Third Difficulty

Pulse manifestations may be excessive or deficient; there are cases where yin and yang encroach upon each other, and there are the "covering" pulse, the "overflowing" pulse, the "barrier" pulse, and the "repelling" pulse. What do these refer to?

The answer: The pulse position before the bar (Guan) is the area where yang qi surges; the pulse should appear nine tenths of a fen in length and be palpable upon light touch. If the pulse exceeds this standard, by rule it is called "excessive"; if it falls short of this standard, by rule it is called "deficient." If the pulse qi continuously surges upward to the Fish region (Yuji), it becomes an "overflowing" pulse. This indicates external closure and internal repelling—a condition where yin qi encroaches upon the yang position.

The pulse position after the bar is the area where yin qi surges; the pulse should appear one cun in length and be palpable upon heavy touch. If the pulse exceeds this standard, by rule it is called "excessive"; if it falls short of this standard, by rule it is called "deficient." If the pulse qi continuously descends into the Foot region (Chi), it becomes a "covering" pulse. This indicates internal closure and external repelling—a condition where yang qi encroaches upon the yin position. Hence it is called the "covering" pulse and the "overflowing" pulse. These are pulses revealing the leakage of the true qi of the five viscera; even if a person shows no evident illness, death will occur.