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Form refers to the limbs, and color refers to the facial complexion. The principles involved are extremely subtle and more difficult than pulse diagnosis (Mai Zhen). Here we briefly outline the general concepts to provide a pathway for entry. Western medicine has not yet conducted deep investigations into complexion observation (Wang Se).

Assigning the Five Colors (Wu Se) to the Five Zang Organs: Green corresponds to the Liver, Red to the Heart, White to the Lung, Yellow to the Spleen, and Black to the Kidney. The Liver connects with the Tendons (Jin), the Heart with the Vessels (Mai), the Lung with the Skin (Pi), the Spleen with the Flesh (Rou), and the Kidney with the Bones (Gu).

When stating that the five colors belong to the five zang organs, observing each organ manifesting its own color indicates the location of the disease. Furthermore, since each organ has specific connections, one can determine the precise site of pathology. For instance, green belongs to the Liver, and the Liver connects with the Tendons; thus, the disease is located in the tendons. The same logic applies to others.

A green hue resembling dead grass indicates death, while green resembling the feathers of a kingfisher indicates life. A yellow hue resembling the fruit of *Acanthopanacis Tricophylli Radix* (Zhi Shi) indicates death, while yellow resembling the abdomen of a crab indicates life. A black hue resembling [missing character] indicates death, while black resembling the feathers of a crow indicates life. A white hue resembling dry bones indicates death, while white resembling lard (pig fat) indicates life.

This states that vibrant colors indicate life, whereas withered colors indicate death. This is because only with the nourishment of Blood (Xue) and Qi (Qi) can there be vibrancy.

Generally, a predominance of green indicates pain, black indicates Bi syndrome (obstruction), yellow and red indicate heat, and white indicates cold. If all five colors appear, it indicates simultaneous cold and heat.

Green is the color of the Liver. When Liver Wood overacts, it controls Earth (Spleen/Stomach), hence indicating pain. Black is the color of the Kidney. When Kidney Water overacts, cold water stagnates, hence indicating Bi syndrome. Yellow and red are the colors of Fire and Earth, hence indicating heat. White is the color of Metal, indicating coldness. Moreover, what warms the body is Blood; if blood is deficient, whiteness prevails, indicating a cold constitution. The appearance of all five colors represents a chaotic state, hence indicating simultaneous cold and heat.

Ming Tang refers to the nose, Que refers to the area between the eyebrows, Fan refers to the sides of the cheeks, and Bi refers to the ear gates. The bone of Ming Tang should be high and rising, flat and straight. The upper part of the head reflects at Que Ting (the area above the eyebrows). Wang Gong is located at Xia Ji (Shan Gen, the root of the nose). The Five Zang Organs are arranged sequentially in the center, and the Six Fu Organs flank them on both sides.

This describes how facial regions correspond to organs for diagnostic purposes. The face is divided into three sections: the upper is Que, below Que is Xia Ji, also known as Shan Gen. Relative to Que, it is lower; relative to the nose, it is central, hence called "Ji" (extreme/center). This is Wang Gong, corresponding to the Heart. The nose is below Wang Gong, hence named Ming Tang. In diagnosis, the Five Zang Organs should be mapped from top to bottom in the center, while the Six Fu Organs follow their respective zang organs on the sides. Internal conditions manifest externally, following their categories.

[Image: Facial Map]

Ming Tang is now called Zhun Tou (tip of the nose), Wang Gong is now called Shan Gen (root of the nose), Que is now called Yin Tang (between eyebrows), Fan is now called Jia (cheeks), and Bi is now called Er (ears). Ancients did not shave beards, so they did not diagnose the chin (Yi). Modern diagnostic methods involving the heart, forehead, kidney, and chin are folk medical inventions. Although modern people shave, qi and color do not ultimately manifest there, so these areas cannot be used for diagnosis. Internally, the Lung system, Heart system, and Liver system attach to the spine; the Kidney system also attaches to the spine. Only the Spleen lies below the Stomach and does not directly attach to the spine. However, the root of the spleen membrane is still at the spine. Thus, the Shu point of the Spleen is on the back, showing that all five zang organs reside in the center of the body. Therefore, in diagnosis, they are mapped to the center of the face, while the six fu organs are mapped to the sides according to their positions.

Above Que corresponds to the throat.

Que is between the eyebrows; above Que is the highest point. The throat is positioned above all other organs, so it corresponds to above Que.

The center of Que corresponds to the Lung.

Commonly known as Yin Tang. The Lung resides in the chest, higher than the other four zang organs, so it corresponds here.

Xia Ji corresponds to the Heart.

Xia Ji is Shan Gen. The Heart is below the Lung. Since the Lung corresponds to the center of Que, the Heart should correspond here.

Straight down corresponds to the Liver.

In physiognomy, this is called Nian Shou, i.e., the nasal bridge. The Liver corresponds here because it resides in the abdomen, half above and half below the diaphragm, positioned actually below the Heart and Lung, so it matches here. Physicians after the Tang and Song dynasties associated the Liver with the left cheekbone and the Lung with the right cheekbone, based on the theory of West/Metal and East/Wood. However, this is not the inherent positional order of the five zang organs. Old theories stated the Liver is below the Spleen, hence saying the Lower Jiao belongs to the Liver and Kidney. They did not realize that Water generates Wood, so the Liver is indeed connected to the Kidney. But regarding physical location, the Liver is half above and half below the diaphragm; the Spleen is below the diaphragm, resting on the fatty membranes, near the Stomach and connecting to the Small Intestine. Traditional Chinese Medicine physicians rarely saw visceral entities, losing the true picture, leading Western medicine to mock this and claim Huangdi and Qibo were mistaken initially. Did they know that ancient sages' precise verification surpassed Westerners? This arrangement shows the sages' most accurate determination of organ positions; meridians and acupoints are even less known by Westerners. Claiming ancient sages had clairvoyant vision of organs is empty talk and insufficient to convince Westerners. Taking dissection as an example, ancient creations must have involved dissection. Besides, during the Battle of Zhuolu, what difficulty was there in performing dissections? (See figure later.)

