Commentary on Li Shi Zhen's "Pulse Diagnosis"
by James Ramholz From Oriental Medicine Journal Volume 4, #3
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According to Li Shi Zhen there are 27 basic pulse states (2). Most basic movements can be observed in any of nine fundamental positions (3) on each wrist. The division of each wrist into three depths forms a grid in which "the area and nature of the disease can be determined from the wrist pulse."(4) In this nine-sector grid, the cun position indicates diaphragm to crown, the guan position indicates navel to diaphragm, and the chi position navel to feet. The superficial comprises emotional, exterior, and meridian activity, the middle shows organic or metabolic activity, and the deep level shows the bone-level or innermost activity. Together, these sectors create a hologram of the entire body, similar in nature to the mapping of the ear, feet, or eyes.
Mathematically, this nine-sector grid forms 486 simple combinations. Because each state is never seen alone but combined with one or more types of energy--what Li Shi Zhen calls a "composite pulse" (5)-- the possibilities quickly expand (6). In developing a model of this sophistication, we can create a diagnosis system as rich and as varied as there are conditions or patients. By adopting the criteria of Li Shi Zhen we can anticipate a method of diagnosis and treatment that is truly as unique as the patient. Ultimately, we can have a far richer description than 5-elements; we could calculate 5 elements of 5-elements of 5-elements. A model this detailed gives us a much clearer picture of cancer, AIDS, and other forms of chronic illness.
Unfortunately, no current American text exploits this level of sophistication and complexity. Typically contemporary texts divide the pulse levels into the yang and yin organs, then specify a diagnosis method using Eight Confirmations in the cun, guan, or chi positions. Many different types of problems are reduced to the same, simple rubrics- -"stagnated liver energy," "dampness in the spleen," etc. As a result, complicated and chronic problems can easily be misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and inappropriately treated. Compounding this problem is the difficulty of the subject matter itself, differentiating and interpreting subtle activity inherent in pulses especially for chronic and catastrophic illnesses which present highly complex pulse patterns. It is unrealistic to work with models like the Li Shi Zhen without comprehensive classroom study and extensive clinical practice with supervision. This problem is further compounded by confusing and conflicting information in the Li Shi Zhen itself.
Thankfully, Li Shi Zhen provides us with an important tool, asserting that all this can be made less complicated:
The theory of the pulse is very complicated but it is based upon the four principles--floating, sinking, slow, and rapid. Once they are understood, by elaborating on them, the entire subject can be clarified.(7)
Li Shi Zhen asks us to divide the pulse into yang and yin vectors along vertical and horizontal lines of symmetry, a type of fourfold analysis. For him, pulse diagnosis is an art of deconstruction, a geometry of meaning.
The model that best includes both these dimensions is the Tai Chi diagram, a broad and familiar abstraction that can also be used to decipher the particulars of its applications. It is the classic emblem of complementary opposites, cyclic continuity in time, and harmonious interrelationship--all essential parameters of health in the human body. Yang rises vertically and accelerates horizontally; yin sinks vertically and decelerates horizontally. Using the Tai Chi symbol as our paradigm, we can analyze how yang and yin should ideally communicate, exchange, and balance.
The circle itself is a traditional symbol of unity. The sine wave through the diameter of the circle is the ideal and basic pulse wave. It is the result of balance, interaction, and harmony. Any deviation from it provides information on how yin and yang have changed from that balance and what are the consequences for health. All 27 pathological pulse states discussed by Li Shi Zhen can be derived from it.
Tai Chi is process-orientated, coherent, evolving, and interactive in contrast to the typical emphasis on substance or "solid" components. In it, yang and yin are more than their sum; they create and dynamically balance each other. As a complex system, the Tai Chi diagram can be seen in a wide range of natural scales and applications--the double-helix of the DNA molecule, the change of day and night, the spiral nature of galaxies. Because this symbol is found at the heart of Taoist philosophy, the Chinese 60-year calendar, feng shui, martial arts, and a variety of other systems, it can be used as a basis for analysis and comparison of those systems.
