There are various forms of diagnosis in Chinese Medicine including; tongue, face, ear, constitution, hand, channel palpation, pulse and many others. One of the most refined arts of diagnosis is the pulse.
By feeling the radial artery (pulse at the wrist) a skilled practitioner is able to feel quite profound aspects of the client’s condition. Some people are told very odd, almost unexplainable things about themselves. It would appear that there is something mystical about this, but in fact pulse diagnosis is a very practical and systematic method of diagnosis.
The first complete text on the Pulse was written around the 2nd century CE called “Mai Jing” (Pulse Classic) by Wang Shu-He. Although there are a few other very famous and practical books written about the pulse, it was the Mai Jing that discussed the major classifications of ‘pulse images’.
The ‘Pulse Images’ were written down to give the practitioner a deeper representation of the pulse. Starting with the general qualities; speed – fast or slow, the level – deep or shallow, the quality – vacuous or excessive and the location – internal or external a great deal can be understood about a condition.
