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The medical classics state: Red color indicates heat. The color red corresponds to the Heart, Pericardium (Xinbao), and Small Intestine, and is also the hue associated with summer-heat and pathogenic heat. However, heat syndromes are differentiated by exterior/interior, yin/yang, and deficiency/excess; facial colors vary by floating/sinking, clear/turbid, and faint/intense. Extending this logic, variations differ according to the four seasons and the six pulse positions.

For instance: Redness on the forehead indicates upper jiao heat; redness on the chin (Yi) indicates lower jiao heat; eye pain, dry nose, and facial redness indicate Yangming disease; a face red as if intoxicated indicates stomach heat; slightly red cheeks with bluish-green discoloration around the eyes and nose indicate aversion to cold and fever; persistent overall facial redness indicates yang qi constrained at the exterior; red cheeks with a blue face indicate alternating chills and fever; a red face with excessive talking and aversion to cold indicates yin pathogen within a yang syndrome; a red face with excessive talking and fever indicates yang pathogen within a yang syndrome; a red and lustrous face indicates upper heat and lower cold; a red and dull/oppressed face indicates lower heat and upper cold.

In Shaoyin disease, presenting with diarrhea of undigested food, cold limbs, and a faint pulse nearly imperceptible, yet the body feels no aversion to cold and the patient's face is red, this is interior cold with exterior heat (true cold, false heat).

In Taiyang disease from Cold Damage, after eight or nine days, presenting like malaria with fever and aversion to cold where heat predominates over cold, but the face abnormally shows a red hue, indicates the pathogen has not yet resolved. If the facial redness persists, the pathogen is strong and the disease progresses; if the redness gradually fades, the pathogen resolves and the disease recedes.

If the pulse is floating and slow, with facial redness accompanied by trembling and fear, sweating and resolution should occur around the sixth or seventh day; if fever occurs instead, recovery will be delayed. This is because a "slow" pulse indicates insufficient yang qi unable to induce sweating, resulting in bodily itching.

With excessive saliva, dry mouth, deep cun pulse, and faint chi pulse, cold limbs, qi rushing from the lower abdomen to the chest and throat, numbness in limbs, a face hot and red as if intoxicated, followed by heat descending to the inner thighs, difficult urination, and occasional dizziness, treatment should focus on the rebellious qi rising.

In Yangming disease, if the face presents with redness, purgative methods must not be used. Misapplication leads to fever, yellowish complexion, and dysuria.

If prior days showed irritability followed by fever, sudden heart pain during heat struggle, restlessness, vomiting, headache, and a red face without sweat, this is Heart Heat Disease.

In Cold Damage with diarrhea, a deep and slow pulse, slightly red face, mild body heat, and diarrhea of undigested food, resolution through sweating following a sensation of oppression and dizziness is expected. This occurs due to "floating yang" (Dai Yang) caused by lower deficiency.

Fullness in the intestines, frequent coughing and wheezing, red face, body heat, and a sensation of a lump in the throat/pharynx, with an excess-rapid right cun pulse, indicates Excess Heat in the Large Intestine (Hand-Yangming).

A fully red face with vigorous qi indicates Excess Heat. A slightly red face that appears intermittently indicates Deficiency Heat.

Reddish-blue cheeks with white lips indicate Wind-Stroke. A red face with upward-gazing eyes indicates Wind striking the Taiyang channel.

Red face, body heat, spontaneous sweating, thirst, and a deficient pulse indicate Summer-Heat Injury.

A face with mottled red spots resembling brocade patterns, sore throat, and expectoration of pus and blood, treatable within five days but not seven, indicates Yang Toxicity disease.

In children, fever, red face, coarse breathing, flowing tears and nasal discharge, yet cold extremities, shivering, and aversion to cold indicate Variola (Smallpox/Rash diseases). Fever, red face, teary eyes, and cold fingertips indicate Smallpox. Headache, body heat, coughing, sneezing, yawning, lethargy, clear nasal discharge, swollen face, and red cheeks indicate Measles.

Swollen, red face with sharp, piercing eyes indicates Mania. Red face, heat in the epigastrium, shortness of breath, and weak qi indicate Heart Epilepsy. During epilepsy attacks with body heat, spontaneous sweating, supine position with red face, locked jaw, incessant crying, foaming at the mouth, and a flooding-numerous pulse, this is Yang Epilepsy. Attacks with urgent swallowing/crying, alternating red/white face, terror, and a feeling of being hunted indicate Epilepsy caused by Fright.

A flushed red face with sweat, chest烦热 (vexing heat), aversion to cold (feeling chilled), and mild fever indicates Cold in the Liver. Night crying in children with red face, red lips, whole-body/abdominal heat, difficult urination, and irritability indicates Heart Heat. Red, dry nose indicates Spleen Heat. Infants with faces and limbs red as if painted with cinnabar have Congenital Erythema (Tai Chi).

