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Floating (Fú), Khong (Kōu, empty), Slippery (Huá), Solid (Shí), String-taut (Xián), Tight (Jǐn), and Surging (Hóng) are named the "Seven Exterior" (Qī Biǎo) and belong to the Palace of Yang. Minute (Wēi), Deep (Chén), Slow-Relaxed (Huǎn), Choppy (Sè), Delayed (Chí), Hidden (Fú), Soft (Rú), and Weak (Ruò) constitute the "Eight Interior" (Bā Lǐ) together. Fine (Xì), Rapid (Shù), Pulsating (Dòng), Deficient (Xū), Urgent (Cù), Knotted (Jié), Scattered (Sàn), Intermittent (Dài), and Drum-skin (Gé) all return to the "Nine Channels" (Jiǔ Dào). Furthermore, there are Long (Cháng), Short (Duǎn), and Large (Dà) pulses; although recorded less frequently in classic texts, they should also be understood.

The *Mai Jing* (Pulse Classic) does not use the categories of "Exterior/Interior Nine Channels." Moreover, regarding the Seven Exterior, it classifies Khong as Yang, yet Khong is actually associated with loss of blood, essence depletion, or miscarriage. It classifies String-taut as Yang, whereas Zhang Zhongjing considers String-taut to be Yin. Regarding the Nine Channels, it classifies Pulsating as Yin, while Zhang Zhongjing considers Pulsating to be Yang. Only the *Mai Jing* aligns with Zhang Zhongjing's views. The "Nine Channels" mentioned here refer to the nine palpation sites (Upper, Middle, Lower sections) for diagnosis, not the specific nine pulse types defined in the rhyme book. Dai Tongfu wrote *Correction of Errors in Pulse Rhymes*, and Zhu Xi (Zhu Wengong) criticized its language as vulgar and shallow. However, since the *Pulse Rhyme* has become customary in popular practice, beginners must understand the meanings of Exterior and Interior pulse names. The classification of Nine Channels following Danxi’s approach exists because the *Mai Jing* includes Rapid but lacks Short, and the *Neijing* includes Drum-skin but lacks Firm pulses.

**Floating Pulse**: Light pressure reveals insufficiency, heavy pressure reveals abundance.
Floating means not deep; the pulse position is above the muscle layer.

**Deep Pulse**: Heavy pressure reveals abundance, light pressure yields nothing.
Deep means not floating. Floating and Deep pulses are distinguished by the weight of lifting (light pressure) and pressing (heavy pressure). Floating indicates disease in the Exterior; Deep indicates disease in the Interior.

**Delayed Pulse**: Three beats per respiration cycle.
Delayed means fewer than normal; Rapid means more than normal. Delayed and Rapid pulses are determined by counting beats per breath cycle. Delayed indicates Cold; Rapid indicates Heat.

**Rapid Pulse**: Six beats per respiration cycle.

**Slippery Pulse**: Feels like a string of pearls, coming and going swiftly.
Slippery means not choppy; it feels like beads rolling, flowing smoothly and quickly.

**Choppy Pulse**: Coming and going is stagnant, like scraping bamboo skin.
Choppy means not slippery. The flow is stagnant, resembling the friction of scraping bamboo skin, lacking smoothness. Slippery and Choppy pulses are distinguished by their movement shape. Slippery indicates Excess (abundance); Choppy indicates Deficiency (insufficiency).

**Large Pulse**: Fills the fingers on light pressure, but is forceless on heavy pressure.
Large means not small. On light pressure, it feels full like the Surging pulse; on heavy pressure, it is broad, soft, and forceless.

**Relaxed Pulse**: Slightly faster than the Delayed pulse.
Relaxed means not tight. It still has four beats per cycle but flows more harmoniously, being slightly faster than the three-beat Delayed pulse. Large and Relaxed pulses are distinguished by tension under the finger. Large indicates pathogenic excess; Relaxed indicates recovery of healthy Qi.

**Surging Pulse**: Like floodwaters rising with waves.
Surging is large, upward-moving, and solid. Like waves rising from a flood, it is forceful on both light and heavy pressure, curving slightly like a ring or hook. Hence, the Summer pulse is called "Hook." Hook is synonymous with Surging.

**Solid Pulse**: Force differs upon heavy pressure.
Solid means not deficient; it is forceful on both light and heavy pressure.

**String-taut Pulse**: Stiff and straight like a drawn bowstring.
String-taut is stiff and straight like a startled bowstring, consistent on both light and heavy pressure.

**Tight Pulse**: Resembles the initial twisting of a rope.
Tight is urgent and not relaxed, resembling the motion of twisting a rope.

**Long Pulse**: Extends beyond the standard position, reaching outside the cun-kun-chi area.
Long means not short; it exceeds the normal positional boundaries.

**Khong Pulse**: Present at the edges, empty in the center.
Khong resembles the hollow center of an amaranth vegetable (or water spinach).

**Minute Pulse**: Fine as a spider's thread, easily interrupted.
Minute is not prominent; it seems to exist and then vanish.

**Fine Pulse**: Flows like a thread, worthy of careful observation.
Fine is minute and subtle. It is slightly larger than the Minute pulse and has a regular rhythm.

**Soft Pulse**: Completely forceless, cannot withstand pressure.
Soft is forceless. It appears lightly but disappears under heavy pressure.

**Weak Pulse**: On the verge of disappearing, existing between presence and absence.
Weak is not vigorous. Under pressure, it feels as if it will cease, seeming present yet absent; it is imperceptible on light pressure.

**Deficient Pulse**: Although broad, it lacks firmness.
Deficient is broad and hollow on both light and heavy pressure but lacks solidity.

**Drum-skin Pulse**: Feels most firm and hard, like pressing a drum.
Drum-skin indicates a change in original Qi and Blood. On both light and heavy pressure, it feels solid and hard, like pressing a drumhead.

**Pulsating Pulse**: Like a rolling bean, without distinct forward/backward movement.
Pulsating is felt on light search but not on heavy press. It quivers like a bean in place, without moving back and forth.

**Scattered Pulse**: Diffuse and fleeting, momentarily noted at the fingertip.
Scattered is unconsolidated. Its arrival and departure are unclear, lacking roots. It is felt on light pressure at the fingertip but lost on heavy pressure; it has Exterior manifestation but no Interior root. Question: Since Scattered is a failing pulse, why are the normal pulses of the Heart and Lung described as Floating and Scattered? Answer: The Heart pulse is Floating, large, and contains elements of Softness; the Lung pulse is Floating, choppy, and contains elements of largeness. They merely resemble Scattered. A true Scattered pulse would not be a normal pulse. If it lacks Scattered characteristics, it becomes the normal pulse for late Summer and Autumn.

**Hidden Pulse**: Submerged deep within the bones, visible only after pushing.
Hidden is invisible. It requires heavy pressing and pushing until the bone to be perceived.

**Severed Pulse**: Completely absent; even pushing yields nothing.
Severed is an ancient pulse name.

**Short Pulse**: Does not reach its proper position.
Short is insufficient in length, perceptible only in the middle of the finger placement.

**Urgent Pulse**: Comes rapidly and rapidly, occasionally pausing.
Urgent means rapid. When the pulse is rapid but stops occasionally before returning, it is called Urgent.

**Knotted Pulse**: Comes slowly and occasionally pauses.
Knotted means discontinuous. When the pulse comes slowly and stops occasionally, it is called Knotted.

**Intermittent Pulse**: Stops and does not return immediately; follows a fixed pattern.
Intermittent means alternating. It appears after definite pauses characteristic of Choppy or Soft pulses. The pauses in Intermittent pulse have a fixed number, unlike the irregular pauses of Urgent and Knotted pulses. For example, if there is one stop every ten beats, this pattern holds for dozens of beats. If there is one stop every twenty beats, this pattern holds similarly for thirty or forty beats.