Classica Sinica Medica

太一

tài yī

The Great One · tai yi

Also rendered: The Great Unity (philosophical, and it suggests the Han school) · Taiyi (pinyin, and it tells a reader nothing) · The Great One (the site's convention, keeping the numeral)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-10-26

At a glance

Pinyin
tài yī
Simplified
太一
Literal
太 tài — the greatest, the utmost; 一 yī — the one. Together: the pole star deity that dwells in the central palace and moves through the eight, the clock-hand of the chapter's calendar.
Shuowen
《說文》無「太」字，太即泰之省。《廣雅·釋詁》：太，大也。一，惟初太始，道立於一。此篇太一爲神名，亦爲曆數之主：常以冬至居叶蟄之宫，逐宫而徙，以定八風之占。

In brief

The Great One is the chapter’s mover. On the winter solstice it takes up its dwelling in the Leaf-Hiding palace; forty-six days later it moves to Heaven’s Keeping, then to the Granary Gate, the Yin Hollow, the Heaven Palace, the Dark Bend, the Granary Fruit and the New Hollow, forty-five or forty-six days in each, and comes back to Leaf-Hiding — a year. 太一日遊 — it travels day by day, and when it shifts, 天必應之以風雨: the sky must answer with wind and rain, and whether the rain comes on the day, before it, or after it decides the year. Its changes are read for ruler, minister, officer, general and people according to the palace it is in. The name is a piece of Han cosmology rather than medicine, and its presence in the Lingshu is the clearest evidence that the book contains a calendar layer as well as a clinical one.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
居宫 太一常以冬至之日，居叶蟄之宫
太一常在冬至那天住進葉蟄之宫
On the winter solstice the Great One takes up the Leaf-Hiding palace.
太一常以冬至之日 — 靈樞·九宫八風
2
日遊 太一日遊，以冬至之日，居叶蟄之宫
太一每天遊行，冬至那天在葉蟄之宫
It travels daily, returning to the first palace on the ninth day.
太一日遊 — 靈樞·九宫八風
3
占變 太一在冬至之日有變，占在君
太一在冬至有變動，占在君
A change on the solstice is read for the ruler; at the equinoxes, for minister and general.
占在君 — 靈樞·九宫八風
4
應風雨 太一移日，天必應之以風雨
太一移宫之日，天必以風雨相應
The day it moves, the sky answers with wind and rain.
天必應之以風雨 — 靈樞·九宫八風

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
1 passages
靈樞·九宫八風 Read in context →
太一常以冬至之日，居叶蟄之宫，四十六日明，日居天留；四十六日明，日居倉門；四十六日明，日居陰洛；四十五日明，日居天宫；四十六日明，日居玄委；四十六日明，日居倉果；四十六日明，日居新洛；四十五日明，日復居叶蟄之宫，曰冬至矣。 太一常以冬至之日，居叶蛰之宫，四十六日明，日居天留；四十六日明，日居仓门；四十六日明，日居阴洛；四十五日明，日居天宫；四十六日明，日居玄委；四十六日明，日居仓果；四十六日明，日居新洛；四十五日明，日复居叶蛰之宫，曰冬至矣。
tài yī cháng yǐ dōng zhì zhī rì, jū yè zhé zhī gōng, sì shí liù rì míng, rì jū tiān liú; sì shí liù rì míng, rì jū cāng mén; sì shí liù rì míng, rì jū yīn luò; sì shí wǔ rì míng, rì jū tiān gōng; sì shí liù rì míng, rì jū xuán wěi; sì shí liù rì míng, rì jū cāng guǒ; sì shí liù rì míng, rì jū xīn luò; sì shí wǔ rì míng, rì fù jū yè zhé zhī gōng, yuē dōng zhì yǐ.
The Great One on the day of the winter solstice always dwells in the palace of Yezhe. After forty-six days, on the next day, he moves to Tianliu; after forty-six days to Cangmen; after forty-six days to Yinluo; after forty-five days to Tiangong; after forty-six days to Xuanwei; after forty-six days to Cangguo; after forty-six days to Xinluo; and after forty-five days he returns to the palace of Yezhe, and it is the winter solstice again.
「太一」本篇10見，首段言冬至居叶蟄之宫、逐宫而徙、歲復其一，全篇占候皆自此推，故引全段。

Compounds built on this term

中宫
zhōng gōng
the central palace
太一入徙，立於中宫
五宫
wǔ gōng
the five palaces
太一居五宫之日
八正
bā zhèng
the eight upright
候八正所在之處

How it has been translated

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

This sitethe Great Onethe deity as a name
Literalthe Supreme Oneexact, and it sounds theological
Calendricalthe pole star that rules the eight palacesclear, and it explains the map

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-26

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