Classica Sinica Medica

五運六氣 简体 五运六气

wǔ yùn liù qì

The five circuits and the six qi · wu yun liu qi

Also rendered: The five circuits and the six qi (this site; 運 as the circuit through the stems, 氣 as the qi through the branches) · The five movements and the six qi (standard; 運 in this chapter is a reckoning, not a movement)

Cosmology

Reviewed · 2026-10-14

At a glance

Pinyin
wǔ yùn liù qì
Simplified
五运六气
Literal
The five circuits and the six qi. 五運 is the reckoning by the five phases through the ten stems; 六氣 is the reckoning by the six qi through the twelve branches. The two are set side by side wherever the chapter wants to say that the year is over-determined: it is a phase and a qi at once, and the two do not always agree.
Shuowen
**「五運六氣」連文本篇1見，止在此句**；**其語曰「此天地五運六氣之化，更用盛衰之常也」**；**「五運」本篇7見，「六氣」本篇5見，二者散見全篇**；**篇首問「五運、六氣之應見，六化之正，六變之紀」，即以此四字為全篇之目**

In brief

The two reckonings together. The five circuits run on the ten heavenly stems: 甲己土、乙庚金、丙辛水、丁壬木、戊癸火, with 太少 marking excess and deficit; the six qi run on the twelve earthly branches, two years to each. The chapter’s opening question puts them side by side: 五運、六氣之應見，六化之正，六變之紀，何如？ and the sixty-year table answers by giving both for every year — 甲子、甲午歲。上少陰火，中太宫土運，下陽明金. When the two agree the table says 天符 or 歲會 or 同正; when they do not, it counts the difference. The phrase in the passage on 盛衰 is the chapter’s own summary of what it has been doing for sixty years.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The pair 五運六氣
運以干紀，氣以支紀
五運、六氣之應見 — Suwen 71
2
The circuits 上某氣，中某運，下某氣
一歲之上中下三氣並列
中太宫土運 — Suwen 71
3
The six qi 少陰火、太陰土、陽明金
十二支各繫一氣
上少陰火 — Suwen 71
4
When they agree 天符、歲會、同正
運與氣相合則有專名
太一天符 — Suwen 71
5
When they do not 勝復同
一勝一復，其化不正
所謂邪氣化日也 — Suwen 71
6
Their alternation 更用盛衰之常
運與氣迭為盛衰
更用盛衰之常也 — 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 →
歧伯曰：風温，春化同，熱曛昏火，夏化同，勝與復同，燥清烟露，秋化同，雲雨昏暝埃長夏化同。寒氣霜雪冰，冬化同。此天地五運六氣之化，更用盛衰之常也。帝曰：五運行同天化者，命曰天符，余知之矣。願聞同地化者，何謂也？歧伯曰：太過而同天化者三，不及而同天化者，亦三；太過而同地化者三；不及而同地化者亦三，此凡二十四歲也。帝曰：願聞其所謂也。 歧伯曰：风温，春化同，热曛昏火，夏化同，胜与复同，燥清烟露，秋化同，云雨昏暝埃长夏化同。寒气霜雪冰，冬化同。此天地五运六气之化，更用盛衰之常也。帝曰：五运行同天化者，命曰天符，余知之矣。愿闻同地化者，何谓也？歧伯曰：太过而同天化者三，不及而同天化者，亦三；太过而同地化者三；不及而同地化者亦三，此凡二十四岁也。帝曰：愿闻其所谓也。
Qí bó yuē: fēng wēn, chūn huà tóng, rè xūn hūn huǒ, xià huà tóng, shèng yǔ fù tóng, zào qīng yān lù, qiū huà tóng, yún yǔ hūn míng āi zhǎng xià huà tóng. Hán qì shuāng xuě bīng, dōng huà tóng. Cǐ tiān dì wǔ yùn liù qì zhī huà, gēng yòng shèng shuāi zhī cháng yě. Dì yuē: wǔ yùn xíng tóng tiān huà zhě, mìng yuē tiān fú, yú zhī zhī yǐ. Yuàn wén tóng dì huà zhě, hé wèi yě? Qí bó yuē: tài guò ér tóng tiān huà zhě sān, bù jí ér tóng tiān huà zhě, yì sān; tài guò ér tóng dì huà zhě sān; bù jí ér tóng dì huà zhě yì sān, cǐ fán èr shí sì suì yě. Dì yuē: yuàn wén qí suǒ wèi yě.
Qi Bo said: wind and warmth are the same as the spring transformation; heat, dimness, darkness and fire the same as the summer transformation; prevalence and revenge are the same as each other; dryness, coolness, smoke and dew the same as the autumn transformation; cloud, rain, dimness, darkness and dust the same as the late-summer transformation; cold qi, frost, snow and ice the same as the winter transformation. These are the transformations of the five circuits and six qi of heaven and earth, the constant of their using one another with flourishing and decline. Huang Di said: where the five circuits in their movement are the same as the heavenly transformation it is named a heaven tally — I know that already. I wish to hear what is called the same as the earthly transformation. Qi Bo said: those in surplus and the same as the heavenly transformation are three, and those that fall short and are the same as the heavenly transformation are three as well; those in surplus and the same as the earthly transformation are three, and those that fall short and are the same as the earthly transformation are three as well — twenty-four years in all. Huang Di said: I wish to hear what they are.
**「五運六氣」本篇1見，即此句**；**此段以風温春化、熱曛昏火夏化以下十二句言四時之化，而以「此天地五運六氣之化，更用盛衰之常也」收之**；**篇首問「五運、六氣之應見」，即此二字之發端**

Compounds built on this term

五運
wǔ yùn
the five circuits
本篇7見
六氣
liù qì
the six qi
本篇5見
天符
tiān fú
heaven tally
本篇15見；運氣相合之名
更用盛衰
gèng yòng shèng shuāi
alternation of excess and decline
本篇一見；五運六氣之化之常

How it has been translated

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

This sitethe five circuits and the six qithe two reckonings the table runs at once, each through its own set of years
Transliterationwu yun liu qihow the whole method is named
Glossthe year reckoned by the five phases and by the six qi at the same timeright, and too long for a term

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-14

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