Classica Sinica Medica

六六之節 简体 六六之节

liù liù zhī jié

The sixfold cycle

Also rendered: six periods of sixty days (Explicit) · the six sixes (Word-for-word) · sixfold division (節 as division)

Cosmology

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
liù liù zhī jié
Simplified
六六之节
Literal
六六 six sixes — six rounds of sixty days; 節 a node, a division. Six sixties make three hundred and sixty.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：六，易之數也，陰變於六，正於八；節，竹約也（引申為節度、時節）。

In brief

Heaven’s unit in this chapter: six rounds of sixty days make the year of three hundred and sixty days, and the days left over are swept into an intercalary month. Earth answers with nines of nine. The claim the chapter builds on this is that the body is counted the same way — three hundred and sixty-five nodes, nine stores. Note that 節 in the next breath means a node of the body, not a division of the year: the chapter is making the pun deliberately.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The six sixties that make the year 六六之節
Six rounds of sixty days, three hundred and sixty in all
天以六六之節，以成一歲 — Suwen 9
2
What sets the measures right 六六之節、九九制會
Heaven's sixes and earth's nines together fix the measures of heaven and the numbers of qi
夫六六之節、九九制會者，所以正天之度、氣之數也 — Suwen 9

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
3 passages
素問·六節藏象論 Suwen 9 · 六節藏象論 Read in context →
夫六六之節、九九制會者，所以正天之度、氣之數也。 夫六六之节、九九制会者，所以正天之度、气之数也。
fú liù liù zhī jié, jiǔ jiǔ zhì huì zhě, suǒ yǐ zhèng tiān zhī dù, qì zhī shù yě.
The sixes of six and the nines of nine are what set right the measures of heaven and the numbers of qi.
全篇立數之綱。天以六六為節（三百六十日），地以九九制會；下文「三百六十五節」之「節」則指人身骨節，與此同名而異實，本篇故為此對照。
素問·寶命全形論 Suwen 25 · 寶命全形論 Read in context →
天有陰陽，人有十二節。天有寒暑，人有虚實。 天有阴阳，人有十二节。天有寒暑，人有虚实。
Tiān yǒu yīn yáng, rén yǒu shí èr jié. Tiān yǒu hán shǔ, rén yǒu xū shí.
Heaven has yin and yang; the human being has twelve joints. Heaven has cold and heat; the human being has emptiness and repletion.
「天有陰陽，人有十二節」：本篇之十二節，與第九篇「六六之節」之以節紀天度者同字而義別——彼以六六三百六十節紀一周天之度，本篇則以十二節紀人身之分。「節」讀 jié，《說文》訓「竹約也」，引申為骨節、時節、法度，本篇三義實兼之。舊注三說（十二大關節、十二經脈、十二月之分）並存，本站照錄底本而不偏主一說。
素問·六微㫖大論 Suwen 68 · 六微㫖大論 Read in context →
歧伯稽首再拜對曰：明乎哉！問天之道也。此因天之序，盛衰之時也。帝曰：願聞天道六六之節，盛衰何也？ 歧伯稽首再拜对曰：明乎哉！问天之道也。此因天之序，盛衰之时也。帝曰：愿闻天道六六之节，盛衰何也？
Qí bó qǐ shǒu zài bài duì yuē: míng hū zāi! Wèn tiān zhī dào yě. Cǐ yīn tiān zhī xù, shèng shuāi zhī shí yě. Dì yuē: yuàn wén tiān dào liù liù zhī jié, shèng shuāi hé yě?
Qi Bo bowed his head to the ground, prostrated himself twice and answered: how clear the question is! You ask about the way of heaven. This follows the order of heaven and the season of waxing and waning. Huang Di said: I wish to hear of the six-six divisions of the way of heaven. What is the waxing and waning?
「願聞天道六六之節，盛衰何也」——**「六六之節」本篇1見，止在此問**；**此問承上「此因天之序，盛衰之時也」而來，帝欲聞天道何以六六為節**；**「節」讀 jié，本篇2見：六六之節、六節氣位**；**與第九篇「天以六六之節，以成一歲」同名：彼以六六成一歲之日，此以六六分一歲之氣位**

Compounds built on this term

九九制會
jiǔ jiǔ zhì huì
the nines of nine that measure and match
Earth's answer to heaven's sixes
三百六十五日
sān bǎi liù shí wǔ rì
three hundred and sixty-five days
The year as the long and short months make it
積氣盈閏
jī qì yíng rùn
heaping qi into an intercalary month
What is done with the remainder

How it has been translated

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

Common Englishsix periods of sixty days / the six sixesThe first explains, the second translates literally.
This sitethe sixfold cycle節 is the same word the chapter uses two lines later for the three hundred and sixty-five nodes of the body; cycle keeps the year side of it, and the gloss says plainly that the other side is a pun.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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Reading path

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