Concept

Four qi

四气si qi

2 sources

In Chinese medicine theory, the four natures classify a medicinal as cold, hot, warm or cool according to how it is traditionally held to shift the body's balance of cold and heat; warm and hot substances are paired with cold patterns, cool and cold substances with heat patterns.

Source

Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu)卷一·序例上·神农本经名例·气味（寒热温凉四气）

Full definition

Classical source text (Chinese) — English summary above.

又有寒、热、温、凉四气。

Citations

Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷一·序例上·神农本经名例·气味（寒热温凉四气）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its definition.
WHO international standard terminologies on traditional Chinese medicine · World Health Organization · WHO IST-TCM 2022, WGM2 #2639 (§3.3)Cited from WHO international standard terminologies on traditional Chinese medicine for its standardized terminology.