Classica Sinica Medica

閒氣 简体 间气

jiàn qì

Intervening qi · jian qi

Also rendered: The intervening qi (this site; 閒 read jiàn, the interval, which is the reading the term carries) · The intermediate qi (how the term is glossed in writing on the 運氣 chapters; the same referent, and it loses that 閒 is the word for a gap)

Cosmology

Reviewed · 2026-10-06

At a glance

Pinyin
jiàn qì
Simplified
间气
Literal
閒 jiàn — an interval, a space between; read jiān when it means the middle of something, as in 火遊行其閒, fire wanders through between them. 氣 qì — the activity of a thing. 帝曰：閒氣何如: what of the qi that stands between? The answer is two lines — 隨氣所在，期於左右 — and then the long rule about being in one's place. One occurrence of the term; two of the graph, and the two readings are both in this chapter.
Shuowen
**「閒」本篇2見而二讀：此「閒氣」讀 jiàn，間隔之義；「火遊行其閒」讀 jiān，中間之義；已入校勘**；**「氣」讀 qì，本篇29見**；**底本作「閒」，通行本作「間」，本篇照錄「閒」不改**；**「期」讀 qī，本篇2見：期於左右、期之柰何**

In brief

The qi that stands between — the one to the left and the right of the qi that governs, rather than the governing qi itself. The chapter gives it two lines and then a rule: 隨氣所在，期於左右, follow where the qi resides and look for it on the left and the right; and then 從其氣則和，違其氣則病, to follow its qi is harmony and to go against it is illness. What follows is the chapter’s fullest statement of prognosis: not in one’s place, shifting from place to place, losing the place one guards.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 閒氣
閒者間也，位於左右之間者
帝曰：閒氣何如？ — Suwen 67
2
Where to look for it 隨氣所在，期於左右
隨其所主之氣而期之於左右
隨氣所在，期於左右。 — Suwen 67
3
The rule for it 從其氣則和，違其氣則病
從則和，違則病
從其氣則和，違其氣則病。 — Suwen 67
4
Not in its place 不當其位者病
位不當則病
不當其位者病，迭移其位者病 — Suwen 67
5
Losing the place 失守其位者危
既病而失其所守，則危
失守其位者危 — Suwen 67
6
What must be fixed first 先立其年，以知其氣
不先立年，則無以言左右之應見
先立其年，以知其氣。 — Suwen 67

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
1 passages
Suwen 67 Suwen 67 · 五運行大論 Read in context →
帝曰：閒氣何如？歧伯曰：隨氣所在，期於左右。 帝曰：间气何如？歧伯曰：随气所在，期于左右。
Dì yuē: jiàn qì hé rú? Qí bó yuē: suí qì suǒ zài, qī yú zuǒ yòu.
Huang Di said: how is it with the intervening qi? Qi Bo said: follow where the qi resides and look for it on the left and on the right.
**「閒氣」本篇1見，在第二十四段**；**「閒」本篇2見而二讀：此讀 jiàn，「火遊行其閒」讀 jiān；已入校勘**；**底本作「閒」不作「間」，照錄不改**；**「期」讀 qī，本篇2見：期於左右、期之柰何**；**下段「從其氣則和，違其氣則病」是其答語之續**

Compounds built on this term

尺寸
chǐ cùn
the cubit and the inch
本篇1見；與閒氣同在第二十七段之論死生
逆順
nì shùn
adverse and favourable
本篇1見；左右應見而後可言死生之逆順
五氣
wǔ qì
the five qi
本篇2見；五氣更立，閒氣即其左右者
左右
zuǒ yòu
left and right
本篇5見；期於左右，即期於閒氣之所在

How it has been translated

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

This sitethe intervening qi閒 read jiàn; the chapter's own two occurrences of the graph carry both readings, and the collation records the pair
Later usagethe intermediate qi, jian qihow the term appears in writing on the 運氣 chapters; right about the referent, and it flattens the graph's two readings into one
Descriptivethe qi of the left and the rightfaithful to the chapter's own gloss 期於左右, and it reads like a gloss rather than a name

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-06

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Reading path

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