八弱者。阴也。指下寻之。如烂绵相似。轻手乃得。重手稍无。怏怏不前曰弱。
主气居于表生产后客风面肿。
弱。阴金也。何为阴金。不及之金也。何谓不及之金。指下寻之。如烂绵相
似云。然沉脉指法。则曰状若烂绵。而此亦曰如烂绵相似者何也。不知
沉为阴水。故寻之似有。举之全无。弱为阴金。故曰轻。手乃得。重手稍无。
所谓怏怏者。轻手乃得也。不前者。重手稍无也。大抵浮以候气。沉以候
血。浮以候阳。沉以候阴。浮以候表。沉以候里。今云重手稍无。是阴已竭
也。轻手乃得。是阳欲根据也。怏怏不前。是阴已竭。而阳无所根据也。经云。阴
右。内阳之守也。今阴竭于内。则阳无所根据倚。是血已竭。而气独居于表
也。大抵于脉多见于生产后。去血过多。客风乘虚而入。乃使面目浮肿
也。
按脉经云。弱脉极软而沉细。按之欲绝指下。一曰按之乃得。举之无有。
三关怏怏不能前。只为风邪与气连。
言阴血已竭。而阳无所根据。虚邪贼风。与气相连。乘虚而独居于表也。
按经云。弱为虚为悸。
少年得此须忧虑。老弱逢之病却痊。
弱脉阴金也。金象属秋。少年者。春夏之令也。老弱者。秋冬之令也。少年
得之。谓之逆。老弱得之。谓之顺也。
八弱脉，属于阴。手指下寻按，感觉像烂棉絮一样，轻取才能感觉到，重按则几乎消失。怏怏不前（指脉搏跳动无力、迟缓）称为弱脉。
弱脉对应五行中的阴金。什么是阴金？就是不及之金。什么是不及之金？指手指下寻按时，感觉像烂棉絮一样。然而，沉脉的指法也说“状若烂绵”，而这里也说“如烂绵相似”，这是为什么呢？不知道沉脉属阴水，所以寻按时似有，举（轻取）时全无；弱脉属阴金，所以说轻手乃得，重手稍无。所谓“怏怏”，是指轻手乃得；所谓“不前者”，是指重手稍无。大体上，浮脉候气，沉脉候血；浮脉候阳，沉脉候阴；浮脉候表，沉脉候里。现在说重手稍无，说明阴气已竭；轻手乃得，说明阳气欲依附（于外）。怏怏不前，说明阴气已竭，而阳气无所依附。经云：“阴”是内守阳气的根本。现在阴气在内枯竭，则阳气无所依附，这是血已竭，而气独居于体表。大体上，弱脉多见于产后，因失血过多，客风乘虚而入，致使面目浮肿。
按《脉经》记载：弱脉极软而沉细，按之似绝于指下。另一种说法是：按之乃得，举之无有。
三关怏怏不能前行，只是因为风邪与气相连结。
这句话的意思是：阴血已竭，而阳气无所依附。虚邪贼风，与气相连，乘虚而独居于体表。
少年出现此脉须忧虑，老弱之人逢到此脉病却痊愈。
弱脉属阴金，金象对应秋季。少年人对应春夏之气，老弱者对应秋冬之气。少年得此脉，称为逆（不顺）；老弱者得此脉，称为顺（顺应）。
The weak pulse (Ruo Mai, Weak Pulse) belongs to Yin. Under the fingers, upon searching and pressing, it feels like rotten cotton; it can only be felt with light pressure, while heavy pressure makes it almost disappear. The sensation of reluctance to advance forward is called the weak pulse.
It indicates deficiency of Qi residing in the exterior, commonly seen as facial edema after childbirth due to exogenous wind pathogens.
The weak pulse corresponds to Yin Metal in the Five Elements. What is Yin Metal? It is Metal that is deficient. What is deficient Metal? It refers to the sensation under the fingers when searching and pressing, feeling like rotten cotton. However, the description for the deep pulse (Chen Mai) also says "resembling rotten cotton," while this text also says "like rotten cotton." Why is this so? One must understand that the deep pulse belongs to Yin Water; thus, it seems present upon searching but completely absent upon lifting (light palpation). The weak pulse belongs to Yin Metal; therefore, it is obtained with light hand pressure and slightly disappears with heavy hand pressure. "Reluctance to advance" means it is obtained with light pressure; "not advancing" means it slightly disappears with heavy pressure. Generally, the floating pulse (Fu Mai) inspects Qi, while the deep pulse inspects Blood; the floating pulse inspects Yang, while the deep pulse inspects Yin; the floating pulse inspects the Exterior, while the deep pulse inspects the Interior. Now, saying that it slightly disappears with heavy pressure indicates that Yin has been exhausted; saying that it is obtained with light pressure indicates that Yang desires to rely on something. Reluctance to advance indicates that Yin has been exhausted, and Yang has nothing to rely upon. The Classics state: "Yin" is the guardian of internal Yang. Now, since Yin is exhausted internally, Yang has no support or reliance. This means Blood has been exhausted, and Qi alone resides in the exterior. Generally, the weak pulse is mostly seen after childbirth, where excessive blood loss allows exogenous wind pathogens to enter through the deficiency, causing swelling of the face and eyes.
According to the *Mai Jing* (Pulse Classic): The weak pulse is extremely soft, deep, and fine; pressing it feels as if it is about to vanish under the fingers. Another description states: It is obtained upon pressing, but absent upon lifting.
At the three positions (Cun, Guan, Chi), the pulse reluctantly fails to advance forward, simply because wind pathogens are connected with Qi.
This statement means: Yin Blood has been exhausted, and Yang has no foundation. Deficient evil and thieving winds connect with Qi, taking advantage of the deficiency to reside solely in the exterior.
According to the Classics: The weak pulse indicates deficiency and palpitations.
If a young person obtains this pulse, one should worry; if an old or weak person encounters it, the illness will recover.
The weak pulse is Yin Metal; Metal corresponds to the image of Autumn. Young people correspond to the commands of Spring and Summer; the old and weak correspond to the commands of Autumn and Winter. For a young person to obtain this is called contrary (Ni); for an old or weak person to obtain this is called compliant (Shun).