What does it mean for one pulse to transform into ten variations? It is the concept of the interaction between hardness and softness, known as Wuxie. For example, if

• the heart pulse is extremely rapid, it indicates liver evil affecting the heart;
• if the heart pulse is slightly rapid, it indicates gallbladder evil affecting the small intestine;
• if the heart pulse is extremely large, it indicates heart evil affecting the heart itself;
• if the heart pulse is slightly large, it indicates small intestine evil affecting the small intestine itself;
• if the heart pulse is extremely slow, it indicates spleen evil affecting the heart;
• if the heart pulse is slightly slow, it indicates stomach evil affecting the small intestine;
• if the heart pulse is extremely rough, it indicates lung evil affecting the heart;
• if the heart pulse is slightly rough, it indicates large intestine evil affecting the small intestine;
• if the heart pulse is extremely deep, it indicates kidney evil affecting the heart;
• if the heart pulse is slightly deep, it indicates bladder evil affecting the small intestine.

bubble_chart Note:

1. Wuxie refers to the qi of the five zang and five fu organs losing their proper state and becoming evil.
2. Hardness and softness, when they interact, mean zang meeting zang and fu meeting fu. Each of the five zang and five fu organs has its own Wuxie, with the severe pulse variations belonging to the zang organs and the mild ones belonging to the fu organs.
3. The heart is used as an example, and the rest can be inferred accordingly, hence the saying that one pulse can transform into ten variations.