Sometimes, readers come to ask me about pulse diagnosis. I have noticed that a common question is how to distinguish between Xuan Mai (string-like pulse), Jin Mai (tight pulse), and Xi Mai (fine pulse). It seems this is a frequent concern for beginners in pulse diagnosis.
Today, I will share my thoughts on this.
First, let’s talk about Xuan Mai.
I find that there is no unified standard for this pulse. Everyone talks about Xuan Mai, but what each person envisions is different. As someone once said: a thousand people have a thousand Hamlets in their hearts. Xuan Mai is like Hamlet.
Therefore, when discussing Xuan Mai, it is necessary to clarify what I envision it to be.
My understanding of Xuan Mai refers to a sensation that feels like a string, straight, long, relatively thin, and with texture.
What about Jin Mai? Jin refers to the hardness felt when pressing on the pulse.
One describes the shape of the pulse, while the other describes its hardness. Thus, Jin Mai and Xuan Mai are descriptions of the pulse from different perspectives.
Since they are different perspectives, these two pulses can overlap. If a pulse feels both like a string—thin, long, and straight—and hard, then it is a Xuan Jin (string-tight) pulse.
How do we distinguish between Xuan Mai and Xi Mai?
We should say that Xi Mai describes the pulse from the perspective of its thinness. Why is the pulse thin? It indicates a deficiency of substance.
When thinking of Xi Mai, one might imagine a river in winter during a dry season, where the water has become a small stream. If a person has sufficient Qi and blood, the pulse should resemble the abundant river water of summer. Therefore, Xi Mai indicates a pulse of bodily deficiency. This deficiency refers to Yin, such as Yin Jing (Yin essence), Yin Xue (Yin blood), and Yin Jin (Yin fluids). If there is both Yin deficiency and heat, the pulse will be thin and rapid. If there is Yin deficiency accompanied by cold, it will be thin and tight.
Xi Mai is relatively straightforward, while Xuan Mai contains more complex information, making it harder to understand.
Xuan Mai conveys the following information:
First, Xuan Mai is relatively thin, but this thinness is not frail; it is a form of condensation. If it is thin, it indicates deficiency. The thinness of Xuan Mai does not arise from deficiency but from something that was originally dispersed becoming condensed.
Second, Xuan Mai is straight.
Third, Xuan Mai is long. Of course, this length is limited; it does not mean “long” in the sense of spanning from inch to foot, but rather that when a single finger presses on the pulse, one can feel the complete string-like sensation beneath. This Xuan Mai may appear at the inch, guan, or chi positions. It is also possible for two positions to exhibit this pulse while another does not. It may also be present at all three positions.
Fourth, Xuan Mai has texture. What is the texture of Xuan Mai? This is difficult to describe.
Let’s understand Xuan Mai. How is it produced? It must arise from an abnormal state of Qi and blood in the body. It is this abnormal state that causes Xuan Mai.
For example, under normal circumstances, we cannot feel the presence of air with our hands. However, if we blow air into a balloon and press on it, we can feel the air. We can even judge by touch how much air is inside.
In a normal state, the Qi in the body is free, diffuse, and flows gently, like a spring breeze. In an abnormal state, it gathers together—not in a lump, but in a long strip, forming Xuan Mai. When they gather together, they lose their original free, diffuse, and gentle state, either becoming inactive and lifeless or becoming irritable and unreasonable.
Since it is the Qi that gathers together to produce Xuan Mai, different states of aggregation will produce different textures of Xuan Mai.
More Qi or less Qi will feel different. Tighter or looser aggregation will also feel different.
Thus, through touch, one can experience whether there is more or less Qi, and whether it is tightly or loosely aggregated.
It is important to clarify what the pulse is. It is the flow of blood, and at a higher level, it is Yang acting upon Yin. Therefore, when the finger presses down, both Yin and Yang are present.
What is Yang? It is energy. What is Yin? It is substance. Energy does not exist alone; it requires substance as a carrier. This means that the substance and energy in the body are combined, and Yin and Yang are in harmony. If Yin and Yang separate, a person is in serious trouble.
In the body, Qi is Yang, and Jin is Yin. From the above, we know that Qi and Jin are not completely separate; they are combined. If there is no Qi in Jin, it becomes stagnant water. What is stagnant water? It is Yin.
Different people, or different organs in the same person, often have different distributions of Qi. This means that in some areas, Jin contains more Qi, while in others, it contains less. The amount of Qi in Jin not only indicates the quantity of Qi but also the amount of Yang, energy, and vitality. Understanding this is very helpful for assessing the condition of the organs.
When Qi condenses, we can understand it as Jin that contains Qi condensing together. Although they have condensed, we can still distinguish which contains more Qi and which contains less.
For convenience of discussion, we can refer to the condensation with more Qi as Qi Ju (Qi aggregation) and the condensation with less Qi as Jin Ju (Jin aggregation).
How do we distinguish them?
The tactile sensations produced by Qi Ju and Jin Ju are different. Qi Ju feels softer and has better elasticity. Jin Ju feels stiffer and has poorer elasticity.
If the elasticity is very poor, lacking vitality and being very stiff, it indicates that there is very little Qi in Jin, so little that it can be ignored. In this case, it is no longer Jin but waste water, which is Yin. Therefore, when feeling Xuan Mai, in addition to considering Qi aggregation, one must also check for Yin. Generally speaking, cold is the main cause of Yin. Thus, pulses with Yin are often tight. However, if there is no cold, then there will be no Jin Mai. The pulse is very flexible; do not try to apply rigid rules.
Finally, let’s use another analogy to describe the various differences in Xuan Mai.
If we roll a stretched quilt into a cylindrical shape, it is somewhat like the Qi in the body aggregating into a long strip. If we roll the quilt tighter, it feels fuller. Conversely, if we roll it loosely, it feels softer. This reflects the different degrees of Qi aggregation and the different tactile sensations of the pulse.
If we roll up a dry quilt, what does it feel like? If we soak a quilt in water and then roll it up, what does it feel like? This illustrates the difference between the tactile sensations of Xuan Mai with Qi aggregation and Xuan Mai with Yin.
Additionally, what does it feel like to press on a thick quilt versus a thin quilt? This illustrates the differences between Xuan Mai with more Qi and Xuan Mai with less Qi.
The above is my understanding of these pulses. Due to my limited knowledge, errors are inevitable. I welcome readers’ critiques and corrections.