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If the pulse beats fifty times without interruption, the body is free of disease. If there are interruptions within the count, these can all be determined accordingly. An interruption after forty-one beats indicates the exhaustion of one zang organ's qi; death will likely occur within four years. An interruption after thirty-one beats corresponds to three years. An interruption after twenty-one beats corresponds to two years. An interruption after fifteen beats leads to death within one year. For interruptions occurring below this frequency, one must examine for sudden diseases (acute conditions).

Mr. Liu stated: Assessing the pulse by counting its beats is a crucial point. One must assess the pulse for fifty beats to know whether the qi of the five zang organs is present or deficient. Nowadays, people place their fingers on the patient's wrist and arm and believe they have seen everything, not realizing that observing "fifty beats" is certainly not something accomplished in the time it takes to snap one's fingers. This habit has become customary, with speed being regarded as miraculous. Liu Lizhi from Mount Lu was known as "Three Points," using his fingers to indicate the three pulse positions on others, with predictions of life, death, fortune, and misfortune proving mostly accurate. Apprentices passed down this method and also used it. Was Liu truly endowed with the divine skill of "Three Points," or did he acquire it through observing appearance and speech? Appearance can be transmitted, but the pulse cannot. The ancients considered palpating the pulse to be the art of the superior physician. For instance, Bian Que drank water from an upper pool and could see into the diseases within people's viscera; Hua Tuo could dissect bones and remove stomachs. Were these achievements obtained merely through palpating the pulse? Since the sacred and divine techniques of later generations are not common, what one should learn is: diagnose the interior through pulse taking, and refer to questioning symptoms, observing speech, and examining appearance to understand the exterior. This is sufficient. The *Mai Jing* (Pulse Classic) states: If the pulse comes fifty times without stopping, the five zang organs all receive qi, indicating no disease. If there is one stop in forty beats, one zang lacks qi, and death occurs after four years. Even if there is one stop in ten beats, four zang organs lack qi, and death occurs within the month. Its words distinguish the number of years until death based on how many zang organs lack qi. I privately doubt this. The *Nei Jing* (Inner Canon) states: Kidney exhaustion leads to death in six days, Liver exhaustion in eight days, Heart exhaustion in one day. If a zang organ's qi is truly exhausted, how could there be a wait of four years or three years? Generally, "fifty beats" is the standard count for the pulse. One must definitely observe fifty beats; one should not hastily stop observing before reaching fifty beats. Or one may ask: From where does the count begin for the intermittent pulse? The answer is: After obtaining the intermittent pulse, start counting again from the beginning to the end, seeing how many beats occur before the stop; this constitutes the count.

Two beats followed by a stop, or three or four beats followed by a stop; three beats followed by one pause indicates death in six or seven days. Four beats followed by a stop indicates death in eight days. Deduce according to this sequence. This refers to cases where there is an intermittent pulse within ten beats. However, it is difficult to assert definitively that only sudden diseases present this pattern; chronic diseases may also show this. One should determine the time of death based on the beat counts, rather than focusing exclusively on diagnosing sudden diseases.