Editor’s Note: The correct color indicates a proper diagnosis; a deep color suggests an internal condition. If the color is murky and dark, it indicates a chronic and severe illness. The changes in the five sounds indicate the emergence of disease. Today, we conclude our discussion on observation (望诊) and begin a new section on auscultation (闻诊). Observing facial color for auspiciousness, examining the five organs for disease color, and assessing the overall spirit must be combined with listening to the sounds of the five organs to achieve a complementary effect.
Continuing with observation, we will quickly transition to auscultation, which involves listening to sounds.
1. Observing Facial Color for Auspiciousness
If the facial color (病色) is deep, it indicates an internal condition. If it is murky and dark, it suggests a chronic and severe illness.
If the color is light and superficial, it indicates an external condition; a noticeable luster suggests a new or mild illness.
If the color disperses like mist, it indicates ease of treatment; if it gathers into a lump, it suggests difficulty in treatment.
If the patient has a thumb-like black lump on the forehead and red lumps on the cheeks, it indicates a clash of water and fire, suggesting that even if the patient shows slight improvement, they are likely to die suddenly. This indicates a risk of sudden death.
If the lips and face suddenly show a bluish-black or white color, even without any discomfort, it indicates a risk of sudden death.
Normal color indicates health; abnormal colors may not always indicate illness, but they often signify impending disaster.
If a person exhibits a sickly color but feels well, they may still face calamity: for example, a red face indicates issues with the mouth, white indicates punishment or mourning, black suggests disaster or death, and blue indicates worries or legal troubles.
If the facial features appear sunken, such as a flat forehead and hollow cheeks, this is a sign of short life; if accompanied by a sickly color, it is even more ominous.
Even those who appear healthy but exhibit signs of spirit deficiency indicate the importance of vitality!
2. Observing the Colors of the Five Organs
1) Liver Disease: Anger, facial color should be green, with movement in the left side
Prone to muscle cramps and rib pain, difficulty in muscle relaxation, and easy to experience convulsions and dizziness. Symptoms such as hand tremors, high fever, and blackened vision are all related to liver issues. Liver disease can also lead to hernias and ear problems. If the liver is deficient, it may cause vision impairment.The liver and gallbladder are interconnected; liver deficiency leads to gallbladder weakness, resulting in timidity and a constant feeling of being pursued.
2) Heart Disease: Joy, red tongue, dry mouth, movement in the area above the navel, chest pain and anxiety, forgetfulness, palpitations, and restlessness
If there is a solid condition, it may lead to madness or fainting. If there is a deficiency, it may result in feelings of sorrow and despair.
3) Spleen Disease: Worry, yellow color, movement in the area above the navel, tendency to think too much, reduced appetite, fatigue, abdominal fullness, and bowel sounds, abdominal pain and diarrhea
Weakness in the limbs indicates fatigue and lack of strength. If there is a solid condition, symptoms may include overall heaviness and soreness, abdominal bloating, and constipation.
4) Lung Disease: Sadness, white color, movement in the right side of the navel
As the lungs govern the exterior, they are prone to cold and heat symptoms, coughing, sneezing, and shortness of breath. As the lungs govern the skin, they may also cause skin pain. Since the chest is the residence of the lungs, chest tightness and pain are common. Lung deficiency may lead to shortness of breath.
5) Kidney Disease: Fear, black color, movement below the navel, abdominal swelling, and difficulty breathing, with swelling typically starting in the lower limbs
Urination may be difficult or frequent, and may be weak or clear. Due to the connection between the kidneys and bladder, this can also lead to lower back pain. Kidney issues may also cause excessive yawning. If kidney evil energy ascends to the heart, it may lead to feelings of emptiness and hunger. Kidney cold may cause cold feet and reverse flow of qi.
The above outlines the general symptoms represented by the colors of the five organs.
If the five colors do not indicate illness, one must also consider their interactions to assess auspiciousness:
Correct color indicates a proper diagnosis; mixed colors suggest a complex condition.
If liver disease shows a green color, it indicates a correct diagnosis and is favorable for treatment.
If liver disease shows a black color, it indicates a favorable condition for treatment.
