北政

běi zhèng

The northern administration · bei zheng

Also rendered: The northern administration (this site; the year that faces north and takes its qi) · The northern reign (shorter, and 政 is not a reign)

Cosmology

Reviewed · 2026-10-14

At a glance

Pinyin: běi zhèng
Simplified: 北政
Literal: 北 běi — north; 政 zhèng — government. 北政 is the year that faces north and receives its qi from there: where 南政 issues commands, 北政 takes them, and the wrists answer accordingly.
Shuowen: **《說文》：政，正也；北，乖也，从二人相背**。**「北政」本篇2見，「南政」亦2見**；**二詞皆起於「視歲南北，可知之矣」**；**王冰以木火金水四運面北受氣為北政，即乙庚丙辛丁壬戊癸八年；張志聰則以甲乙丙丁己庚辛壬八年為北政**；**底本於其法無一字之釋**

In brief

The other of the two ways a year may stand: it faces north and takes its qi rather than issuing it. The pulse is stated first for this one — 北政之歲，少陰在泉，則寸口不應；厥陰在泉，則右不應；太陰在泉，則左不應 — and the rule is then repeated by position: 北政之歲，三陰在下，則寸不應；三陰在上，則尺不應. The two administrations are exact mirrors: what 南政 answers with its inch when the three yin are above, 北政 answers with its cubit, and the other way round. The chapter draws no conclusion beyond this and the sentence that closes it — 知其要者，一言而終，不知其要，流散無窮 — and which years are northern is left, in the base text, to the reckoning of the year.

Senses in the classical corpus

The word 北政

面北受氣之歲

視歲南北 — Suwen 74

Its sign 少陰在泉，則寸口不應

三陰在下，則寸不應

少陰在泉，則寸口不應 — Suwen 74

The other two 厥陰在泉，則右不應；太陰在泉，則左不應

左右隨三陰而分

厥陰在泉，則右不應 — Suwen 74

By position 三陰在上，則尺不應

與南政之寸尺相反

三陰在上，則尺不應 — Suwen 74

Against 南政南政三陰在天則寸不應

二政之寸尺互易

左右同 — Suwen 74

Which years 乙庚丙辛丁壬戊癸之歲

王冰之說；張志聰所定不同

視歲南北 — Suwen 74

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 74 Suwen 74 · 至真要大論 Read in context →

帝曰：夫子言察陰陽所在而調之，論言人迎與寸口相應，若引繩，小大齊等，命曰平。陰之所在，寸口何如？歧伯曰：視歲南北，可知之矣。帝曰：願卒聞之。歧伯曰：北政之歲，少陰在泉，則寸口不應；厥陰在泉，則右不應；太陰在泉，則左不應。南政之歲，少陰司天，則寸口不應；厥陰司天，則右不應；太陰司天，則左不應；諸不應者，反其診則見矣。帝曰：尺𠉀何如？帝曰：夫子言察阴阳所在而调之，论言人迎与寸口相应，若引繩，小大齐等，命曰平。阴之所在，寸口何如？歧伯曰：视岁南北，可知之矣。帝曰：愿卒闻之。歧伯曰：北政之岁，少阴在泉，则寸口不应；厥阴在泉，则右不应；太阴在泉，则左不应。南政之岁，少阴司天，则寸口不应；厥阴司天，则右不应；太阴司天，则左不应；诸不应者，反其诊则见矣。帝曰：尺候何如？

Dì yuē: fū zǐ yán chá yīn yáng suǒ zài ér tiáo zhī, lùn yán rén yíng yǔ cùn kǒu xiāng yìng, ruò yǐn shéng, xiǎo dà qí děng, mìng yuē píng. Yīn zhī suǒ zài, cùn kǒu hé rú? Qí bó yuē: shì suì nán běi, kě zhī zhī yǐ. Dì yuē: yuàn zú wén zhī. Qí bó yuē: běi zhèng zhī suì, shào yīn zài quán, zé cùn kǒu bù yìng; jué yīn zài quán, zé yòu bù yìng; tài yīn zài quán, zé zuǒ bù yìng. Nán zhèng zhī suì, shào yīn sī tiān, zé cùn kǒu bù yìng; jué yīn sī tiān, zé yòu bù yìng; tài yīn sī tiān, zé zuǒ bù yìng; zhū bù yìng zhě, fǎn qí zhěn zé xiàn yǐ. Dì yuē: chǐ hòu hé rú?

Huang Di said: you say, observe where yin and yang are and tune them, and the discourse says the man-ying and the inch opening answer each other like a drawn cord, equal in great and small, and this is called level. Where yin lies, what of the inch opening? Qi Bo said: look at whether the year is southern or northern, and you may know. Huang Di said: I would hear it to the end. Qi Bo said: in a year of northern governance, when lesser yin lies in the spring the inch opening does not answer; when ceasing yin lies in the spring, the right does not answer; when greater yin lies in the spring, the left does not answer. In a year of southern governance, when lesser yin governs the heaven the inch opening does not answer; when ceasing yin governs the heaven, the right does not answer; when greater yin governs the heaven, the left does not answer. In all these that do not answer, reverse the pulse-taking and it appears. Huang Di said: and the cubit?

**「北政」本篇2見，此段有其二，為二政之首見處**；**此段先北政而後南政，次段亦然，故南北之序在此**；**「諸不應者，反其診則見矣」一句總上六句，王冰謂脈沉者覆手取之**；**底本惟言其候，不言其法，故南北之分配有待注家**

Compounds built on this term

南政

nán zhèng

the southern administration

本篇2見；二者互為鏡像

尺不應

chǐ bù yìng

the cubit does not answer

本篇二見；北政三陰在上之候

三陰在下

sān yīn zài xià

the three yin below

本篇一見；北政不應之首句

流散無窮

liú sàn wú qióng

it scatters without end

本篇一見；不知其要者之戒

How it has been translated

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

This site	the northern administration	the mirror of the southern one: what answers in the inch there answers in the cubit here
Literal	northern government	exact, and misleading
Descriptive	a year reckoned from the north	clear, and it drops the paired word

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-14

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