Sound Section

Chen MengleiJun 2024

3.5

Word count: 14K words
Chapters: 8

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Summary

When the heart pulse is pounding, hard, and long, the patient will develop a curled tongue and be unable to speak.

[Note: Pounding, hard, and long means the pulse beats forcefully and feels long—this is an excessive pulse. Heart fire is excessive, hence the curled tongue. The heart governs speech, hence the inability to speak.]

Editor's review

The extant text of Sound Gate takes the correspondence between pulse images and disease signs as its entry point, presenting the pathological reasoning that links a "pounding, hard, and long heart pulse" to a curled tongue and inability to speak, with annotations explaining the relationship between an excessive pulse and heart fire. The content belongs to the body of knowledge on pulse diagnosis and organ pattern differentiation in traditional medical texts; the language is concise, and the annotations and main text illuminate each other, making it suitable as supplementary material for understanding ancient pulse theory. Its reading value lies in observing how the ancients inferred disease mechanisms from pulse images and then explained symptoms through those mechanisms, embodying the relational thinking of Chinese medicine pattern differentiation. Given its limited length, the text is closer to a topical entry than a systematic textbook, and is suitable for readers with some foundation in Chinese medicine or an interest in classical medical texts as extended reading; paired with basic pulse-study materials for comparison, it can be better understood in terms of terminology and reasoning.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Medical students studying the foundations of Chinese medicine pulse diagnosis who need to expand their reading of classical medical texts
Chinese medicine practitioners interested in the link between organ pattern differentiation and pulse images and disease mechanisms
Textual researchers compiling entries from ancient medical texts and attending to annotation style
Readers with a foundation in classical Chinese who wish to understand traditional medical ways of thinking

Not a good fit for

Complete beginners seeking a systematic introductory textbook on Chinese medicine
General readers expecting a popular wellness guide or self-diagnosis manual
Readers without classical Chinese reading ability and without annotated assistance

Reading tips

Read the main text first, then the annotations, comparing them to understand why "pounding, hard, and long" is judged an excessive pulse.
Review common pulse images with basic pulse charts to clarify this entry's place in the overall system.
Draw a simple disease-mechanism map linking "the heart governs speech" with the curled tongue and inability to speak to help remember the chain of reasoning.
Read comparatively with entries on other organ pulses to appreciate how the ancients reasoned from pulse to pattern.

版权信息
脉要精微论
宣明五气篇
脉解篇
方
单方
导引
医案

FAQ

What is the main point of this passage from Sound Gate?

It discusses the correspondence between the pulse image of a pounding, hard, and long heart pulse and the symptom of a curled tongue with inability to speak. The annotation explains that pounding, hard, and long is an excessive pulse; excessive heart fire causes the curled tongue, and because the heart governs speech, the patient cannot speak—reflecting the approach of inferring disease mechanisms from pulse images.

Can someone without a Chinese medicine background understand this passage?

Reading it directly will be difficult, as it involves pulse terminology and organ pattern differentiation. It is advisable to first learn basic pulse categories and foundational theories such as "the heart governs speech," then work through the annotations sentence by sentence. If reading only for cultural understanding, it can be treated as a sample of ancient medical thinking without insisting on mastering diagnostic details.

Is this text suitable for learning pulse diagnosis?

It can serve as a supplementary example for pulse diagnosis study, helping to understand the link between pulse images and disease signs, but its length is limited and it is not enough for systematic training. It is best paired with systematic pulse textbooks and diagrams, using this entry as a case confirming pattern-differentiation thinking rather than as the sole basis.

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About the author

Chen Menglei Author · China · 1651–1741

Chen Menglei (1651–1741), courtesy names Zizhen and Shengzhai, later styled the Old Man of Songhe, was a Qing dynasty scholar from Houguan, Fujian. He passed the imperial examination in the ninth year of the Kangxi reign and was appointed to the Hanlin Academy as a compiler. After 1698, by imperial order, he tutored the third prince, Yinzhii, and took the opportunity to compile a vast classified encyclopedia, the Hui Bian, using the collection of the Xieyi Hall; the Kangxi Emperor later bestowed on it the title Gujin Tushu Jicheng. The library holds more than 410 of his works, mostly sections of the officialdom chapters of that encyclopedia, covering institutions such as the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, the Imperial Observatory, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, prefectural governors, the Transmission Office, and the Imperial Medical Academy. These works address ancient bureaucratic systems, ritual norms, and administrative practice. His compilations are distinguished by systematic classification and extensive citation, preserving a wealth of source materials for later generations; they are commonly categorized under culture and Eastern philosophy. As public information on his life is limited, this note confines itself to his known scholarly contributions.