The left side of the Liver corresponds to the Gallbladder.

Using the left to generalize the right, stating the Liver corresponds to the nasal bridge, the areas flanking the bridge correspond to the Gallbladder.

Below corresponds to the Spleen.

"Below" refers to Zhun Tou. The nasal bridge is above, Zhun Tou is below, hence called "below." The Spleen is inside the cavity, actually below the Liver and above the fatty membranes, so it corresponds below the nasal bridge. Here, Ming Tang is the correspondence for the Spleen. Since the Spleen commands the five zang organs, diagnosing Zhun Tou is crucial.

Fang Shang corresponds to the Stomach.

The meaning of "Fang Shang" is unclear. Old theories say it is above the mouth and beside the nostrils. I interpret "Fang" as two boats side by side, likely referring to the two nostrils shaped like parallel boats. Thus, Zhun Tou is Ming Tang, and the two nostrils are Fang Shang. The Classic states the five zang are in the center and the six fu flank them. Therefore, the nasal tip belongs to the Spleen, and the sides of the nostrils naturally belong to the Stomach.

The Center corresponds to the Large Intestine.

This "Center" should be calculated combining the cheek sides and the nose. The middle distance between the cheek side and the nose is the center. Cheek sides are named Fan, nasal tip is Ming Tang, so the space between can be named Center. The Stomach is near the nose, and the Large Intestine connects to the Stomach, fitting this position.

Flanking the Large Intestine are the Kidneys.

There are two kidneys, so they correspond to the two sides of the cheekbones, which are the lowest lateral points. The Kidneys reside inferiorly, making this a suitable match. Later practitioners matched them to Cheng Jiang below the mouth, not knowing ancients didn't shave beards, hiding the area under the mouth where qi/color wouldn't show, hence the Classic doesn't use this for observation. Matching Kidneys to the cheeks allows left-right differentiation for the two kidneys, which fits the principle.

Opposite the Kidneys corresponds to the Umbilicus.

The Kidneys and umbilicus are front-to-back opposite, so below the Kidney area, one diagnoses the umbilicus.

Above Mian Wang corresponds to the Small Intestine; below Mian Wang corresponds to the Bladder and Uterus.

"Mian Wang" lacks old explanations. However, Ming Tang is the place facing the King (north), suspected to be the nasal tip. The Bladder and Uterus are below the umbilicus, equal in position to the Kidneys. The two Kidneys are behind, distributed to the sides, reflecting the posterior position; the Bladder and Uterus are anterior, so they should be placed anteriorly, below the nose. Hence, below Mian Wang is the Bladder and Uterus. The Small Intestine connects to the Stomach and is the mansion of the Heart, making its position hard to fix. Its membrane connects to the Liver, Gallbladder, and Spleen. Thus, it is matched at the junction of Gallbladder/Stomach and Liver/Spleen, on the upper sides of the nasal tip, hence "above Mian Wang is the Small Intestine." I believe later color diagnosis methods (Left Liver, Right Lung, Heart Forehead, Kidney Chin, Nose Spleen) are simple but less detailed than the Classic's method.

[Image: Face Diagram]

Que belongs to the Lung; eyebrows grow beside Que, so they should belong to the Lung. People often associate eyebrows with the Liver, not knowing they truly belong to the Lung. The Classic says symptoms of Wind-Lung are diagnosed above the eyebrows, proving eyebrows are exhalations of Lung Qi. However, if Liver Blood does not ascend to the Lung, eyebrows cannot form. All hair is formed from Blood and exhaled by Qi. Blood alone cannot generate hair, nor can Qi alone. The eye region is governed by the Liver orifice. From the Liver/Eye region, it ascends to beside Que, governed by the Lung. This is Liver Blood ascending to Lung Qi to generate eyebrows. The Lung is the Canopy (Hua Gai), so physiognomy books call eyebrows Hua Gai. Liver Wood governs anger and insults Lung Metal, being hard to control; thus, people with thick eyebrows are most fierce. From Que to Ming Tang, the five zang are distributed, with six fu on the sides, which is detailed. Only the San Jiao and Pericardium are not distributed. Interpreting the text, they are implied. San Jiao is the mansion of the Kidney. Since Kidney is matched to Fan (cheek), San Jiao should be matched to Bi (ear gate). The Kidney opens into the ears, and the San Jiao meridian guards the ear/Kidney orifice; diagnosing San Jiao via Bi is accurate. As for the Pericardium, it can be inferred to match beside Shan Gen.

Uncured syndromes scattered in the Classic include: hair standing up, sweat like oil, loss of large muscles, sinking of large bones, curling of lips and tongue, retraction of the scrotum, and flaring of the nostrils. These cannot be fully listed. Understanding the correspondence of zang and fu allows one to comprehend the whole. Especially, the spirit in the eyes requires careful observation. Reading the *Treatise on Cold Damage* (*Shanghan Lun*) and *Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet* (*Jingui Yaolue*) will reveal everything.