The Mystic Art of Pulse Reading in China

Lewis Charles Arlington, (author of In Search of Old Peking) is an American who worked in Beijing at the end of the Qing and the beginning of the Republic of China. In this essay he attempted to introduce the subject of Chinese pulses to a western audience. Strictly judging from the medical content of his work, his recitation of the various Chinese pulses is commendable as a quick summary of the basic information on the subject. Although it is not a comprehensive study of pulses that could be used to guide clinical treatment, it provides a glimpse into the vast and complex subject through western eyes. This version of his article had been skillfully edited to remove Arlington's obvious biases against Chinese medicine and the Chinese culture. By doing so we are left with a text that conveys a basic understanding of pulses that allows the lay person to gain an understanding of this complex field of Traditional Chinese Medicine.