Objectives : To examine the six positions correlation[六部定位] principle that is the basis of the wrist pulse diagnosis in the Neijing.
Methods : The basis for argument was established by correcting an interpretation error of the theory of chi(尺) skin diagnosis. In order to accomplish this, the annotations of Yang Shangshan and Wangbing were investigated first, after which the specific meaning and methodology of the chi diagnostic method as written in many chapters of the Neijing were examined. The evidence and reasoning for the six positions correlation[六部定位] was looked into, in relation to Wangbing’s annotation of the chapter, Maiyaojingweilun. The theoretical basis of the six positions correlation was searched throughout the entire Neijing, based on the correlation between Liuhe and the six positions, the five elements inter-supporting theory embedded in the six positions correlation as a diagnosis model that integrates zhangfu and meridians/channels, and the meaning of the spacial concepts used when describing the tactile technique within the chapter. Lastly, contents related to the five zhang channels within the Neijing were reviewed, to determine whether the six positions correlation was applied in wrist pulse taking.
Results & Conclusions : Some interpretations of the verse on matching the positions in the Maiyaojingweilun chapter of the Neijing are erroneous, while the argument that the three positions[cun-guan-chi] cannot be found in the Neijing is false as well. The wrist pulse taking in the Neijing is precisely based on the three positions correlation that divides the cun-guan-chi positions into three, and the correlation verse in the Maiyaojingweilun chapter clearly suggests the principle of matching the zhangfu and meridian/channels to the six positions of the cun-guan-chi of both left and right.