“相火”探究

On "ministerial fire"

相火是代君行令之常火,在君火主持指挥下发挥作用,处于相傅之位,是先天无形之火,并非后天有形之火。相火是具体维持和促进人体生命活动的火,是机体内流行不息的一种能量物质,它广泛周流于人体脏腑经络、四肢百骸,具有温养脏腑经络、四肢百骸、防御外邪、维系气机升降出入的作用,能够协助五脏六腑升清降浊,促进机体新陈代谢。故谓:相火根于元气,火助气行,气助火威,相辅相成,周流不息。

Ministerial fire is a kind of regular fire that acts on behalf of a monarch, playing the role of a prime minister under the command of sovereign fire as an innate invisible fire instead of an acquired visible fire. It is a specific fire that maintains and promotes human life activities, a kind of constant energy matter in the body that is widely distributed in the body’s viscera,meridians and all the limbs and bones, which can warmly nourish them, defend against external pathogens, and maintain the qi movement in the form of ascending, descending, exiting and entering, helping the zang-fu viscera to ascend the clear and descend the turbid, promoting the metabolism of the body. Therefore, it is said that ministerial fire is rooted in primordial qi, promotes its movement, while primordial qi empowers ministerial fire at the same time, with the two reinforcing one another and cycling constantly.