Classica Sinica Medica

委和

wěi hé

Yielding Harmony · wei he

Also rendered: Yielding Harmony (this site; 委 is letting a thing drop, and a short wood is one that has let its spreading go) · Wei he (transliteration; how the name appears in tables of the fifteen circuits)

Cosmology

Reviewed · 2026-10-13

At a glance

Pinyin
wěi hé
Simplified
委和
Literal
委 wěi — to yield, to let drop, to hand a thing over (《說文》: 委，委隨也); 和 hé — harmony. 委和 is wood that has let its harmony go: the spreading is still named, but it does not reach, and what the phase should give birth to is held down by the metal that overcomes it. The name is built against 敷和, and the chapter's own gloss of the state is 勝生 — what gives birth has been prevailed over.
Shuowen
**「委和」本篇2見：一在「木曰委和」，一在「委和之紀」**；**《說文》：委，委隨也；和，相應也**；**「勝生」本篇1見，即委和之紀之名**；**「從金化也」本篇1見、「邪傷肝也」本篇1見，皆委和之文**；**木之平曰敷和，太過曰發生，三目并立**

In brief

Wood falling short. 木曰委和 — wood is called yielding harmony — and the chapter names its 紀 勝生: 委和之紀，是謂勝生。生氣不政，化氣乃揚，長氣自平，收令乃早. The four clauses give the disorder exactly: the qi that gives birth no longer governs, the qi that transforms is the one that spreads, the growing levels off of itself, and the command of the harvest comes early. Then what is seen: 涼雨時降，風雲並興，草木晚榮，蒼乾凋落 — cool rain falls out of season, wind and cloud rise together, the plants flower late, and the green dries and drops. Its 從 is the rule of the whole group: 從金化也, it turns into the working of metal, the phase that overcomes it. Its 邪 falls on the liver, wood’s own viscus, and its 眚 comes upon the east. Where its neighbour 敷和 spreads and levels, 委和 spreads too late and does not fill.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The graph 委和
委者委隨，和者相應
木曰委和 — Suwen 70
2
Its 紀 name 勝生
生者木也，勝者金也，金勝木故生不遂
委和之紀，是謂勝生 — Suwen 70
3
Its disorder 生氣不政，化氣乃揚
當生者不主政，不當化者反揚
生氣不政，化氣乃揚 — Suwen 70
4
What is seen 涼雨時降，草木晚榮
涼雨不時，草木晚榮而蒼乾凋落
草木晚榮，蒼乾凋落 — Suwen 70
5
What it turns into 從金化也
木不及則金乘之，故從金化
從金化也 — Suwen 70
6
Where the harm falls 邪傷肝也
木之藏為肝，不及則肝受邪
邪傷肝也 — Suwen 70

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 70 Suwen 70 · 五常政大論 Read in context →
委和之紀，是謂勝生。生氣不政，化氣乃揚，長氣自平，收令乃早。涼雨時降，風雲並興，草木晚榮，蒼乾凋落，物秀而實，膚肉内充。 委和之纪，是谓胜生。生气不政，化气乃扬，长气自平，收令乃早。凉雨时降，风云并兴，草木晚荣，苍干凋落，物秀而实，肤肉内充。
Wěi hé zhī jì, shì wèi shèng shēng. Shēng qì bù zhèng, huà qì nǎi yáng, zhǎng qì zì píng, shōu lìng nǎi zǎo. Liáng yǔ shí jiàng, fēng yún bìng xīng, cǎo mù wǎn róng, cāng gān diāo luò, wù xiù ér shí, fū ròu nèi chōng.
The era of Yielding Harmony is called prevailing over generation: the qi of growth does not govern, the qi of transformation is instead raised, the qi of growth levels itself, and the command to harvest comes early. Cool rain falls in its season, wind and cloud rise together, plants and trees flower late, blue-green things dry and drop, and the beings flower and fruit with nothing but skin and flesh filled within.
**「委和」本篇2見：一在「木曰委和」，一在「委和之紀」**；**此段以「勝生」名其紀，四句狀其亂：生氣不政、化氣乃揚、長氣自平、收令乃早**；**次段末「從金化也」，為五不及之通例：不及則從其所不勝者之化**；**再次段「邪傷肝也」，眚在東方**

Compounds built on this term

敷和
fū hé
spreading harmony
本篇2見；木之平氣，與委和對
發生
fā shēng
bursting growth
本篇2見；木太過之名
勝生
shèng shēng
prevailing over what gives birth
本篇1見；委和之紀之名
從金化也
cóng jīn huà yě
it turns into the working of metal
本篇1見；五不及之通例，各從其所不勝

How it has been translated

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

This siteyielding harmonyharmony named but not reached; the rendering keeps 委 as a letting-go, which is what 勝生 spells out
Transliterationwei heright about the referent, and it says nothing about yielding
Descriptivewood falling shortexact, and it loses the name the chapter uses as a subject in 木曰委和

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-13

Search the glossary

Reading path

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

See all reading paths