素问·五运行大论 Great Discourse on the Circulation of the Five Movements
黄帝坐明堂，始正天纲，临观八极，考建五常，请天师而问之曰：论言天地之动静，神明为之纪，阴阳之升降，寒暑彰其兆。余闻五运之数于夫子，夫子之所言，正五气之各主岁尔，首甲定运，余因论之。鬼臾区曰：土主甲己，金主乙庚，水主丙辛，木主丁壬，火主戊癸。子午之上，少阴主之。丑未之上，太阴主之。寅申之上，少阳主之。卯酉之上，阳明主之。辰戌之上，太阳主之。巳亥之上，厥阴主之。不合阴阳，其故何也。歧伯曰：是明道也，此天地之阴阳也。夫数之可数者，人中之阴阳也，然所合数之可得者也。夫阴阳者，数之可十，推之可百，数之可千，推之可万。天地阴阳者，不以数推以象之谓也。
帝曰：愿闻其所始也。歧伯曰：昭乎哉问也。臣览《太始天元册》文，丹天之气经于牛女戊分，黅天之气经于心尾己分，苍天之气经于危室柳鬼，素天之气经于亢氐昴毕，玄天之气经于张翼娄胃。所谓戊己分者，奎壁角轸，则天地之门户也。夫候之所始，道之所生，不可不通也。
帝曰：善论言天地者，万物之上下，左右者，阴阳之道路，未知其所谓也。歧伯曰：所谓上下者，岁上下见阴阳之所在也。左右者，诸上见厥阴，左少阴右太阳。见少阴，左太阴右厥阴。见太阴，左少阳右少阴。见少阳，左阳明右大阴。见阳明，左太阳右少阳。见太阳，左厥阴右阳明。所谓面北而命其位，言其见也。帝曰：何谓下。歧伯曰：厥阴在上则少阳在下，左阳明右太阴。少阴在上则阳明在下，左太阳右少阳。太阴在上则太阳在下，左厥阴右阳明。少阳在上则厥阴在下，左少阴右太阳。阳明在上则少阴在下，左太阴右厥阴。太阳在上则太阴在下，左少阳右少阴。所谓面南而命其位，言其见也。上下相遘，寒暑相临，气相得则和，不相得则病。帝曰：气相得而病者，何也。歧伯曰：以下临上，不当位也。帝曰：动静何如。歧伯曰：上者右行，下者左行，左右周天馀而复会也。帝曰：余闻鬼臾区曰：应地者静。今夫子乃言下者左行，不知其所谓也，愿闻何以生之乎。歧伯曰：天地动静，五行迁复，虽鬼臾区其上候而已，犹不能徧明。夫变化之用，天垂象，地成形，七曜纬虚，五行丽地。地者，所以载生成之形类也。虚者，所以列应天之精气也。形精之动，犹根本之与枝叶也，仰观其象，虽远可知也。
帝曰：地之为下，否乎。歧伯曰：地为人之下，太虚之中者也。帝曰：冯乎。歧伯曰：大气举之也。燥以乾之，暑以蒸之，风以动之，湿以润之，寒以坚之，火以温之。故风寒在下，燥热在上，湿气在中，火游行其闲，寒暑六入，故令虚而生化也。故燥胜则地乾，暑胜则地热，风胜则地动，湿胜则地泥，寒胜则地裂，火胜则地固矣。
帝曰：天地之气，何以候之。歧伯曰：天地之气，胜复之作，不形于诊也。《脉法》曰：天地之变，无以脉诊，此之谓也。帝曰：闲气何如。歧伯曰：随气所在，期于左右。帝曰：期之柰何。歧伯曰：从其气则和，违其气则病，不当其位者病，迭移其位者病，失守其位者危，尺寸反者死，阴阳交者死。先立其年，以知其气，左右应见，然后乃可以言死生之逆顺。
帝曰：寒暑燥湿风火，在人合之柰何，其于万物，何以生化。歧伯曰：东方生风，风生木，木生酸，酸生肝，肝生筋，筋生心。其在天为玄，在人为道，在地为化。化生五味，道生智，玄生神，化生气。神在天为风，在地为木，在体为筋，在气为柔，在藏为肝。其性为暄，其德为和，其用为动，其色为苍，其化为荣，其虫毛，其政为散，其令宣发，其变摧拉，其眚为陨，其味为酸，其志为怒。怒伤肝，悲胜怒，风伤肝，燥胜风，酸伤筋，辛胜酸。
南方生热，热生火，火生苦，苦生心，心生血，血生脾。其在天为热，在地为火，在体为脉，在气为息，在藏为心。其性为暑，其德为显，其用为躁，其色为赤，其化为茂，其虫羽，其政为明，其令郁蒸，其变炎烁，其眚燔焫，其味为苦，其志为喜。喜伤心，恐胜喜，热伤气，寒胜热，苦伤气，咸胜苦。
中央生湿，湿生土，土生甘，甘生脾，脾生肉，肉生肺。其在天为湿，在地为土，在体为肉，在气为充，在藏为脾。其性静兼，其德为濡，其用为化，其色为黄，其化为盈，其虫倮。其政为谧，其令云雨，其变动注，其眚淫溃，其味为甘，其志为思。思伤脾，怒胜思，湿伤肉，风胜湿，甘伤脾，酸胜甘。
西方生燥，燥生金，金生辛，辛生肺，肺生皮毛，皮毛生肾。其在天为燥，在地为金，在体为皮毛，在气为成，在藏为肺，其性为凉，其德为清，其用为固，其色为白，其化为敛，其虫介，其政为劲，其令雾露，其变肃杀，其眚苍落，其味为辛，其志为忧。忧伤肺，喜胜忧，热伤皮毛，寒胜热，辛伤皮毛，苦胜辛。
北方生寒，寒生水，水生咸，咸生肾，肾生骨髓，髓生肝。其在天为寒，在地为水，在体为骨，在气为坚，在藏为肾，其性为凛，其德为寒，其用为，其色为黑，其化为肃，其虫鳞，其政为静，其令，其变凝冽，其眚冰雹，其味为咸，其志为恐。恐伤肾，思胜恐，寒伤血，燥胜寒，咸伤血，甘胜咸。
气更立，各有所先，非其位则邪，当其位则正。帝曰：病生之变何如。歧伯曰：气相得则微，不相得则甚。帝曰：主岁何如。歧伯曰：气有馀，则制己所胜而侮所不胜，其不及，则己所不胜侮而乘之，己所胜轻而侮之。侮反受邪，侮而受邪，寡于畏也。帝曰：善。
Huangdi sat in the Hall of Light; he began to rectify the celestial framework, surveying the eight extremities and examining and establishing the five constants. He summoned the Celestial Master and asked him: Treatises say that the movement and stillness of heaven and earth are governed by spirit and illumination as their guiding thread, and that the rising and falling of yin and yang are shown forth in the signs of cold and heat. I have heard from you, Master, of the numbers of the five movements; what you have said rectifies how the five qi each govern a year, beginning with jia to fix the movements. Now I wish to discuss this further. Guiyuqu said: Earth governs the years of jia and ji; metal governs yi and geng; water governs bing and xin; wood governs ding and ren; fire governs wu and gui. Above zi and wu, lesser yin governs; above chou and wei, greater yin governs; above yin and shen, lesser yang governs; above mao and you, yang brightness governs; above chen and xu, greater yang governs; above si and hai, terminal yin governs. Why do these not match up directly with yin and yang — what is the reason for this? Qibo said: This is a profound principle indeed — it concerns the yin and yang of heaven and earth. Now, numbers that can be counted are the yin and yang within man; these are numbers that can be matched and grasped. As for yin and yang in general, their numbers may be counted to ten, extended to a hundred, counted to a thousand, extended to ten thousand. But the yin and yang of heaven and earth are not to be reckoned by number — they are to be grasped through image.
Huangdi said: I wish to hear how this began. Qibo said: Profound indeed is this question! I have examined the text of the Grand Origin of Heaven from Remotest Antiquity: the cinnabar-red heavenly qi passes through the wu division of the lunar mansions Ox and Girl; the ochre-yellow heavenly qi passes through the ji division of Heart and Tail; the kingfisher-green heavenly qi passes through Rooftop, Encampment, Willow, and Ghost; the plain-white heavenly qi passes through Neck, Foundation, Pleiades, and Net; the mysterious-black heavenly qi passes through Spread, Wing, Bond, and Stomach. What are called the wu and ji divisions are Legs, Wall, Horn, and Chariot — these are the gate and door of heaven and earth. The origin of observation and the source of the Way — one must not fail to comprehend them.
