WuYun-LiuQi (五运六气, "Five Movements and Six Qi") is a classical climate-health framework drawn from the seven Yunqi treatises of the Huangdi Neijing Suwen (《黄帝内经·素问》). It maps two interlocking cycles — five cyclical climate movements (WuYun) and six atmospheric energies (LiuQi) — onto the seasons of each year, then connects those environmental rhythms to patterns of human wellness. In plain terms, it is the classical answer to a simple question: how does the changing climate of a given year shape what our bodies need?
The five movements (WuYun)
The five movements (五运) — Wood (木), Fire (火), Earth (土), Metal (金), and Water (水) — rotate on a ten-year grand cycle called the Dayun (大运, "grand movement"). Each year is governed by one movement in either a sufficient (太过) or deficient (不及) state, depending on whether the year stem is yang or yin in the sexagenary cycle. A Wood year, for instance, brings a climate characterised by wind and vegetative vigour; a Metal year brings dryness and contraction. These climatic tendencies, described in 《素问·天元纪大论》 and 《素问·五运行大论》, set the backdrop for the entire year's wellness guidance.
The six qi (LiuQi)
The six qi (六气) layer a finer resolution on top of the five movements. Six atmospheric energies — Jueyin Wind-Wood (厥阴风木), Shaoyin Sovereign Fire (少阴君火), Taiyang Cold-Water (太阳寒水), Yangming Dryness-Metal (阳明燥金), Taiyin Damp-Earth (太阴湿土), and Shaoyang Ministerial Fire (少阳相火) — divide the year into six roughly 60-day steps. Each step carries a "host qi" (主气) that is fixed every year and a "guest qi" (客气) that rotates annually. The overlay of guest upon host, known as Ke-Zhu Jiaohui (客主加临), determines the dominant climatic flavour of each two-month period.
How TianJi computes the layers
TianJi computes these layers deterministically from the calendar date you enter. It identifies the grand movement for the year, resolves the Sitian (司天) and Zaiquan (在泉) governing qi that split the year into upper and lower halves, and overlays guest qi onto host qi for the current 60-day step. The result is a climate-health snapshot grounded entirely in classical formulas — no subjective interpretation, no fortune-telling. Every output traces back to a cited passage in the Suwen.
Wellness context and limits
It is important to keep WuYun-LiuQi in its original wellness context. The Suwen describes these cycles to guide seasonal living — when to sleep, what to eat, how to regulate activity and emotion — not to diagnose illness or prescribe treatment. TianJi follows that boundary faithfully: its outputs are educational lifestyle guidance rooted in classical theory, never a substitute for professional medical advice.