We can simplify the work of Li Shi Zhen one step further by creating a list of the most fundamental pulses. As a basic group, they illustrate a view of the essential dimensions and types of energies found in all pulses. It is important to note that they are derived from a balanced pulse state and fulfill Li Shi Shen's fourfold criteria:
Inherent to this system is the communication and symmetry of yin and yang. The sine wave is formed from the synergy and coordination between yin and yang. Their dynamic is nonlinear, not simply the sum of isolated or independent elements. This relationship is as important as the constituents and becomes their context as well as genesis. The Tai Chi movement represents the ability of living systems to continuously regulate and renew themselves and to regulate this process in such a way that their integrity and structure is maintained--what is today sometimes called autopoiesis.
We would expect other systems to be derived from this one, and in fact we see it at the heart of many illustrations in Chinese philosophical and medical literature. Whereas a machine is geared to output a specific product, a living organism is primarily concerned with renewing itself. We should expect to see this sine wave in all healthy relationships and in the pulse positions of a healthy person. Therefore, any deviation from this wave movement provides us with important information about what is happening to the energy of the patient or the body's response to disease and the environment. It is the way systems cycle or energetically perpetuate themselves.
In a perfectly healthy person, all the pulses would present this smooth, balanced sine wave movement connected at all positions and depths- -and it should be present during the entire year, not only in late summer. While the seasonal energy will have some influence in the pulses, emotions have a much stronger and immediate influence. The energy movements of the four seasons add their wave shapes to the patient's energetic movement. The interactions of those two wave forms uniquely describe the patient's reaction to the seasonal change.
The basic wave can be further analyzed by dividing it into its yang and yin components. The normal pulse begins with an ascending or yang movement. The convex portion indicates the yang energy or qi of the movement [ABC], while the concave portion describes the state of yin energy or blood of each organ [CDE]. To determine the balance within this movement, check the size, angles, and texture of the yang portion and compare it to the yin portion. Ideally, the yin and yang portions of each pulse should be symmetrical, hold the same capacity, and display the same textures. A sharper angle of ascent indicates that the pulse contains more yang energy or heat; a smoother angle indicates that yin is more prevalent. If the ascending movement is more prominent, the pulse will have a tendency to float; when the descending movement is more prominent it will have a tendency to sink (10). When the rising movement is dominant it can also have a tendency to be more superficial or express an acute syndrome. If it is a chronic condition the syndrome expressed will be light, superficial, or immediate.
If the pulse begins with a descending motion (the sine wave is reversed), the organ energy is reversing and, if more than one pulse position presents this reversal, the mother-son rule of the 5-Phase theory is breaking down and the condition is more critical.
Symptoms are created by contrasts in function, energy, or movement. The capacity of a pulse movement to create symptoms can be measured by the area of the yang [ABC] or yin [CDE] portion of the pulse. For example, if the yin portion of the pulse is larger, then the yin energy has the greater capacity to express a symptom. The pulse is not necessarily obliged to express this capacity, but we can see the potential for expression. And our diagnosis does not have to rely solely on the patient's report of their symptoms; we can observe problems before the patient can be aware of them. This capability of pulse reading is essential in discriminating the root of the problem from the branch; as well as in cases where the patient has forgotten, is unaware, or is hiding aspects of the condition.
These elementary rules can be applied repeatedly as tools to analyze any pulse shape or energy. Taking the first half or yang portion as our focus, the movement going up is yang of yang while the second movement of the first half of the basic wave is yin of yang. In the yin portion of the basic wave, the movement descending is yin of yin; the movement ascending to the horizontal axis is yang of yin. The yang of yin portion connects to the next pulse position, feeding its yang of yang movement.
The clinical implications of this fourfold analysis are far-reaching (11). Let's consider several examples of a Flooding (hong) pulse, which can, in general, indicate heat or bacterial inflammation. First, we need to keep in mind that when the upbeat is yang, it indicates the qi and when the downbeat is yin, it indicates blood. The ascending movement of a Flooding pulse can be smaller than the descending motion, or the rising motion can be larger than the descending motion. These two pulses offer us different information even though both are Flooding.
Both present bacterial inflammation with a certain range of fever or temperature. Where the downbeat is larger it indicates that the yin energy or blood is more influenced by the heat than the qi therefore we should expect more pus formation and lymphatic blockage. In the other example, heat affects the qi more, and we should expect a higher fever but less pus formation.
If we want to see if the heat expressed in the Flooding pulse is affecting the upper or the lower body, we can observe it the chi, guan, cun divisions. If the Flooding pulse is moving towards the cun it indicates that it is affecting the upper part of the body and if it is moving towards the chi it indicates that it is affecting the lower part of the body.
