Classica Sinica Medica

壯火 简体 壮火

zhuàng huǒ

Strong fire · zhuang huo

Also rendered: The strong fire (this site; 壯 is rendered as strength rather than greatness so that it reads as fire in excess, not fire merely large) · Zhuang huo (transliteration; used when the pair 壯火／少火 is cited whole)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-10-11

At a glance

Pinyin
zhuàng huǒ
Simplified
壮火
Literal
壯 zhuàng — grown great, at its full strength (《說文》: 壯，大也); 火 huǒ — fire. The strong fire is fire that has gone past its measure: it consumes the qi instead of feeding it. Suwen 5 gives it three clauses in a row, each with a different verb — 壯火之氣衰, 壯火食氣, 壯火散氣 — and sets the three against the three of the lesser fire. Nothing in the chapter condemns fire; what is condemned is excess, which is why the same paragraph can say the lesser fire gives the qi birth.
Shuowen
**「壯火」本篇3見**；**「壯」讀 zhuàng，本篇6見**；**「火」讀 huǒ，本篇11見**；**《說文》：壯，大也**；**本篇三句言壯火：氣衰、食氣、散氣；三句言少火：氣壯、生氣、為氣所食**

In brief

Fire grown past its measure — the fire that eats and scatters the qi rather than feeding it. Suwen 5 puts it in a single breath with 少火, and the contrast is the whole doctrine: 壯火食氣，少火生氣 — the strong fire eats the qi, the lesser fire gives it birth. The chapter’s other two clauses say the same thing from either end: the qi of the strong fire wanes, and the strong fire scatters the qi. The pair stands at the head of the chapter’s long argument about qi and flavour, and later medicine took the two graphs as the names of the pathological and the physiological fire respectively.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graphs 壯火
壯者盛大，火之過盛者也
壯火之氣衰 — Suwen 5
2
What it does to qi 壯火食氣
壯火耗食人身之氣
壯火食氣 — Suwen 5
3
The other face 壯火散氣
壯火耗散其氣
壯火散氣 — Suwen 5
4
What becomes of it 壯火之氣衰
過盛之火，其氣反衰
壯火之氣衰 — Suwen 5
5
What is set against it 少火
少火之氣壯，少火生氣
少火之氣壯 — Suwen 5
6
The rule it belongs to 氣味辛甘發散爲陽
辛甘發散為陽，酸苦涌泄為陰
氣味辛甘發散爲陽 — Suwen 5

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
1 passages
素問·陰陽應象大論 Suwen 5 · 陰陽應象大論 Read in context →
壯火之氣衰，少火之氣壯。壯火食氣，氣食少火。壯火散氣，少火生氣。 壮火之气衰，少火之气壮。壮火食气，气食少火。壮火散气，少火生气。
zhuàng huǒ zhī qì shuāi, shào huǒ zhī qì zhuàng. zhuàng huǒ sì qì, qì sì shào huǒ. zhuàng huǒ sàn qì, shào huǒ shēng qì.
The qi of vigorous fire declines; the qi of gentle fire flourishes. Vigorous fire consumes qi, while qi feeds on gentle fire. Vigorous fire scatters qi; gentle fire engenders qi.
**「壯火」本篇3見**；**「少火」本篇3見，見本站新目**；**「氣」本篇55見，見本站第一四七條**；**「少火之氣壯」本篇1見**

Compounds built on this term

壯火食氣
zhuàng huǒ shí qì
the strong fire eats the qi
本篇1見
壯火散氣
zhuàng huǒ sàn qì
the strong fire scatters the qi
本篇1見
壯火之氣衰
zhuàng huǒ zhī qì shuāi
the qi of the strong fire wanes
本篇1見
少火生氣
shào huǒ shēng qì
the lesser fire gives birth to the qi
本篇1見

How it has been translated

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

This siteStrong fire · zhuang huokeeps the pair with the lesser fire visible and names the excess rather than the element
Literalgreat firethe plainest rendering of 壯; said of fire it suggests size rather than excess
Explanatorythe fire that consumes the qithe sense in full, at the cost of the two graphs

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-11

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Reading path

Guided routes through the corpus, each built on a handful of chapters and their key terms.

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