Classica Sinica Medica

四維 简体 四维

sì wéi

The four quarters of the year · si wei

Also rendered: The four quarters of the year (this site; 維 is the corner, and the four are the months between the seasons) · The four corners (shorter, and in English it does not say of what)

Cosmology

Reviewed · 2026-10-14

At a glance

Pinyin
sì wéi
Simplified
四维
Literal
四 sì — four; 維 wéi — the corner rope of a net, the guy-line that holds a thing up (《說文》: 維，車蓋維也), and from that the corner of anything. The four 維 are the four corners of the year, the months that lie between the seasons' middles.
Shuowen
**《說文》：維，車蓋維也**。**「四維」本篇2見**；**「維」字本篇亦止2見，皆在此二詞之内**；**二見皆在論勝復早晏之二段**；**王冰注：「春夏秋冬四正之氣，在於四維之分也」，又以春温在辰巳之月、夏暑在午未、秋涼在戌亥、冬寒在丑寅實之**；**張介賓以四維為辰戌丑未之月，即四季月**；**底本作「涼」不作「凉」**

In brief

The four corners of the year, where the chapter says the rise and fall of cold and heat actually takes place: 夫氣之生，與其化，衰盛異也。寒暑温涼，盛衰之用，其在四維. The point is that the four seasons do not begin at their own middles but at the corners between them — 故陽之動，始於温，盛於暑；陰之動，始於清，盛於寒，春夏秋冬，各差其分 — which is why the passage can go on to a thirty-degree lag (又凡三十度也) and to a rule of treatment that has to know where the qi really is. 王冰 pins the corners to the months: spring’s warmth in 辰巳, summer’s heat in 午未, autumn’s cool in 戌亥, winter’s cold in 丑寅; 張介賓 takes 四維 as the four 季月, 辰戌丑未. The word is used a second time in the verse the chapter quotes — 謹按四維，斥候皆歸 — where the corners are the places from which the year’s movement is watched.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The word 四維
四隅之月，四季月也
其在四維 — Suwen 74
2
What is in them 寒暑温涼，盛衰之用
四氣之盛衰皆見於四隅
其在四維 — Suwen 74
3
The months 辰巳、午未、戌亥、丑寅
王冰所定四正之氣所在
其在四維 — Suwen 74
4
Why the seasons lag 各差其分
四氣不在四仲而在四維
春夏秋冬，各差其分 — Suwen 74
5
How much 又凡三十度也
差之數為三十日
又凡三十度也 — Suwen 74
6
Watched from there 謹按四維，斥候皆歸
四維為候氣之地
斥候皆歸 — Suwen 74

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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1 passages
Suwen 74 Suwen 74 · 至真要大論 Read in context →
帝曰：勝復之變，早晏何如？歧伯曰：夫所勝者，勝至已病，病已愠愠，而復已萌也。夫所復者，勝盡而起，得位而甚。勝有微甚，復有少多。勝和而和，勝虚而虚，天之常也。帝曰：勝復之作，動不當位，或後時而至，其故何也？歧伯曰：夫氣之生，與其化，衰盛異也。寒暑温涼，盛衰之用，其在四維。故陽之動，始於温，盛於暑；陰之動，始於清，盛於寒。春夏秋冬，各差其分。 帝曰：胜复之变，早晏何如？歧伯曰：夫所胜者，胜至已病，病已愠愠，而复已萌也。夫所复者，胜尽而起，得位而甚。胜有微甚，复有少多。胜和而和，胜虚而虚，天之常也。帝曰：胜复之作，动不当位，或后时而至，其故何也？歧伯曰：夫气之生，与其化，衰盛异也。寒暑温凉，盛衰之用，其在四维。故阳之动，始于温，盛于暑；阴之动，始于清，盛于寒。春夏秋冬，各差其分。
Dì yuē: shèng fù zhī biàn, zǎo yàn hé rú? Qí bó yuē: fú suǒ shèng zhě, shèng zhì yǐ bìng, bìng yǐ yùn yùn, ér fù yǐ méng yě. Fú suǒ fù zhě, shèng jìn ér qǐ, dé wèi ér shèn. Shèng yǒu wēi shèn, fù yǒu shǎo duō. Shèng hé ér hé, shèng xū ér xū, tiān zhī cháng yě. Dì yuē: shèng fù zhī zuò, dòng bù dāng wèi, huò hòu shí ér zhì, qí gù hé yě? Qí bó yuē: fú qì zhī shēng, yǔ qí huà, shuāi shèng yì yě. Hán shǔ wēn liáng, shèng shuāi zhī yòng, qí zài sì wéi. Gù yáng zhī dòng, shǐ yú wēn, shèng yú shǔ; yīn zhī dòng, shǐ yú qīng, shèng yú hán. Chūn xià qiū dōng, gè chài qí fēn.
Huang Di said: in the changes of prevalence and revenge, what of earliness and lateness? Qi Bo said: as for what prevails, when prevalence arrives there is illness already, and while the illness is still brooding the revenge has already sprouted. As for what takes revenge, it rises when the prevalence is exhausted and is severe when it has its place. Prevalence has slight and severe, revenge has little and much. When prevalence is harmonious it is harmonious; when prevalence is empty it is empty — the constant of heaven. Huang Di said: in the making of prevalence and revenge the movement is not in its proper place, or arrives after its time — what is the cause? Qi Bo said: the birth of qi and its transformation differ in decline and abundance. Cold and heat, warm and cool, the use of abundance and decline, lie in the four corners. Hence the movement of yang begins in warmth and is abundant in heat; the movement of yin begins in cool and is abundant in cold. Spring, summer, autumn and winter each differ by their degrees.
**「四維」本篇2見，此為前一見**；**「寒暑温涼，盛衰之用，其在四維」為四維之正文**；**緊接下即「陽之動，始於温，盛於暑」，是四維中所見之次第**；**王冰以辰巳、午未、戌亥、丑寅四分配之，張介賓以辰戌丑未為四維**

Compounds built on this term

斥候
chì hòu
the watchposts
本篇一見；四維為其候氣之地
各差其分
gè chà qí fèn
each differs in its measure
本篇一見；四維之說所由出
三十度
sān shí dù
thirty degrees
本篇一見；差之數，度者日也
寒暑温涼
hán shǔ wēn liáng
cold and heat, warmth and cool
本篇一見；四維中所用之事

How it has been translated

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

This sitethe four quarters of the yearthe corners where cold and heat actually rise and fall, which is why the seasons lag
Literalthe four guy-linesexact about 維, and it is a piece of a cart
Descriptivethe four months between the seasonsclear, and it settles a question the commentators leave open

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-14

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