兩陽合明简体两阳合明

liǎng yáng hé míng

Two yang joining their brightness · liang yang he ming

Also rendered: Two yang joining their brightness (this site; 合 is the joining, and the name of the qi is read out of it) · The union of two yangs (shorter, and it drops 明, which is the half that the chapter reuses)

Cosmology

Reviewed · 2026-10-14

At a glance

Pinyin: liǎng yáng hé míng
Simplified: 两阳合明
Literal: 兩 liǎng — two; 陽 yáng — yang; 合 hé — to join, to put together; 明 míng — bright. The four graphs name 陽明 from something the qi does rather than from a position: two yangs brought together make the brightness.
Shuowen: **《說文》：合，合口也；明，照也**。**「兩陽合明」本篇2見**；**一見於答「陽明何謂」之問，一見於釋「明」之句**；**「陽明」本篇15見，為六氣之一，司天在泉與所至之文皆有其目**；**「明」字本篇29見，又為間氣一化之名（間氣爲明化），字同而用異**

In brief

The name of 陽明, given by the chapter as a piece of arithmetic on the two yang within it: 帝曰：陽明何謂也？歧伯曰：兩陽合明也. The answer turns the name into a description — the brightness of 陽明 is what comes of two yangs joining — and the chapter then uses the same words a second time for something larger. Asked 幽明何如？ it answers 兩陰交盡，故曰幽；兩陽合明，故曰明，幽明之配，寒暑之異也, so that 兩陽合明 becomes the name of the bright half of the year as 兩陰交盡 is the name of the dark. The pair is used as the ground of the 分至 that follow, and it is one of three places where the chapter explains a qi’s name instead of merely using it.

Senses in the classical corpus

The words 兩陽合明

二陽相合而其明著

兩陽合明也 — Suwen 74

What they name 陽明

六氣之一

陽明何謂也 — Suwen 74

Used again 故曰明

幽明之明即由此

兩陽合明，故曰明 — Suwen 74

Its counterpart 兩陰交盡

一幽一明，相對而立

兩陰交盡，故曰幽 — Suwen 74

What it explains 幽明之配，寒暑之異也

明者暑之屬

寒暑之異 — Suwen 74

Where it leads 分至

幽明既名而後分至可辨

帝曰：分至何如 — 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：善。願聞陰陽之三也，何謂？歧伯曰：氣有多少，異用也。帝曰：陽明何謂也？歧伯曰：兩陽合明也。帝曰：厥陰何也？歧伯曰：兩陰交盡也。帝曰：氣有多少，病有盛衰，治有緩急，方有大小，願聞其約，柰何？歧伯曰：氣有高下，病有遠近，證有中外，治有輕重，適其至所爲故也。大要曰：君一臣二，奇之制也；君二臣四，偶之制也；君二臣三，奇之制也；君二臣六，偶之制也。帝曰：善。愿闻阴阳之三也，何谓？歧伯曰：气有多少，异用也。帝曰：阳明何谓也？歧伯曰：两阳合明也。帝曰：厥阴何也？歧伯曰：两阴交尽也。帝曰：气有多少，病有盛衰，治有缓急，方有大小，愿闻其约，奈何？歧伯曰：气有高下，病有远近，证有中外，治有轻重，适其至所为故也。大要曰：君一臣二，奇之制也；君二臣四，偶之制也；君二臣三，奇之制也；君二臣六，偶之制也。

Dì yuē: shàn. Yuàn wén yīn yáng zhī sān yě, hé wèi? Qí bó yuē: qì yǒu duō shǎo, yì yòng yě. Dì yuē: yáng míng hé wèi yě? Qí bó yuē: liǎng yáng hé míng yě. Dì yuē: jué yīn hé yě? Qí bó yuē: liǎng yīn jiāo jìn yě. Dì yuē: qì yǒu duō shǎo, bìng yǒu shèng shuāi, zhì yǒu huǎn jí, fāng yǒu dà xiǎo, yuàn wén qí yuē, nài hé? Qí bó yuē: qì yǒu gāo xià, bìng yǒu yuǎn jìn, zhèng yǒu zhōng wài, zhì yǒu qīng zhòng, shì qí zhì suǒ wéi gù yě. Dà yào yuē: jūn yī chén èr, jī zhī zhì yě; jūn èr chén sì, ǒu zhī zhì yě; jūn èr chén sān, jī zhī zhì yě; jūn èr chén liù, ǒu zhī zhì yě.

Huang Di said: good. I wish to hear what is meant by the three of yin and yang. Qi Bo said: the qi has much and little, and their uses differ. Huang Di said: what is meant by yang brightness? Qi Bo said: two yangs joined make brightness. Huang Di said: what of ceasing yin? Qi Bo said: two yins crossing come to an end. Huang Di said: the qi has much and little, illness has abundance and decline, treatment has slowness and urgency, and formulas have great and small; I wish to hear the essentials of it. Qi Bo said: the qi has high and low, illness has far and near, the signs have inner and outer, and treatment has light and heavy, each suiting where it arrives. The Great Essentials says: one sovereign with two ministers is the rule of the odd; two sovereigns with four ministers is the rule of the even; two sovereigns with three ministers is the rule of the odd; two sovereigns with six ministers is the rule of the even.

**「兩陽合明」本篇2見，此為前一見，在答陽明之問**；**後一見作「兩陽合明，故曰明」，改以釋幽明之明**；**同段有「兩陰交盡也」，二語並出，故此詞與兩陰交盡為一對**；**本段之問答三：陽明何謂、厥陰何也、陰陽之三何謂**

Compounds built on this term

陽明

yáng míng

yang brightness

本篇15見；此詞所名之氣

兩陰交盡

liǎng yīn jiāo jìn

two yin meeting their end

本篇2見；與此詞成對

幽明

yōu míng

the dark and the bright

本篇2見；二詞為其名

陽明之至

yáng míng zhī zhì

the coming of yang brightness

本篇一見；其脉短而濇

How it has been translated

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

This site	two yang joining their brightness	how the chapter explains the name 陽明, and then uses the words again for the bright half of the year
Literal	two yangs joining, bright	exact, and it does not read as a name
Descriptive	two yangs brought together to shine	clear, and long for a phrase that answers a one-line question

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-14

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Reading path

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