In cough diseases, red face, dry throat, yellow foul sputum, frequent coughing indicates Hot Cough. Red-black face, peach-like complexion indicates Dysentery. Dry mouth, red face, five-palm heat, and unceasing dysentery indicate poisoning from Croton seed (Badou). Lethargy with unknown pain sites, face red as if intoxicated, bloody/purulent diarrhea, and redness at the lower orifices indicates Sores/Ulcers. Alternating red, white, and black faces indicate Huo-Huo disease (Chancroid/Behcet's-like). Cheeks red as if powdered indicate Lower Back Pain. Body heat, cold feet, stiff neck, aversion to cold, intermittent head heat, red face, isolated head tremor, sudden jaw locking, and opisthotonos with sweating/no aversion to cold indicates Soft Spasm (Rou Jing); without sweating/with aversion to cold indicates Hard Spasm (Gang Jing).

Redness/luster on the Nasal Tip (Nianshou) often indicates abscesses/pus and blood. Simultaneous full pulses in Liver and Kidney channels with a pale-red complexion indicates trauma/injury. Firm-long Stomach pulse with red face indicates femoral fracture. Scattered pulse indicates Food Bi (obstruction). Leprosy with purple, blistered face indicates Liver involvement. Redness on Nianshou and Eye Area indicates Hernia Qi. Red threads on the sides of the nose (Lantai Tingpan) indicate seminal emission/milky urine. Purple-dark face, lips, and tongue indicate poisoning. Red spots like fire on cheekbones indicate hemorrhoids in men and difficult labor in women. Redness under the left eye in pregnancy indicates a male fetus. Pregnancy with lightness, joy, increased redness, and large left pulse indicates a male fetus. Redness on the nasal tip in pregnancy indicates difficult delivery. Postpartum fever, bright red face, wheezing, and headache indicate Wind-Stroke. Red, scorched complexion, anger/fear, sweating, aversion to wind, difficulty speaking, and red lips indicate Heart Wind. Flushed red face with sadness/anger, staring, and calling indicates Heart Wind attack. Deep-thready pulse, chest fullness, palpitations, abdominal heat, wandering pain, red face, dry throat, vexation, palm heat, hemoptysis, convulsions, worse in winter/better in summer indicates Heart Accumulation (Ji).

Heart disease manifests as red face, heart pain, shortness of breath, hot palms, erratic laughter/cursing, sorrow/worry, body heat, and large-numerous solid pulse (treatable). Red face with overflowing collaterals indicates Heart Heat. Face like vermilion paste indicates Heart Fire. Chest fullness, wheezing, red face indicates Excess of Qi Sea. Red face, rapid-firm pulse, central accumulation affecting eating, named Heart Bi (obstruction), caused by external pathogen entering due to Heart deficiency from overthinking. Fatigue leading to red head/face, heavy lower body, heart pain, internal vexation/heat, umbilical pulsation, and string-taut pulse indicates Heart injury. Red cheekbones and curled/short tongue indicate Heart disease. Severe redness indicates Blood pathology. Afternoon redness like makeup indicates Blood Deficiency. Deep red cheekbones indicate Yin Fire ascending, deficiency consumption. Bright red cheekbones like lines/fingers indicate Yin Deficiency. Bright red cheekbones appearing intermittently indicates Floating Yang (Dai Yang). Inflamed red cheeks indicate Bone-steaming Consumption. Red and dry/dull indicates Qi Deficiency. Red face with white eyes, worry/thoughts, internal depletion of Heart Qi, yet good complexion, indicates death within ten days. Wind-Stroke with face red like makeup is incurable. Red face, white eyes, wheezing indicates Fire overcoming Metal. Extreme deficiency with red face, wheezing, phlegm, body heat, foot swelling, loose stools, tight pulse, and anorexia is a death sign. Sudden red spots on the face in illness are mostly death signs. Incompatible respiration and lack of luster in the five colors indicate Soul damage. Hazy luster indicates Soul arrival. Redness in ears, eyes, cheekbones, and cheeks indicates death within five days. Heat disease with no sweat, red great cheekbones, and hiccups is a death sign. Redness on cheekbones size of a thumb, even if symptoms briefly improve, indicates sudden death due to Pathogenic Qi entering the Zang-Fu. Lung disease with red-black face, thumb-sized spots on cheeks, brief improvement then sudden death. Spirit exhaustion with coma, red-black face indicates Heart Exhaustion. Face red like fat indicates Heart Exhaustion. Face red-black with beads of sweat indicates Heart Exhaustion. True Heart pulse, firm/beating like Coix seeds, red-black dull complexion, brittle hair indicates death; pulse without Stomach Qi, Water overcoming Fire. Lung disease with fever, cough, shortness of breath, pus/blood sputum should have short-chop pulse; floating-large pulse and red face (instead of white) indicates Fire overcoming Metal, a major reversal, ten deaths, untreatable. These are the general principles of Red Color diagnosis.