Search in Dictionary
Symptoms 2, complexion
症状2,面色 〔症狀2,面色〕zhèng zhuàng 2, miàn sè
Below is a brief description of the major facial complexions, with links to entries that provide more detail.
States of Qì, Blood, Yīn and Yáng as Reflected in the Facial Complexion | |
---|---|
Qì vacuity | White |
Yáng vacuity | Bright-white; green-blue |
Repletion cold | Somber-white, green-blue |
Blood vacuity | Pale-white; withered-yellow |
Blood stasis | Green-blue; soot-black |
Yīn vacuity | Tidal reddening |
Repletion heat | Redness of the whole face |
Red facial complexion (面色红 miàn sè hóng, 面色赤 mian se chi): It can mean heat or upcast yáng.
- Redness of the whole face (满面通红 mǎn miàn tōng hóng): Repletion heat.
- Postmeridian reddening of the cheeks (午后两颧红 wǔ hòu liǎng quán hóng): Yīn vacuity with vacuity fire flaming upward. Often seen in pulmonary consumption.
- Cheeks a floating-red color as if dabbed with rouge (面色泛红如装红 miàn sè fàn hóng rú zhuāng):
Floating-red
means a red coloring that fluctuates at the surface of the cheeks. It indicates kidney yáng vacuity in enduring illness with exuberant yīn cold, exuberant yīn repelling yáng, and vacuity yáng straying upward.
White facial complexion (面色白 miàn sè bái): Vacuity (blood vacuity, qì vacuity, yáng vacuity); cold patterns; blood loss.
- Bright-white facial complexion (面色㿠白 miàn sè huáng bái): A very white complexion. It is a sign of yáng vacuity.
- Somber-white facial complexion (面色苍白 miàn sè cāng bái): A white complexion with a slight tinge of green-blue. It is a sign of yáng collapse, fulminant desertion of qì and blood, or exuberant internal yīn cold.
- Pale-white facial complexion (面色淡白 miàn sè dàn bái): A complexion lacking in color. It is a sign of blood vacuity or dual vacuity of qì and blood.
Yellow facial complexion (面色黄 miàn sè huáng): Spleen vacuity; dampness.
- Withered-yellow facial complexion (面色萎黄 miàn sè wěi huáng): A complexion the color of dried leaves. It indicates spleen-stomach qì vacuity with insufficiency of qì and blood.
- Yellow face with vacuity puffiness (面黄虚浮 miàn huáng xū fū): Spleen vacuity with dampness.
- Yellow face, eyes, and whole body (面目一身黄 miàn mù yī shēn huáng): Jaundice.
Green-blue facial complexion (面色青 miàn sè qīng): Cold; qì stagnation; blood stasis; pain; fright. It is seen in vacuity or repletion cold, fulminant desertion of heart yáng, chest impediment, lung qì block, kidney failing to absorb qì, and fright wind.
- Pale green-blue complexion (面色 淡青 miàn sè dàn qīng) or green-blue blackish (面色 青黑 miàn sè qīng hēi): Cold; pain.
- Green-blue grayish facial complexion (面色 青灰 miàn sè qīng huī) appearing suddenly with green-blue or purple lips, cold limbs, and a faint pulse is a sign of fulminant desertion of heart yáng with heart blood stasis. It occurs in people with true heart pain.
- Green-blue between the brows, on the stem of the nose, and around the lips in infants and children: A sign of fright wind.
Black facial complexion (面色黑 miàn sè hēi): Kidney vacuity; water-rheum; blood loss.
- A dull pale blackish facial complexion (面色黑暗淡 miàn sè àn dàn) is usually a sign of kidney vacuity.
- A dry parched black facial complexion (面黑干焦 miàn hēi gān jiāo) usually reflects depletion of kidney essence and kidney yīn with vacuity fire scorching yīn.
- A soot-black facial complexion (面色黧黑 miàn sè lí hēi) with
encrusted skin
(dry coarse scaly skin) is attributable to blood vacuity with blood stasis. - Black complexion around the eye sockets (眼眶周围发黑 yǎn kuāng zhōu wéi fā hēi) may reflect either phlegm-rheum arising from kidney vacuity water flood or cold-damp pouring downward to cause vaginal discharge.
Lusterless facial complexion (面色不华 miàn sè bù huá): A complexion that has no natural sheen. It is often seen in conjunction with a pale-white facial complexion or a withered-yellow facial complexion.
Grimy facial complexion (面垢 miàn gòu): A complexion that looks dirty. It is associated with dampness.
Back to previous page