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(Su Wen: Mai Yao Jing Wei Lun)

The pulse is the mansion (collection point) of blood. (Mansion refers to gathering, like a treasury. Blood must gather within the meridians; thus, Ci Zhi Lun states: "When the pulse is full, blood is full; when the pulse is deficient, blood is deficient." However, the term "blood" here actually encompasses "qi," not referring solely to blood. Hence, the following text says: A long pulse indicates regulated qi; a short pulse indicates diseased qi. Similarly, Ni Shun Pian states: The flourishing or declining state of the pulse is used to observe the excess or deficiency of blood and qi. The meaning is clear.)

A long pulse indicates that qi is abundant and harmonious. A short pulse indicates that qi is diseased (deficient). A rapid pulse indicates mental restlessness due to excessive heat. A large pulse indicates that the disease is progressing (as pathogenic factors are flourishing). Excess at the upper part (Cun position) indicates upward rushing of qi (shortness of breath and distension); excess at the lower part (Guan and Chi positions) indicates abdominal distension. A choppy/intermittent pulse (Dai Mai) indicates qi deficiency (irregular changes in the pulse reflect a lack of qi as the master). A thin pulse indicates a decrease in qi (faint and fine pulse reflects insufficient righteous qi). A rough pulse indicates heart pain (roughness signifies blood deficiency and qi stagnation, leading to heart pain). A turbid, rapid pulse arriving like a gushing spring, where it comes but does not return, indicates worsening disease and deteriorated complexion; a pulse that fades away continuously like a broken bowstring indicates death. (Turbid means unclear and chaotic. Rapid arrival feels hard like leather. Gushing spring describes an unordered, one-way flow. If such a pulse appears with worsening disease and sallow complexion, or if the departing pulse resembles leaking lacquer or a snapped string, it signifies exhaustion of true qi, hence death.)

A coarse and large pulse indicates yin deficiency and yang excess, manifesting as internal heat. (Coarse and large pulses belong to floating and surging types; yang excess and yin deficiency result in internal heat. Rapid arrival and slow departure, with excess above and deficiency below, lead to jue syndrome and disorders of the vertex. Rapid arrival means swift onset; slow departure means gradual decline. Excess above refers to strong Cun pulse; deficiency below refers to weak Chi pulse. These are all pulses of strong yang, causing yang jue and vertex diseases. Hua Boren said: To examine the pulse, one must understand the six characters: Shang (Up), Xia (Down), Lai (Coming), Qu (Going), Zhi (Arrival), Zhi (Stop). Without understanding these, yin-yang and deficiency-excess cannot be distinguished. Up, Coming, and Arrival are yang; Down, Going, and Stop are yin. Up means moving from Chi to Cun, where yang arises from yin. Down means moving from Cun to Chi, where yin arises from yang. Coming means emerging from the flesh/bone level to the skin surface, representing ascending qi. Going means returning from the skin surface to the flesh/bone level, representing descending qi. Ying corresponds to Zhi, and Xi corresponds to Zhi.)

Slow arrival and rapid departure, with deficiency above and excess below, indicate aversion to wind. Thus, those afflicted by evil wind suffer from damage to yang qi. (Slow arrival and upper deficiency both indicate yang insufficiency. Yang is susceptible to wind pathogens; therefore, those with yang deficiency inevitably fear wind, and wind pathogens attack the yang first.)

Pulses that are all deep, fine, and rapid indicate Shaoyin jue syndrome. (Deep and fine are the characteristics of the Kidney pulse; combined with rapidity, it indicates heat within yin, hence called Shaoyin yang jue.) Deep, fine, rapid, and scattered pulses indicate alternating cold and heat. (Deep and fine are yin; rapid and scattered are yang. Yin pulses showing rapidity and scattering indicate insecure yin. Thus, pathogens may enter yin or exit yang, causing alternating cold and heat.) Floating and scattered pulses indicate dizziness and collapse. (Floating indicates yin deficiency; scattered indicates unsettled spirit. Floating and scattered together indicate yin qi depletion, leading to dizziness and collapse.)