If liver disease shows a red color, it indicates a less favorable condition for treatment, but not too difficult.
If liver disease shows a yellow color, it indicates a worsening condition, but with some auspiciousness.
If liver disease shows a white color, it indicates a natural worsening of the condition, which is unfavorable for treatment.
3. Observing the Spirit
Color represents the five colors displayed on the face. Spirit is hidden in the heart and reflected in the eyes; thus, spirit is observed through the eyes. If a patient’s gaze is dull, it indicates a short spirit and a sign of impending death; if the eyes are clear and bright, it indicates sufficient spirit and no serious illness, even if they are unwell.
If either spirit or color is lost, it indicates a prolonged illness; if both are lost, it suggests imminent death.
The facial color corresponds to the five colors, and the eyes also reflect the five colors.
The pupil represents black
The iris represents green
The sclera represents white
The inner corners of the eyes represent red
The eyelids represent yellow
Thus, the five colors of the eyes also represent the five organs, and the corresponding colors should align with the respective diseases for accurate diagnosis. For example, if liver disease shows a green pupil and green facial color, it indicates a correct diagnosis and is favorable. If colors are mixed, it suggests complexity and is unfavorable for treatment. If the facial color is yellow and the eyelids are yellow, it indicates that the earth is not defeated, and there is hope for recovery. If both eyes are yellow, it indicates jaundice. If a patient keeps their eyes closed, it indicates a yin disease:
If the eyes are open, it indicates a yang disease;
If a person with yang deficiency has a yin disease, they do not like to open their eyes;
If a person with yin deficiency has a yang disease, they do not like to close their eyes;
If the eyes are hazy or there is excessive eye discharge, it indicates excessive heat;
If a person can sleep with their eyes open, it indicates frequent blood loss;
If the eyes roll back, it indicates a sign of yang exhaustion.
If vision is lost, it indicates a sign of yin exhaustion; if the eye sockets suddenly sink, it indicates a sign of qi exhaustion, and if the pupils do not move, it indicates a sign of spirit loss.
4. Auscultation (Listening to Sounds)
The five organs correspond to the five sounds: Jiao (角), Zhi (徵), Gong (宫), Shang (商), and Yu (羽), corresponding to the liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.The changes in the five sounds indicate the emergence of disease.
Liver disease may cause urgent calls; such individuals often shout loudly and are easily startled;
Heart disease may cause hearty laughter; such individuals laugh robustly, but if deficient, they may only manage a bitter smile;
Spleen disease may cause a scattered singing voice; such individuals speak or sing in a weak and listless manner;
Lung disease may cause a sobbing voice; such individuals tend to cry (not in a playful manner, but in a sorrowful way), and their speech is often punctuated with sobs;
Kidney disease may cause a low, weak moan; such individuals often speak in a low voice.
When combined with color, if the voice is startling and the color is white, it indicates a tragic situation. If a patient talks a lot, it indicates heat; if they are reluctant to speak, it indicates cold.
Strong speech indicates a solid condition, while weak speech indicates a deficiency. If speech is faint and difficult to continue, it indicates qi exhaustion, which is dangerous. If a person speaks incoherently, it indicates a loss of spirit, which is ominous; those nearing death often exhibit this.
Frequent loss of voice indicates a loss of sound. If the voice becomes coarse after losing it, it indicates internal heat being restrained by external cold, suggesting a condition of external cold and internal heat.
If a person cannot speak due to a stroke, it is called “mute wind,” which is difficult to treat.
Because metal does not control wood, and stroke belongs to wood while sound belongs to metal, a loss of sound indicates that metal does not control wood.
If excessive talking leads to loss of voice, this will naturally recover.
Alright, we will stop here for now. There is much to learn in diagnostics, and we have only covered the basics. We will continue to delve deeper in future lessons, but we must proceed step by step.
In the next lesson, we will begin discussing Chinese herbal medicine. Thank you all!
Zhigu Hall Traditional Medicine Inheritance Academy Editorial TeamSpeaker: Chen HengyuOrganizer: FuxingProofreader: Zhai XiangdongEditors: Cai Bingxing, Li Jian— Welcome to Follow Us —