Huangdi said: Good. The treatises speak of heaven and earth as the above and below of the myriad things, and of left and right as the pathways of yin and yang — I do not yet grasp what this means. Qibo said: What is meant by 'above and below' is where yin and yang appear as above or below within the cycle of the year. As for 'left and right': wherever terminal yin appears above, lesser yin lies to its left and greater yang to its right. Where lesser yin appears, greater yin lies to its left and terminal yin to its right. Where greater yin appears, lesser yang lies to its left and lesser yin to its right. Where lesser yang appears, yang brightness lies to its left and greater yin to its right. Where yang brightness appears, greater yang lies to its left and lesser yang to its right. Where greater yang appears, terminal yin lies to its left and yang brightness to its right. This is what is meant by 'facing north to determine position,' referring to what appears above. Huangdi said: What is meant by 'below'? Qibo said: When terminal yin is above, lesser yang is below, with yang brightness to its left and greater yin to its right. When lesser yin is above, yang brightness is below, with greater yang to its left and lesser yang to its right. When greater yin is above, greater yang is below, with terminal yin to its left and yang brightness to its right. When lesser yang is above, terminal yin is below, with lesser yin to its left and greater yang to its right. When yang brightness is above, lesser yin is below, with greater yin to its left and terminal yin to its right. When greater yang is above, greater yin is below, with lesser yang to its left and lesser yin to its right. This is what is meant by 'facing south to determine position,' referring to what appears below. Above and below encounter each other, cold and heat overlook each other; when the qi is compatible there is harmony, when it is not compatible there is disease. Huangdi said: Why does disease occur even when the qi is compatible? Qibo said: Because what is below overlooks what is above, and their positions are not appropriate to each other. Huangdi said: What of movement and stillness? Qibo said: What is above moves to the right, what is below moves to the left; left and right complete the circuit of heaven, and after a surplus they meet again. Huangdi said: I have heard Guiyuqu say that what corresponds to earth is still. Now you, Master, say that what is below moves to the left — I do not understand what this means. I wish to hear how this comes about. Qibo said: The movement and stillness of heaven and earth, the shifting and returning of the five phases — even Guiyuqu observed them only from above, and still could not comprehend them fully. Now as for the working of change and transformation: heaven hangs down its images, earth completes forms; the seven luminaries thread through the void, the five phases are attached to the earth. The earth is that which bears and carries the forms and categories of what is generated and completed. The void is that which arrays the essential qi corresponding to heaven. The movement of form and essence is like the relation of root and trunk to branch and leaf: looking upward to observe their images, even what is far off can be known.
Huangdi said: Is the earth situated below, or is it not? Qibo said: The earth is below man, yet it is suspended within the Great Void. Huangdi said: What upholds it? Qibo said: The great qi upholds it. Dryness dries it, summer-heat steams it, wind moves it, dampness moistens it, cold hardens it, fire warms it. Thus wind and cold lie below, dryness and heat lie above, damp qi lies in the middle, and fire circulates and travels between them; cold and heat enter the cycle six times, and thereby the earth is made to become hollow and to give rise to generation and transformation. Hence when dryness prevails the earth becomes parched; when summer-heat prevails the earth becomes hot; when wind prevails the earth is set in motion; when dampness prevails the earth becomes muddy; when cold prevails the earth cracks; when fire prevails the earth becomes solid and firm.
Huangdi said: How does one observe the qi of heaven and earth? Qibo said: The workings of the qi of heaven and earth, the rise of dominance and counter-dominance, are not manifested in pulse diagnosis. The Pulse Canon says: 'The changes of heaven and earth cannot be diagnosed by the pulse' — this is what is meant. Huangdi said: What of the intervening qi? Qibo said: One observes it according to where the qi resides, expecting it to the left or to the right. Huangdi said: How does one anticipate it? Qibo said: If one follows the qi there is harmony; if one goes against the qi there is disease. If the qi is not in its proper position there is disease. If it shifts repeatedly from its position there is disease. If it loses and fails to hold its position there is danger. If the cubit and inch pulse positions are reversed, there is death. If yin and yang cross, there is death. One must first establish the governing qi of the year in order to know its qi; once the correspondences to left and right are observed, only then may one speak of the contrariety and compliance that determine life and death.
