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There is no disease originally, yet suspicion transforms it into a perceived illness. Accumulated thoughts become the cause, and hypothetical scenarios form symptoms, so that those who are actually healthy truly believe they are ill. If others suspect, and I also suspect, how can this be called medicine? There is no disease originally, yet one feigns illness, portraying a state of exhaustion and making groaning sounds, so that those who are actually healthy are truly treated as if they were ill. If others deceive, and I accept their deception, how can this be called medicine? To make those with suspicions realize they are merely suspicious, one must employ various methods to resolve their doubts, so that the suspicious cease to doubt; to make those who feign illness realize they are deceiving, one must point out their fraud directly, so that the deceivers cease their pretense. All this depends on pulse diagnosis: observe whether the pulse is slow and relaxed (Huan Mai). For there are symptoms that cannot be explained, and necessarily there are pulses that cannot be explained. If it is suspected illness, it must be suspected as an unexplainable symptom, yet why is the pulse diagnosed as safe and sound? It must be suspected illness. For there are illnesses that cannot recover, and necessarily there are pulses indicating non-recovery. If it is feigned illness, it must be feigned as an incurable illness, yet why is the pulse diagnosed as normal? It must be feigned illness. Like the shadow of a snake in a cup, seeing the bow resolves the suspicion, leaving the suspicious person with no basis for doubt; like moxibustion where pain cannot be distinguished (in cases of feigned pain), seeing the mugwort leads to recovery, leaving the deceiver with no use for their trickery. Those proficient in pulse theory, how could they be deceived by such suspicions or deceptions?!

The Dai Pulse (Intermittent Pulse) relates to longevity, the Jie Pulse (Knotted Pulse) arises from cold, and the Cu Pulse (Rapid-intermittent Pulse) arises from heat. In a healthy individual, pulse interruptions do not relate to longevity or cold/heat, but have their own explanation. Generally, during one exhalation and one inhalation, the pulse travels six cun. Blood nourishes the Ying (Nutritive) level, while Qi guards the Wei (Defensive) level. Over 13,500 breaths, the pulse circulates fifty times, completing one great cycle. If slightly congealed by phlegm or qi stagnation, the pulse may pause once. This is not like the Dai Pulse which has a fixed constant interval, nor like the Jie and Cu pulses which arise from slow or rapid rates. The heaven and earth exist eternally without aging, yet there is the phenomenon of axial precession (Sui Cha); the sun and moon shine eternally, yet there are eclipses. Do axial precession and eclipses harm the heaven and earth at all?

All things are born carrying Yin and embracing Yang. When Yin and Yang are harmonious, it is called health. Some are born with vigorous pulses, called Pure Yang, named as a pulse of longevity; this is what the *Mai Jing* (Pulse Classic) states. If there is Pure Yang, there must be Pure Yin, which the *Mai Jing* did not mention. When I was young (around twenty years old), I often visited a place where I saw two women: one had two sons, the other three sons, and both families were wealthy. I palpated their pulses; pressing to the bone, the pulses were thread-like and nearly imperceptible. Upon asking about their physical condition, they reported no illness whatsoever. Ten years later, I returned to that place. The sons of both women had entered the government schools (Jiao Xiang), and their families were even more prosperous. I re-diagnosed their pulses, and they remained exactly as before. Another ten years passed, and I visited a third time. One woman’s son had passed the provincial examination (becoming a Xiucai/Juren), and her family wealth had doubled compared to the past. Diagnosing her pulse, it remained unchanged. More than ten years have passed since then. Both women now have white hair reaching their eyebrows, and their eyes are filled with scholars (Qing Jin, referring to successful descendants). Their future prosperity is incalculable. The *Mai Jing* annotates Pure Yang as a pulse of longevity, unaware that Pure Yin is also a pulse of wealth, honor, and longevity.
(One of the women was surnamed Mei, wife of Xie Xizhou, a county-level scholar (Xiang Sheng), and mother of the Xiaolian gentleman Xie Yunyue, also known as Lady Zhong.)