Faint Pulse / Wei Mai
Updated 2026-08-01
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
A classical pulse quality in Chinese medicine: the pulse is extremely thin and soft, barely perceptible, and seems about to vanish under pressure. It indicates that yang qi is failing, so the heartbeat can no longer drive blood forward and only a faint tremor remains. It is regarded as more critical than the weak pulse and is read as a warning sign of shock or collapse, likened to a thread about to snap. In critical care it is judged together with the patient's spirit and overall condition to determine whether yang qi can still be restored.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Read the Last Thread: treat a near-vanishing signal as a system about to fail, not as mild weakness - Rank the Severity: place it above ordinary weakness when deciding how urgently to act - Protect the Reserves: restore the driving force instead of spending what little remains
Anchor fast decisions
When the driving force behind circulation falls below the level needed to sustain flow, pulse amplitude collapses toward zero even though rhythm may persist briefly. The remaining signal carries almost no information about the underlying system, so it has to be judged against the whole picture rather than measured in isolation. Because the failure is one of reserve, any intervention that spends remaining reserves accelerates the collapse it was meant to prevent.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- baike.baidu.comhttps://baike.baidu.com/view/1731950.htmverified
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