Huangdi said: Cold, heat, dryness, dampness, wind, and fire — how do they correspond in man, and how do they generate and transform the myriad things? Qibo said: The east generates wind; wind generates wood; wood generates sourness; sourness generates the liver; the liver generates the sinews; the sinews generate the heart. In heaven this is the mysterious; in man it is the Way; on earth it is transformation. Transformation generates the five flavors, the Way generates wisdom, the mysterious generates spirit, transformation generates qi. Spirit, in heaven, is wind; on earth, it is wood; in the body, it is the sinews; in qi, it is suppleness; in the viscera, it is the liver. Its nature is warmth; its virtue is harmony; its function is movement; its color is kingfisher-green; its transformation is flourishing growth; its creature is the furred kind; its governance is dispersal; its command is to spread and put forth; its aberration is uprooting and breaking; its calamity is falling and shedding; its flavor is sour; its emotion is anger. Anger damages the liver; grief overcomes anger. Wind damages the liver; dryness overcomes wind. Sourness damages the sinews; pungency overcomes sourness.
The south generates heat; heat generates fire; fire generates bitterness; bitterness generates the heart; the heart generates blood; blood generates the spleen. In heaven this is heat; on earth it is fire; in the body it is the vessels; in qi it is breath; in the viscera it is the heart. Its nature is summer-heat; its virtue is manifestation; its function is restlessness; its color is red; its transformation is luxuriant growth; its creature is the feathered kind; its governance is brightness; its command is sultry steaminess; its aberration is scorching and searing; its calamity is burning; its flavor is bitter; its emotion is joy. Joy damages the heart; fear overcomes joy. Heat damages qi; cold overcomes heat. Bitterness damages qi; saltiness overcomes bitterness.
The center generates dampness; dampness generates earth; earth generates sweetness; sweetness generates the spleen; the spleen generates flesh; flesh generates the lung. In heaven this is dampness; on earth it is earth; in the body it is flesh; in qi it is fullness; in the viscera it is the spleen. Its nature is calm and encompassing; its virtue is moistening; its function is transformation; its color is yellow; its transformation is abundance; its creature is the unshelled, unfurred kind; its governance is quietude; its command is cloud and rain; its aberration is sudden downpour; its calamity is flooding and collapse; its flavor is sweet; its emotion is contemplation. Contemplation damages the spleen; anger overcomes contemplation. Dampness damages the flesh; wind overcomes dampness. Sweetness damages the spleen; sourness overcomes sweetness.
The west generates dryness; dryness generates metal; metal generates pungency; pungency generates the lung; the lung generates the skin and body hair; skin and body hair generate the kidney. In heaven this is dryness; on earth it is metal; in the body it is skin and body hair; in qi it is completion; in the viscera it is the lung. Its nature is coolness; its virtue is clarity; its function is firmness; its color is white; its transformation is contraction; its creature is the shelled kind; its governance is severity; its command is fog and dew; its aberration is harshness and killing; its calamity is withering and shedding; its flavor is pungent; its emotion is worry. Worry damages the lung; joy overcomes worry. Heat damages skin and body hair; cold overcomes heat. Pungency damages skin and body hair; bitterness overcomes pungency.
The north generates cold; cold generates water; water generates saltiness; saltiness generates the kidney; the kidney generates bone marrow; marrow generates the liver. In heaven this is cold; on earth it is water; in the body it is bone; in qi it is firmness; in the viscera it is the kidney. Its nature is severe cold; its virtue is coldness; its function is storage; its color is black; its transformation is solemnity; its creature is the scaled kind; its governance is stillness; its command is frost and snow; its aberration is freezing and bitter cold; its calamity is ice and hail; its flavor is salty; its emotion is fear. Fear damages the kidney; contemplation overcomes fear. Cold damages the blood; dryness overcomes cold. Saltiness damages the blood; sweetness overcomes saltiness.
Qi changes and is established in turn, each with its own precedence: when it is not in its proper position it is pathogenic, when it is in its proper position it is correct. Huangdi said: What are the changes by which disease arises? Qibo said: When the qi is compatible, disease is mild; when it is not compatible, disease is severe. Huangdi said: What of the governance of the year? Qibo said: When qi is in excess, it overcontrols what it normally dominates, and also insults what it cannot dominate. When it is insufficient, then what it cannot dominate will insult and take advantage of it, and what it normally dominates will treat it lightly and insult it as well. The one who insults may in turn receive pathogenic qi in return — when one insults and receives pathogenic qi in return, it is because one has grown too reckless and lost due caution. Huangdi said: Good.