德化之常

dé huà zhī cháng

What is regular in the qi's virtue · de hua zhi chang

Also rendered: What is regular in the qi's virtue (this site; 德 as the power a qi has to do its own work) · The regularity of qi virtue (compact; 'virtue' as a noun of quality misses that 德 here is a force)

Cosmology

Reviewed · 2026-10-14

At a glance

Pinyin: dé huà zhī cháng
Simplified: 德化之常
Literal: What is regular in the qi's virtue. 德 dé — the power a thing has to do what it does, its own goodness (《說文》: 德，升也, but in this literature always the qi's proper power); the chapter sets 德 beside 化、政、令 as the four words for how a qi behaves. This is the only category of the eight that runs to two paragraphs.
Shuowen: **《說文》：德，升也**。**「德化之常」本篇2見，凡兩段之末各一見**；**前段曰「太陽所至爲寒生，中爲温，德化之常也」，後段曰「太陽所至爲鱗化，德化之常也」**；**「德」本篇11見，多作「合德」「同德」，與此目之德同指氣之本性**；**八常之中惟此目兩見**

In brief

The fourth of the eight categories, and the one that takes two paragraphs. The first gives the beginning and the end of each qi’s work: 厥陰所至爲風生，終爲肅；少陰所至爲熱生，中爲寒；太陰所至爲濕生，終爲注雨；少陽所至爲火生，終爲蒸溽；陽明所至爲燥生，終爲涼；太陽所至爲寒生，中爲温，德化之常也 — each qi generating its own thing and then turning into the next. The second gives the five classes of creature that each qi brings along: 厥陰所至爲毛化，少陰所至爲羽化，太陰所至爲倮化，少陽所至爲羽化，陽明所至爲介化，太陽所至爲鱗化，德化之常也. Together they are the chapter’s one statement of what the qi does without being provoked.

Senses in the classical corpus

The phrase 德化之常

六氣之德，各如其常

德化之常也 — Suwen 71

First paragraph 爲風生，終爲肅

各生其氣而終於所勝

中爲温 — Suwen 71

Second paragraph 爲毛化、羽化、倮化、介化、鱗化

六氣各制一類之蟲

爲鱗化 — Suwen 71

中與終中爲寒、終爲涼

一歲之中與其終，氣各有所變

終爲注雨 — Suwen 71

Why two paragraphs 德兼動植

一以言其氣，一以言其類

爲介化 — Suwen 71

德 elsewhere 合德、同德

六司天之政皆言二氣合德

水土合德 — 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 →

厥陰所至爲風生，終爲肅；少陰所至爲熱生，中爲寒；太陰所至爲濕生，終爲注雨；少陽所至爲火生，終爲蒸溽；陽明所至爲燥生，終爲涼；太陽所至爲寒生，中爲温，德化之常也。厥阴所至为风生，终为肃；少阴所至为热生，中为寒；太阴所至为湿生，终为注雨；少阳所至为火生，终为蒸溽；阳明所至为燥生，终为凉；太阳所至为寒生，中为温，德化之常也。

Jué yīn suǒ zhì wéi fēng shēng, zhōng wéi sù; shào yīn suǒ zhì wéi rè shēng, zhōng wéi hán; tài yīn suǒ zhì wéi shī shēng, zhōng wéi zhù yǔ; shào yáng suǒ zhì wéi huǒ shēng, zhōng wéi zhēng rù; yáng míng suǒ zhì wéi zào shēng, zhōng wéi liáng; tài yáng suǒ zhì wéi hán shēng, zhōng wéi wēn, dé huà zhī cháng yě.

Where ceasing yin arrives, wind is born and at the end austerity; where lesser yin arrives, heat is born and in the middle cold; where greater yin arrives, dampness is born and at the end pouring rain; where lesser yang arrives, fire is born and at the end steaming sultriness; where yang brightness arrives, dryness is born and at the end coolness; where greater yang arrives, cold is born and in the middle warmth — the constant of the transformation of virtue.

**「德化之常」本篇2見，此段有其1**；**此段以風生終肅、熱生中寒、濕生終注雨、火生終蒸溽、燥生終涼、寒生中温分繫六氣**；**下一段以毛化、羽化、倮化、介化、鱗化再繫六氣，而復以此四字收之，故八常之中惟此目兩見**

Compounds built on this term

氣化之常

qì huà zhī cháng

what is regular in the qi's transformation

本篇一見；十三段之第三

布政之常

bù zhèng zhī cháng

what is regular in the spreading of governance

本篇一見；十三段之第六

五類

wǔ lèi

the five classes

毛、羽、倮、介、鱗五者

合德

hé dé

two qi joining their powers

本篇5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	what is regular in the qi's virtue	the only one of the eight that takes two paragraphs, one for the qi and one for the creatures
Literal	virtue transformation's regularity	exact and opaque
Gloss	what each qi does by its own nature, in the weather and in the creatures	right, and long

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-14

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Reading path

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