二十四节气的生成结构-《中国农史》

文章信息/Info

Author(s):: LIU Xiao-feng; （Department of History, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084）

Keywords:: Eight Terms（八节）; structure; Eight Winds; Fen Zhi Qi Bi（分至启闭）; unification of time and space

摘要:: 由“四立”与“两分两至”组成的八节，在二十四节气内部具有重要结构性意义。文章从二十四节气的生成过程入手，讨论了二十四节气内部由一气而分为阴阳，由阴阳而分为四时，由四时而分为八节的形成过程；并对古代中国典籍中记载的“分、至、启、闭”概念以及时空一体化的宇宙想象做了梳理。文章指出八节与八风之间的对应性，并指出八节与八风的同构，都根源于一气周流的古代中国世界想象，并且是其重要的有机组成部分。这种同构也为我们为什么要讨论二十四节气的生成结构，提供了外部的逻辑必要性。

Abstract:: This article focuses on structural implications of the Bajie（八节"Eight Terms"） including the Sili（四立"Four Seasonal Beginning"） and the Liangfen liangzhi（两分两至 "Two Equinoxes and Two Solstices"） within the Twenty-Four Solar Terms. Taking the formation of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms as a point of entry, this article traces the formative process that begins from the division of the prime qi into the yin and the yang, which then divide into the Four Seasons and finally into the Eight Terms, while providing a survey of the concepts of fen（分）, zhi（至）, qi（启）, and bi（闭） and the cosmological unification of time and space recorded in ancient Chinese texts. The article illuminates a structural parallel between the Eight Terms and the Bafeng （八风 "Eight Winds"） which is rooted in the ancient Chinese imagination of the phenomenal world as a manifestation of the prime qi’s cyclical circulation. As such, the parallel inevitably warrants a discussion of the structural origin of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms.