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The *Huangdi Neijing* (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) states: The spring pulse is like a string. (Being like a string implies it is not overly taut; this refers generally to all six pulses, not solely the left Guan position. The following passages follow this logic.)
The spring pulse corresponds to the Liver,
which belongs to Wood in the East, and is the season when all things begin to grow. Therefore, its Qi comes forth softly (synonymous with 'ruan'), gently (meaning harmonious and soft), lightly and voidly (tending towards superficiality), and smoothly.
It is upright (correct/straight)
and long, which is called the String-like Pulse (Xian Mai). If the Qi comes forth solid and strong (firm and vigorous), this is termed Excess (Tai Guo), indicating disease in the exterior (exterior contraction due to pathogenic excess).
If it is not solid but weak,
this is termed Deficiency (Bu Ji), indicating disease in the interior (internal injury due to righteous Qi deficiency). [Note: The Long, String-like, and Tight pulses are similar yet distinct. Generally, a String-like pulse that is soft is a Long pulse, while one that is strong is a Tight pulse.
What is described here as "like a string" is essentially the Long pulse. What is described as "Excess" is both String-like and Tight. This can be seen from the terms "void-soft" and "solid-strong"; do not equate this "String-like" character with other instances of "Tight-String" or "String" mentioned elsewhere.]
The summer pulse is like a hook. (A hook implies curvature. The pulse arrives vigorously and abundantly, rising and curving, describing it as large and powerful.) The summer pulse corresponds to the Heart,
which belongs to Fire in the South, and is the season when all things flourish and grow. Therefore, its Qi arrives vigorously (arrival refers to the pulse emerging from the deep layers between muscle and bone to the skin surface) and deploys weakly (departure refers to the pulse returning from the skin surface to the deep layers, meaning attenuation). This is called the Hook Pulse (Gou Mai). (When palpated superficially there is surplus, but deeply there is deficit; this reflects the dispersing nature of summer, where the pulse is large yet shows signs of emptiness.) If the Qi arrives vigorously and deploys vigorously (large and solid), this is termed Excess, indicating disease in the exterior. If the Qi arrives weakly but deploys strongly (superficial palpation reveals insufficiency, while deep palpation reveals surplus, meaning the deep impression outweighs the superficial one), this is termed Deficiency, indicating disease in the interior. (The text does not say "arrives weakly and deploys weakly," but rather "arrives weakly and deploys strongly," because although arriving weakly and deploying strongly might seem to indicate internal excess, it actually represents a reversal where floating turns into sinking, signifying the failure of Fire's function and thus insufficiency.)
The autumn pulse is like a floating pulse. (Being like a floating pulse implies it is not excessively floating.) The autumn pulse corresponds to the Lung,
which belongs to Metal in the West, and is the season when all things are harvested and gathered. Therefore,
its Qi is light, void, and floating; it arrives abruptly (reflecting contraction) and deploys diffusely (reflecting dispersion; superficial palpation yields contraction, while deep palpation yields dispersion. Since autumn involves gathering without complete storage,
the pulse body manifests thus).
Therefore, it is called the Floating Pulse (Fu Mai). If the Qi arrives like down (taking the meaning of lightness and floating, representing excessive floating), yet is firm in the center and void on both sides (void here means diffuse; only the sides are diffuse, while the center is not, differing from the aforementioned "deploys diffusely." Furthermore, the center being "firm" implies more than just gathering, differing from "arrives abruptly"). This is termed Excess, indicating disease in the exterior.
If the Qi arrives like down but is faint, this is termed Deficiency, indicating disease in the interior.
The winter pulse is like a camp (resembling the solidity of a fortress, implying inward retention). The winter pulse corresponds to the Kidney,
which belongs to Water in the North, and is the season when all things close and store. Therefore,
its Qi arrives deep and beating against the finger (solid and striking). Thus, it is called the Camp Pulse (Ying Mai). If the Qi arrives like bouncing stones (striking, as if hitting the hand with a stone, extremely solid), this is termed Excess, indicating disease in the exterior. If it deploys like a rapid pulse (deep palpation resembles a Rapid pulse; while Rapid usually indicates excess heat, pulses due to True Yin deficiency also often appear Rapid; the more deficient, the more rapid, so it is originally not the Rapid pulse of excess heat, hence described as "like rapid"). This is termed Deficiency, indicating disease in the interior.
The Spleen pulse belongs to Earth. A healthy Spleen pulse is difficult to perceive (as Cai Xishan described: neither too long nor short, neither sparse nor frequent, neither large nor small, feeling harmonious and moderate under the fingers, with a vibrant spirit, difficult to describe in words). An unhealthy Spleen pulse is visible. Its arrival is like flowing water (slippery and moving). This is termed Excess, indicating disease in the exterior. It is like a bird's beak (sharp and short). This is termed Deficiency, indicating disease in the interior.
Regarding the ascending and descending, movement and stillness, emission and gathering, extension and contraction of the four seasons' Qi, these are mutually opposing. They reach extremes at the Solstices (Dongzhi and Zhixia) and are balanced at the Equinoxes (Chunfen and Qiufen). Thus, the pulse is deepest in the Zi month, most superficial in the Wu month, and balanced in the Mao and You months. Observing the classic texts further stating that the autumn pulse is "balanced like a scale" (pingheng), and that the summer pulse is at the skin, the autumn pulse below the skin, and the winter pulse at the bone, it becomes clear that autumn should not be described merely as "floating." This is because the Lung is located highest, and its pulse is floating; since Autumn Metal corresponds to the Lung, it is also described as floating. However, early autumn pulses still carry summer characteristics, so describing them as floating is acceptable. But in the You and Xu months, seeking a floating pulse would indeed be confusing. If spring is described as Long and Slippery, then autumn can be known to be Short and Choppy; if winter is described as Deep and Solid, then summer can be known to be Floating and Void. Books cannot fully express speech, and speech cannot fully express intent; this depends on the reader's comprehension.
The *Nanjing* (Classic of Difficult Issues) states: When initially holding the pulse, with a pressure equivalent to three soybeans, touching the skin and hair, this is the Lung region. With a pressure equivalent to six soybeans, touching the blood vessels, this is the Heart region. With a pressure equivalent to nine soybeans, touching the muscles, this is the Spleen region. With a pressure equivalent to twelve soybeans, level with the tendons, this is the Liver region. Pressing to the bone, where lifting the finger reveals a brisk pulse, this is the Kidney region.
It further states: Both the Heart and Lung pulses are floating; how to distinguish them? The answer is: Floating, large, and dispersed is the Heart pulse. (The Heart governs blood vessels and is located below the Lung; palpating to the blood vessels yields "floating"; slightly increasing pressure makes the vessel channel coarse/large ("da"); further increasing pressure makes the vessel channel spread out/dispersed ("san").) Floating, short, and choppy is the Lung pulse. (The Lung governs skin and hair and is located at the very top; palpating to the skin and hair yields "floating"; slightly increasing pressure makes the vessel channel obstructed/choppy ("se"); not extending beyond the fingertip is "short.") Both the Kidney and Liver pulses are deep; how to distinguish them? The answer is: Firm (i.e., deep and string-like) and long is the Liver pulse. (The Liver governs tendons and is located below the Spleen; pressing to the tendons yields "deep"; the vessel channel resembling a string is "long".) Soft upon pressing, but brisk and solid upon lifting the finger, is the Kidney pulse. (The Kidney governs bones and is below the Liver; pressing to the bone yields "deep"; heavy pressing reveals weakness/softness; lifting the finger reveals briskness, slipperiness, and solidity, termed "solid/shi".) The Spleen is in the Central Province, so its pulse is in the middle. (The Spleen governs muscles and is located below the Heart; pressing to the muscles yields a harmonious, soft, and slow vessel channel; slightly increasing pressure yields a substantial and large vessel channel. Wang Zongzheng stated: Diagnostic methods should follow the principle that Heart and Lung pulses are floating, Kidney and Liver pulses are deep, and Spleen/Stomach pulses are in the middle. Wang Shuhe's adherence solely to the Cun-Guan-Chi division of organ positions is incorrect. His view is correct, yet the two views do not contradict each other. Generally, the Cun and Guan areas have higher bones and thinner flesh, so their pulses are consistently floating, while Chi has lower bones and thicker flesh, so its pulse is consistently deep. For instance, if all three regions show a floating pulse, the Cun will inevitably be more floating than the Chi. Thus, one may speak generally based on the overall trend or highlight the specific extremities, without contradiction. However, for pulses such as String-like, Moderate, Slow, or Rapid, all three regions are identical, making it impossible to distinguish by finger position alone.)
Question: Shouldn't the pulse Qi change according to seasonal timing? In summer, the pulse floats; not only do Heart and Lung float, but Kidney and Liver also float. (Most floating is Lung, followed by Heart, Spleen, Liver, Kidney.) In winter, the pulse sinks; not only does Kidney sink, but Heart and Lung also sink. (Most sinking is Kidney, followed by Liver, Spleen, Heart, Lung.) Why insist that Lung pulse is always at the skin and Kidney pulse is always at the bone? Answer: Summer floating and winter sinking refer only to slight floating and slight sinking; the changes are indeed minor.
Analysis: Lung is more floating than Heart, and Liver is slightly deeper than Spleen; thus, the Right Cun/Guan are slightly more floating than the Left Cun/Guan. By analogy, the two Chi positions should also show Right floating over Left, because the Right Kidney is Fire within Water, and the Left Kidney is Water within Water, naturally differing slightly. In summary, the Right three positions are all more floating than the Left. The ancients said the Right pertains to Qi and the Left to Blood; since Qi is floating and Blood is sinking, is this not appropriate?