Classica Sinica Medica

氣立 简体 气立

qì lì

The qi that stands · qi li

Also rendered: The qi that stands (this site; 立 is standing or footing, and what stands here stands on the season's qi) · Qi-standing (literal; shorter, and it reads as a noun of state rather than as a thing that has its footing)

Physiology

Reviewed · 2026-10-13

At a glance

Pinyin
qì lì
Simplified
气立
Literal
氣 qì — qi; 立 lì — to stand, to be set up, to have one's footing (《說文》: 立，住也). 氣立 is what stands by its qi: a life that has no root of its own but holds its footing on the season's qi, and goes on only for as long as that qi holds. The chapter puts it beside 神機, and the two are the last distinction the discourse makes.
Shuowen
**「氣立」本篇1見，止此一句**；**《說文》：立，住也**；**「根于外者」本篇2見，命曰氣立**；**「氣止則化絶」與「神去則機息」對舉**；**「化」本篇59見，其絶者化也**

In brief

What is rooted outside, and stands by its qi. The paragraph runs: 根于外者亦五，故生化之别，有五氣、五味、五色、五類、五宜也…根于外者，命曰氣立，氣止則化絶. So 氣立 is the counterpart of 神機: where what is rooted within has a mechanism that goes on until the spirit leaves it, what is rooted without has only the season’s qi to stand on, and the moment that qi stops, its transformations stop with it. The chapter gives them as a pair, and both in the same breath: 根于中者，命曰神機，神去則機息；根于外者，命曰氣立，氣止則化絶. 氣立 is the weaker of the two, and it is by the two together that the chapter divides the living world — what carries its root in itself, and what carries it in the season.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graph 氣立
氣者所乘之氣，立者倚之而立
命曰氣立 — Suwen 70
2
Where it roots 根于外者
根在物外，倚歲氣而立
根于外者亦五 — Suwen 70
3
Its ending 氣止則化絶
氣一止，化亦随絶
氣止則化絶 — Suwen 70
4
Against 神機 神去則機息
一在内，一在外，同歸於息
根于中者，命曰神機 — Suwen 70
5
Its count 根于外者亦五
外根亦分五，與五類五宜相應
根于外者亦五 — Suwen 70

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 70 Suwen 70 · 五常政大論 Read in context →
根于外者亦五，故生化之别，有五氣、五味、五色、五類、五宜也。帝曰：何謂也？歧伯曰：根于中者，命曰神機，神去則機息。根于外者，命曰氣立，氣止則化絶。故各有制，各有勝，各有生，各有成。 根于外者亦五，故生化之别，有五气、五味、五色、五类、五宜也。帝曰：何谓也？歧伯曰：根于中者，命曰神机，神去则机息。根于外者，命曰气立，气止则化绝。故各有制，各有胜，各有生，各有成。
Gēn yú wài zhě yì wǔ, gù shēng huà zhī bié, yǒu wǔ qì, wǔ wèi, wǔ sè, wǔ lèi, wǔ yí yě. Dì yuē: hé wèi yě? Qí bó yuē: gēn yú zhōng zhě, mìng yuē shén jī, shén qù zé jī xī. Gēn yú wài zhě, mìng yuē qì lì, qì zhǐ zé huà jué. Gù gè yǒu zhì, gè yǒu shèng, gè yǒu shēng, gè yǒu chéng.
What is rooted without is also five; hence the distinctions of engendering and transforming are the five qi, the five flavours, the five colours, the five classes and the five suitabilities. Huang Di said: what does that mean? Qi Bo said: what is rooted within is named the spirit mechanism — when the spirit goes the mechanism ceases. What is rooted without is named the standing of qi — when the qi stops transformation is cut off. Therefore each has its constraint, each its prevailing, each its engendering, each its completion.
**「氣立」本篇1見，止此一句**；**此段以「根于中者，命曰神機，神去則機息」與「根于外者，命曰氣立，氣止則化絶」對舉**；**「神機」本篇1見，另立一目**；**此段亦出「五氣、五味、五色、五類、五宜」，為五宜一目之所本**

Compounds built on this term

神機
shén jī
spirit mechanism
本篇1見；神去則機息，與氣立對舉
中根
zhōng gēn
the root within
本篇1見；所謂中根也
生化
shēng huà
generation and transformation
本篇8見；生化之别，有五氣五味五色五類五宜
五宜
wǔ yí
the five suitabilities
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 sitethe qi that standsa life with its footing in the season's qi; the rendering keeps it standing, which the contrast with 神機 wants
Transliterationqi liright about the referent, and it says nothing about standing or about where the root is
Descriptivewhat is rooted in the outer qiexact about the paragraph, and it drops the word for standing that answers 機息

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-13

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Reading path

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