Estimation and Measurement

AnonymousJinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaApr 2020

3.8

Word count: 2.9K words
Chapters: 6

Summary

Title of an ancient medical text. "Kui" means probing the pulse principles; "Du" means locating the site of disease, cross-referenced with the favorable or unfavorable qi of the four seasons to determine prognosis and treatment.

Editor's review

"Kuidu" is a chapter title from an ancient medical text. In the surviving text, "kui" is glossed as probing the pulse principles and "du" as locating the site of disease; diagnosis of the pulse and identification of the disease site must be cross-referenced with the favorable or unfavorable qi of the four seasons in order to judge prognosis and determine treatment. The chapter is brief, yet it embodies the holistic logic of traditional medicine, in which pulse, disease, season, and treatment are interlinked: palpation of the pulse is not an isolated reading of signs but must be grounded in the specific disease site, then checked against the seasonal qi's favorability or unfavorable, ultimately serving the choice of treatment. This edition, printed by Shanghai Jinzhang Book Company, preserves the layout of the ancient text and is suitable for reading as a selected chapter on pulse theory and diagnostic method in Chinese medicine. When reading, grasp the division of labor between the two key terms "kui" and "du," then note how seasonal favorability and unfavorability affect prognosis; avoid treating the contents as clinical protocols to be applied directly.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students at Chinese medicine colleges studying diagnostic method and pulse theory
Researchers in Chinese medicine theory interested in the relationship between the four seasons and disease location
Teachers of Chinese medical classics who need selected ancient texts as teaching materials
Enthusiasts of Chinese medical culture with some grounding in classical Chinese

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking specific formulas and clinical practice guidelines
Beginners with no classical Chinese reading ability who are unwilling to consult references
Readers hoping for a systematic, complete textbook of Chinese medical diagnostics

Reading tips

First clarify that "kui" means probing the pulse principles and "du" means locating the site of disease, then read the whole chapter to grasp the diagnostic framework.
Extract the relationship between seasonal favorability/unfavorability and prognosis into a simple table to aid understanding.
Read alongside discussions of seasonal pulse patterns in the Inner Canon, but be careful not to conflate the systems of different classics.
After reading, retell the chapter's reasoning in your own words to test whether you truly understand the links among pulse, disease, season, and treatment.

About the publisher

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) China · Founded in 1901

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.

版权信息
正文一
正文二
正文三
正文四
正文五

FAQ

What do the two terms "kui" and "du" refer to in this chapter?

According to the explanation of the title, "kui" refers to probing the pulse principles—that is, using pulse palpation to investigate the pathology reflected in the pulse image; "du" refers to locating the site of disease—that is, determining where the disease is located. Together they emphasize that pulse diagnosis and identification of disease location work in concert, and are then cross-referenced with seasonal favorability and unfavorability to judge prognosis and treatment.

Can this chapter be used directly to guide medical treatment and prescribing?

It should not be. This chapter is diagnostic theory from an ancient medical text, focusing on the relationship among pulse principles, disease location, and seasonal favorability/unfavorability; it is not a guide to specific formulas or clinical practice. Modern readers should read it as a document for understanding traditional medical thinking; actual diagnosis and treatment must follow current medical standards.

Can someone without a Chinese medicine background read this chapter?

They can try, but will need reference works and annotations. The chapter involves concepts such as pulse principles, disease location, and seasonal favorability/unfavorability, and without a foundation it is easy to misinterpret the words literally. It is advisable to first learn basic terminology of Chinese medical diagnostics, then read slowly sentence by sentence, focusing on the overall reasoning rather than individual phrases.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.