Consider the wave movement in the chi position of the right wrist, the large intestine. A pulse that rises in a normal sine curve but becomes wiry in the yin portion before it returns to the horizontal axis indicates that qi is not a problem but there is some problem in the yin or blood movement related to that organ. It may indicate that some heavier materials are stagnating and the organ itself is now being affected because that heavy material has not been eliminated. The organ does not have enough energy so elimination is impaired, building toward a toxic condition.
If the situation was reversed and the upbeat was wiry and the downbeat was normal, it would indicate that the large intestine itself is affected energetically and not able to handle routine material. The organ itself is the problem rather than the material that the organ is managing. The difference between these two conditions can be illustrated by a person trying to lift a box who cannot do it. There are two possible reasons: either the person is too weak or the box is too heavy. If the downbeat is the problem, it indicates that the box is too heavy; if the upbeat is the problem, it indicates that the person trying to lift it is too weak.
When the pulse is excessively fast, the energy will be cut at the chi position, move towards the cun, and finally dissappear. When the pulse is excessively slow, the energy will cut off at the cun position and move towards the chi and finally disappear. For these two examples simply compare the energy of someone who just came out of a sauna and is about to faint from the heat to someone who was exposed to freezing weather and is about to pass out.
When the pulses are slow in comparison to the rate of breathing,we can say that the patient does not have sufficient yang energy or that his interior can be cold or damp. The Rapid pulse indicates that there is too much heat, that the condition is affecting the upper warmer, or that it is taking place at the surface. It could be excessiveness or it could be a condition caused by an attack of perverse energy, etc. Heat in the interior, for example near the bone, will be found in the deep level but will present a rapid movement. A slow movement at the superficial level indicates cold energy invading at the surface of the body.
The horizontal dimension of the pulse wave indicates what the capacity the wave form holds. Compare the vertical movement to voltage and the horizontal to wattage. So if it is Big and Long it means that the output is strong, but if it is Small and Short it means that the output is diminished but the movement can still last for an extended period of time. When the pulse is Small it means that it will not last because it does not have enough energy support to continue. Endurance or the capacity of a particular stress, that is how long it will last, depends on the horizontal movement.
The Slippery pulse feels "round and smooth and flows evenly"(13). The sensation is like touching oil or wet and hard beads, it curves evenly up and then back down. In general it indicates dampness or that qi is deficient in comparison to blood. Li Shi Zhen comments (14) that a Slippery pulse can be created when yuan qi fails "and is unable to hold liver and kidney fire." Typically you can expect mucus secretion or, if it is the dominant character, a blockage to the blood flow with very low qi movement. You will commonly verify a mucus problem by looking at the spleen's relationship to the other involved organs. It can be found in women during pregnancy; and, if over forty, it will be evident in the menopause pattern.
The Choppy pulse feels "thin, minute, and short and has an uneven flow, beating three and five times with an irregular rhythm." It is often described as feeling like touching very fine sandpaper or a "knife scraping bamboo"(15). In terms of our Tai Chi model, the horizontal movement of the qi is not supported by the yin energy. Like the knife, the momentum pushes forward but is carried in a jerky motion. In general, it feels very thin and irregular, making it sometimes difficult to flow. It indicates a dry condition, where qi is more abundant then blood. It can often be observed in anemic patients and in those recovering from surgery because of blood loss.
As a general rule, we know that a deficiency of yin will lead to an excess of yang. If yin energy becomes deficient, the pulse will not be able to connect to the deep level. This will be compensated by the further growth of Yang energy or further strengthening of the upbeat. But since the yang movement cannot go beyond the top level, which is superficial, it will compensate by a build up intensity at that level. As the yin energy becomes more and more deficient, the strength of the yang upbeat will bud correspondingly, manifesting in a Knotted pulse with a pronounced peak. If the energy is Knotting in every pulsation, it is more serious and might indicate cancer. In this last case, it shows a severe loss of stability of the Tai Chi equilibrium.
If this pulse shows up between two pulse waves as an independent movement, then it could be an early sign of cancer, even though it is not clearly Knotting in the organic wave. In some cancer movements, the pulse can be felt to rise and actually knot or vibrate in situ: without a descending movement. This Knotted state-- as well as others which we will look at later--is usually picked up in the top or bottom of each pulsation but they can occur in other levels of each wave as well.
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