法天則地简体法天则地

fǎ tiān zé dì

Taking heaven as law and earth as rule · fa tian ze di

Also rendered: taking heaven as law and earth as rule (Keeps both 法 and 則 as verbs) · modelling oneself on heaven and earth (Smoother; loses the legal weight of 法)

Cosmology

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin: fǎ tiān zé dì
Simplified: 法天则地
Literal: 法 is the standard one is held to and 則 is the rule one takes as a model — 說文 glosses 則 by way of the bronze vessels on which regulations were cast. In this phrase both are verbs: to take heaven as law and earth as rule. Chapter 25 sets it against what the common workmen know, which is merely to fill what is empty and drain what is full. What follows is the chapter's most compressed description of clinical responsiveness, and it ends by denying that any of it involves spirits: what answers is like an echo, what follows is like a shadow, and the way has no ghosts in it.
Shuowen: 《說文解字》：灋，刑也（說見本站「五法」條）；則，等畫物也。从刀从貝。貝，古之物貨也。段註：等畫物者，定其差等而各為介畫，引申為法則、效法。本篇之目：若夫法天則地，隨應而動。

In brief

Chapter 25’s description of practice at its highest: not applying a technique but answering a situation, so that the response comes like an echo and follows like a shadow. The phrase is set directly against the competence of the common workmen, who know only that the empty should be filled and the full drained. The clause that closes the sentence is the one readers remember: 道無鬼神 — there are no ghosts or spirits in the way. It is the book’s clearest refusal to explain a good outcome by anything other than the physician’s own responsiveness.

Senses in the classical corpus

Both graphs used as verbs 法天則地

法之、則之，皆以之為法式

若夫法天則地 — Suwen 25

Answering rather than applying 隨應而動

隨其感應而後動，非按方而動

隨應而動 — Suwen 25

The echo 和之者若響

「和」讀 hè，應和也，非平和之 hé

和之者若響 — Suwen 25

The shadow 隨之者若影

影之隨形，喻其不先不後

隨之者若影 — Suwen 25

No spirits in it 道無鬼神

感應在人，不關鬼神

道無鬼神 — Suwen 25

Set against the common workmen 衆工所共知

衆工所知止於補瀉

此皆衆工所共知也 — Suwen 25

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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3 passages

素問·寶命全形論 Suwen 25 · 寶命全形論 Read in context →

若夫法天則地，隨應而動，和之者若響，隨之者若影，道無鬼神，獨來獨往。若夫法天则地，随应而动，和之者若响，随之者若影，道无鬼神，独来独往。

Ruò fú fǎ tiān zé dì, suí yìng ér dòng, hè zhī zhě ruò xiǎng, suí zhī zhě ruò yǐng, dào wú guǐ shén, dú lái dú wǎng.

But to take heaven as law and earth as rule, to move in answer and response — what answers it is like an echo, what follows it is like a shadow. There are no ghosts or spirits in the way; it comes alone and goes alone.

「若夫」二字一轉，全篇之意至此揭出：末世之刺不過「虚者實之，滿者泄之」，此衆工之所共知；若夫法天則地、隨應而動者，則非補瀉之謂。**「和」此讀 hè，應和之義，非平和之 hé**——「和之者若響」謂應之如響之應聲；「響」讀 xiǎng，今作「响」。「則」讀 zé，取則也；「隨」讀 suí；「應」讀 yìng；「動」讀 dòng。末句「道無鬼神，獨來獨往」最為峻切：治之效驗由於醫者之感應，不由於鬼神。「鬼」讀 guǐ；「獨」讀 dú。

素問·八正神明論 Suwen 26 · 八正神明論 Read in context →

歧伯對曰：法天則地，合以天光。歧伯对曰：法天则地，合以天光。

Qí bó duì yuē: fǎ tiān zé dì, hé yǐ tiān guāng.

Qibo replies: Model yourself on heaven, take earth as your standard, and join these to the light of the sky.

第二十六篇開卷即用此語，與第二十五篇同文而所指有別：彼處「法天則地，合以天光」統攝全篇之旨，此處則專起候時之說——下句「凡剌之法，必𠉀日月星辰四時八正之氣，氣定乃剌之」即是這八字的展開。**「𠉀」讀 hòu，即「候」之異體，本篇十一見，底本通篇作此形**；「剌」讀 cì。「合以天光」之「合」讀 hé，是動詞：以天時之光象合上用針之時，不是心中默會之謂。

素問·太陰陽明論 Suwen 29 · 太陰陽明論 Read in context →

土者，生萬物而法天地，故上下至頭足，不得主時也。土者，生万物而法天地，故上下至头足，不得主时也。

Tǔ zhě, shēng wàn wù ér fǎ tiān dì, gù shàng xià zhì tóu zú, bù dé zhǔ shí yě.

Earth gives birth to the ten thousand things and takes heaven and earth as its law; therefore it reaches above to the head and below to the feet, and cannot govern a season.

本條「法天則地」與本篇「土者，生萬物而法天地」義近而辭別：彼以人之法天地為言，此以土之法天地為言，而同歸於「取法天地」之義。**「土」讀 tǔ，本篇三見**；「者」讀 zhě；「生」讀 shēng；**「萬」讀 wàn，底本作「萬」，不作「万」**；「物」讀 wù；「而」讀 ér；**「法」讀 fǎ，取法、效法也**；「天」讀 tiān；「地」讀 dì；「故」讀 gù；「上」讀 shàng；「下」讀 xià；「至」讀 zhì；「頭」讀 tóu；「足」讀 zú；「不」讀 bù；「得」讀 dé；「主」讀 zhǔ；「時」讀 shí；「也」讀 yě。**「生萬物而法天地」是土德之總括**：土能生養萬物，故四時皆賴之；土取法天地，故不專一時而遍於四時。「上下至頭足」則與上文「陽者天氣也，主外；陰者地氣也，主内」之分判相對——彼分上下，此合上下，正見中央之無所不至。

Compounds built on this term

法天則地

fǎ tiān zé dì

taking heaven as law and earth as rule

本篇論治之至者

隨應而動

suí yìng ér dòng

moving in answer and response

「應」讀 yìng

若響若影

ruò xiǎng ruò yǐng

like an echo, like a shadow

喻感應之速

道無鬼神

dào wú guǐ shén

there are no ghosts in the way

本篇最峻切之語

How it has been translated

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

Wiseman & Feng	emulate heaven and earth	They render 法/則 as emulate, which reads as aspiration rather than obligation.
Unschuld	take heaven as pattern and earth as model	He supplies two nouns, which is accurate but heavy.
This site	taking heaven as law and earth as rule	Both graphs bind rather than inspire: the chapter is telling a physician what he is answerable to, not what he should admire. We keep the verbal force in the -ing so the phrase reads as something done.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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Reading path

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