Classica Sinica Medica

定期之紀 简体 定期之纪

dìng qī zhī jì

The record of fixed periods · ding qi zhi ji

Also rendered: The record of fixed periods (this site; 期 as the period the table fixes, and 紀 as the record) · The calendar of fixed periods (calendar is the sense; the chapter says 紀, which is a written record)

Cosmology

Reviewed · 2026-10-14

At a glance

Pinyin
dìng qī zhī jì
Simplified
定期之纪
Literal
定 dìng — settled, fixed; 期 qī — a period, an appointed time (《說文》: 期，會也); 紀 — an ordered record. The record whose periods are fixed: the sixty-year table, in which every year has its own numbers and nothing is left to chance.
Shuowen
**《說文》：期，會也**。**「定期之紀」本篇1見，為六十甲子表之總收**；**其下即曰「勝復正化，皆有常數，不可不察」**；**「定」本篇1見，「期」本篇3見，以「定期」連文者止此一處**；**三十組之紀既畢，而以一句收之**

In brief

The name the chapter gives the table it has just finished. Thirty pairs of years have been given their upper, middle and lower qi, their transformations, their disaster palaces and their prescriptions; then comes 凡此定期之紀，勝復正化，皆有常數，不可不察，故知其要者，一言而終，不知其要，流散無窮. The claim is that the table is not a list of cases but a record with fixed periods, and that everything in it is number: 勝復 and 正化 alike can be counted in advance. It is the table’s colophon, and it is what makes the phrase 六元正紀 a name for a book rather than a sentence.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The phrase 定期之紀
其期有定，其紀有數
凡此定期之紀 — Suwen 71
2
What it asserts 皆有常數
勝復正化俱有定數
皆有常數，不可不察 — Suwen 71
3
How many periods 三十組、六十歲
一干兩歲，合六十歲為一周
甲子、甲午歲 — Suwen 71
4
Its warning 不可不察
不察則失其期
不可不察 — Suwen 71
5
Its reward 知其要者，一言而終
得其要則一語可盡
一言而終 — Suwen 71
6
Its cost 不知其要，流散無窮
不得其要則漫無所歸
流散無窮 — Suwen 71

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
1 passages
Suwen 71 Suwen 71 · 六元正紀大論 Read in context →
凡此定期之紀，勝復正化，皆有常數，不可不察。故知其要者，一言而終。不知其要，流散無窮，此之謂也。 凡此定期之纪，胜复正化，皆有常数，不可不察。故知其要者，一言而终。不知其要，流散无穷，此之谓也。
Fán cǐ dìng qī zhī jì, shèng fù zhèng huà, jiē yǒu cháng shù, bù kě bù chá. Gù zhī qí yào zhě, yī yán ér zhōng. Bù zhī qí yào, liú sàn wú qióng, cǐ zhī wèi yě.
All these records of the fixed periods — prevalence and revenge, upright transformation — have their constant numbers, and one cannot but examine them. Therefore one who knows their gist finishes in a single word, and one who does not know it is scattered without end. This is what it means.
**「定期之紀」本篇1見，即此句**；**此段為六十甲子表三十組之總收，亦接於「其有常數乎」之問**；**其下「故知其要者，一言而終，不知其要，流散無窮」為讀表之法**

Compounds built on this term

六氣正紀
liù qì zhèng jì
the regular record of the six qi
本篇一見；與定期之紀同為「紀」字之目
常數
cháng shù
the regular number
本篇2見
勝復
shèng fù
prevalence and revenge
本篇29見
主歲之紀
zhǔ suì zhī jì
the record of the year in charge
本篇一見；上文問其有常數乎

How it has been translated

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

This sitethe record of fixed periodsthe colophon of the sixty-year table, and the rendering keeps both the fixing and the writing
Literalfixed-period recordexact; it sounds administrative, which the sentence is not
Glossthe record in which every year's numbers are fixed in advanceright, and too long for a term

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-14

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Reading path

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