All floating pulses without agitation belong to the yang aspect and indicate heat; if there is agitation, the disease is in the hand meridians. (Floating is yang; agitation is yang within yang. Therefore, floating without agitation belongs to yang pulses and causes heat. If floating accompanies agitation, it represents extreme yang, so the disease is in the hand meridians. Hand meridians refer to the three yang meridians of the hand. This aligns with Zhong Shi Pian regarding Ying Ren pulse being one-fold stronger indicating Foot Shaoyang disease, and one-fold stronger with agitation indicating Hand Shaoyang disease. See Needling Category 29 for details.)

All fine and deep pulses belong to the yin aspect and cause bone pain; if quiet, the disease is in the foot meridians. (Deep and fine are yin; quietness is yin within yin. Thus, merely deep and fine pulses indicate disease in the yin division, causing bone pain. If deep, fine, and quiet, it represents extreme yin, so the disease is in the foot meridians. Foot meridians refer to the three yin meridians of the foot.)

Rapid, active pulses with intermittent stops belong to yang vessel pathology, manifesting as diarrhea and pus-blood in stool. (Rapid and active are yang pulses. Rapid, active, and intermittent stops indicate yang pathogens damaging blood and qi, leading to diarrhea and pus-blood in stool.)

For all abnormal pulses, palpation reveals: Roughness indicates excess yang; smoothness indicates excess yin. (Abnormality in pulse is termed "Guo," known through palpation. Yang excess leads to blood deficiency, hence rough pulse. Yin excess leads to blood abundance, hence smooth pulse.) Yang excess manifests as body heat and no sweat; yin excess manifests as profuse sweating and cold body. (Yang excess implies yin deficiency, causing heat and anhidrosis. Yin excess implies yang deficiency, causing diaphoresis and coldness. Sweat belongs to yin.) Excess in both yin and yang results in no sweat and coldness. (Yang excess causes anhidrosis due to exterior excess; yin excess causes coldness due to yin abundance. Excess in both yin and yang refers to yin pathogens solidifying at the exterior.)

Pushing outward (light pressure): If the pulse is internal (deep) and not external (floating), there are accumulations in the heart and abdomen. (This section discusses diagnosing ambiguous conditions via pulse analysis. If the disease is in the exterior but the pulse is deep and slow rather than floating, it indicates an interior condition, suggesting accumulations in the chest and abdomen. "Tui" here sounds like "Chui," not meaning pushing/expanding.) Pushing inward (heavy pressure): If the pulse is external (floating) and not internal (deep), there is heat in the body. (If the disease is interior but the pulse is floating and rapid rather than deep, it indicates an exterior condition, suggesting body heat.) Pushing upward: If the pulse is present above but absent below, the waist and feet are cold. (Seeking the upper part, if the pulse is only visible above while the lower part is weak, this indicates rising without descending, excess above and deficiency below, causing coldness in the waist and feet.) Pushing downward: If the pulse is present below but absent above, there is pain in the head and neck. (Seeking the lower part, if the pulse is only visible below while the upper part is deficient, this indicates descending without rising, preventing clear yang from ascending, causing head and neck pain. Alternatively, yang deficiency allowing yin to congregate also causes head and neck pain. Note: Jia Yi Jing swaps "above but not below" with "below but not above," which seems smoother but contradicts the logic. Since "below but not above" should not cause cold feet, and the original text uses reverse and direct statements for balance, the original text is correct.) Pressing to the bone: If pulse qi is scanty, there is pain in the waist and spine along with bi-syndrome. (Pressing to the bone yields a deep pulse, indicating yin dominance. Scanty pulse qi indicates blood and qi decline. Righteous qi decline with yin excess causes these symptoms. Meaning of Bi-syndrome is found in Disease Category 67.)