visiting qi is stronger than the one in charge, the prohibitions of 四畏 can be set aside. The pair 主/客 is the chapter’s final distinction, and it is the one that makes the whole sixty-year apparatus usable at the bedside.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The word 主氣
主者本位之氣，客者加臨之氣
所謂主氣不足 — Suwen 71
2
With its opposite 客氣勝也
客勝主則可假其氣
客氣勝也 — Suwen 71
3
What it allows 則無禁也
主氣不足者，不必守四畏之禁
有假其氣，則無禁也 — Suwen 71
4
Its position 主歲之紀
主氣隨四時而居其位
主歲之紀 — Suwen 71
5
Against 四畏 用寒遠寒
常時守禁，客勝則假
是謂四畏 — Suwen 71
6
Its place in the chapter 篇末之終
六十年既畢，乃及主客
所謂主氣不足 — 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 →
歧伯曰：大積大聚，其可犯也，衰其太半而止，過者死。帝曰：善。鬱之甚者，治之柰何？歧伯曰：木鬱逹之，火鬱發之，土鬱奪之，金鬱泄之，水鬱折之，然調其氣，過者折之，以其畏也，所謂冩之。帝曰：假者何如？歧伯曰：有假其氣，則無禁也，所謂主氣不足，客氣勝也。 歧伯曰：大积大聚，其可犯也，衰其太半而止，过者死。帝曰：善。郁之甚者，治之奈何？歧伯曰：木郁达之，火郁发之，土郁夺之，金郁泄之，水郁折之，然调其气，过者折之，以其畏也，所谓写之。帝曰：假者何如？歧伯曰：有假其气，则无禁也，所谓主气不足，客气胜也。
Qí bó yuē: dà jī dà jù, qí kě fàn yě, shuāi qí tài bàn ér zhǐ, guò zhě sǐ. Dì yuē: shàn. Yù zhī shèn zhě, zhì zhī nài hé? Qí bó yuē: mù yù dá zhī, huǒ yù fā zhī, tǔ yù duó zhī, jīn yù xiè zhī, shuǐ yù zhé zhī, rán tiáo qí qì, guò zhě zhé zhī, yǐ qí wèi yě, suǒ wèi xiè zhī. Dì yuē: jiǎ zhě hé rú? Qí bó yuē: yǒu jiǎ qí qì, zé wú jìn yě, suǒ wèi zhǔ qì bù zú, kè qì shèng yě.
Qi Bo said: great accumulations and great gatherings may be offended; lessen them by more than half and stop — to go beyond is death. Huang Di said: good. When what is pent is severe, how is it treated? Qi Bo said: when wood is pent, reach through it; when fire is pent, disperse it; when earth is pent, take from it; when metal is pent, drain it; when water is pent, break it; and then tune their qi. What is over is broken with what it fears — this is what is called draining. Huang Di said: what of a pretext? Qi Bo said: when the qi is borrowed there is no prohibition — this is what is called the governing qi falling short and the guest qi prevailing.
**「主氣」本篇1見，即此句**；**此段為全篇最後一答：假者何如，答曰有假其氣則無禁也，所謂主氣不足，客氣勝也**；**客氣亦止一見，與此句相對，二字分主客而立**

Compounds built on this term

客氣
kè qì
the visiting qi
本篇1見；主氣不足則客氣勝
四畏
sì wèi
the four things to beware of
本篇一見；主客相勝則可假其氣
閒氣
xián qì
the intervening qi
本篇一見；與主氣同則無犯
主歲之紀
zhǔ suì zhī jì
the record of the year in charge
本篇一見

How it has been translated

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

This sitethe qi in chargethe fixed seasonal qi, as against the one the year brings
Literalmaster qiexact in the Chinese sense and misleading in English
Glossthe seasonal qi that holds its own position, as against the qi the year bringsright, and too long for a term

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-14

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