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Those referred to as *Fu Mai* (Floating Pulse) reveal a floating image immediately upon light pressure; when lifted lightly, it feels superficial and smooth, and when pressed heavily, the force decreases slightly but does not feel empty. All pulses such as *Kou Mai* (Hollow Pulse), *Da Mai* (Large Pulse), *Hong Mai* (Surging Pulse), *Ge Mai* (Leather Pulse), *Xu Mai* (Deficiency Pulse), *Ru Mai* (Soggy Pulse), *Wei Mai* (Minute Pulse), and *San Mai* (Scattered Pulse) all belong to the category of floating pulses. They differ from *Xu Mai* (Deficiency Pulse), which fails to resonate upon heavy pressing; from *Kou Mai* (Hollow Pulse), which diminishes in size upon heavy pressing; and from *Ru Mai* (Soggy Pulse), which is soft and powerless. (This passage is attributed to Zhang Lu. Additionally, Li Shizhen’s poem in *Binhu Tizhuang Shi* states: "The Floating pulse moves only along the flesh, like touching elm seeds or light feathers; obtaining this pulse in the third autumn month indicates health, but encountering it in chronic illness is alarming." His poem on similar pulses states: "Floating resembles wood floating in water; large and hollow in the middle is Kou (Hollow); beating and floating is Hong (Surging); coming vigorously but departing leisurely [refers to Hong/Surging]; Floating pulse is light and level like rolling scallion stems; Xu (Deficiency) comes late and large, suddenly empty; Floating with softness and thinness is Ru (Soggy); San (Scattered) resembles willow catkins without fixed traces.") The Floating pulse indicates deficiency and insufficiency. Symptoms such as distension and anorexia caused by Wind or Summerheat, and exterior heat with panting and urgency, all carry the meaning of floating upward. If the Floating pulse is accompanied by Large, it indicates Wind Injury; if accompanied by Tight, it indicates Cold Damage; (Zhang Lu stated: In acute external contractions, the Renying pulse often appears floating and vigorous.) If accompanied by Slippery, it indicates retained food; if accompanied by Slow, it indicates dampness stagnation; if accompanied by Hollow, it indicates blood loss; if accompanied by Rapid, it indicates Wind-Heat; if accompanied by Surging, it indicates mania and restlessness. However, the distinction ultimately lies in whether the pulse is Forceful or Forceless, and whether it has Spirit or lacks Spirit. If both Spirit and Force are present, it indicates Excess, which may be due to Fire flare-up, Qi stagnation, or Heat escaping outward, which can be inferred analogously. If both Spirit and Force are absent, it indicates Deficiency, which may be due to essence depletion or Qi damage, which can be understood clearly. How can one generally categorize it merely as Exterior or Heat? (Zhang Jingyue stated: When Floating, Large, Wiry, and Hard reach extreme levels, even exceeding four times the normal rate, the *Neijing* calls this Guan Ge (Blockage and Reflux). This is not what is meant by having Spirit; rather, it signifies extreme depletion of True Yin with unrooted Yang hyperactivity, a dire omen. Lin Zhihan stated: One must understand that the Floating pulse governs Interior conditions. All internal deficiency syndromes are accompanied by Floating. For example, Floating-Hollow indicates blood loss; Floating-Leather indicates loss of blood; internal injury with cold-dampness presents as weak and floating; tuberculosis with Yin deficiency presents as Large and Rapid; fire decline and Yang deficiency present as chaotic and leather-like, Floating and Large yet Forceful. Furthermore, when True Yin is exhausted below and solitary Yang floats above, the pulse must be Floating, Large, and Forceless, becoming minute and nearly imperceptible upon heavy pressing; in such cases, one should tonify the source of Fire. How can one blindly use exterior-releasing formulas simply because the pulse is Floating without assessing Deficiency or Excess?)