黄帝问曰。夫络脉之见也。其五色各异。青黄赤白黑不同。其故何也。（此承上章而复问也。言络脉之五色各异。而
为痛痹寒热之证者。其故何也。）岐伯对曰。经有常色。而络无常变也。（言经脉有五行之常色。络脉则随四时之变而无
常色也。）帝曰。经之常色何如。岐伯曰。心赤、肺白、肝青、脾黄、肾黑。皆亦应其经脉之色也。（此言经脉应五脏。
故有常色也。经、谓十二经脉。五脏具五色。亦皆应其经脉。而为青黄赤白黑之常色也。）帝曰。络之阴阳。亦应其经乎。
（帝言经脉应五脏而成五色。络脉之阴阳。亦当应其经矣。）岐伯曰。阴络之色应其经。阳络之色变无常。随四时而行也。
（此言阴络应经脉而成五色。阳络随四时而成五色也。阴络者。六阴经之络。应五脏之经。各有常色而不变。阳络者。
六阳经之络。合六腑之阳。随四时之春青夏赤秋白冬黑。并为变易者也。此皆四时五行之常色。谓之无病。若四时之中。
五脏之络。见青黑为寒。见黄赤则为热矣。王芳侯曰。阳者天气也。主外。阴者地气也。主内。六腑为阳。外应三阳
之气。五脏为阴。内合地之五行。是以阳络随天之四时。色变无常。而内通于五脏。五脏内应五行。而外合于三阳。脏
腑阴阳。又互相交合者也。）寒多则凝泣。凝泣则青黑。热多则淖泽。淖泽则黄赤。此皆常色。谓之无病。五色具见者。
谓之寒热。帝曰。善。（此言色变之因于寒热也。泣同涩。凝泣淖泽。谓络中之血气。此皆常色。谓之无病八字。当在随
四时而行也之下。误脱在此。王芳侯曰。内因之寒热。由阴而及阳。外因之寒热。由阳以及阴。是以病色之无分乎阳
络阴络也。）
黄帝问道：络脉显现于体表时，其颜色各不相同，有青、黄、赤、白、黑之分，这是什么缘故呢？（这是承接上一章内容进一步发问。意思是说，络脉五色各异，从而导致痛痹、寒热等病证的原因是什么？）
岐伯回答说：经脉有固定的常色，而络脉的颜色则没有固定不变的变化。（意思是说，经脉具有五行对应的固定常色，而络脉则随着四季的变化而没有固定的颜色。）
黄帝问：经脉的固定常色是怎样的？岐伯说：心对应赤色、肺对应白色、肝对应青色、脾对应黄色、肾对应黑色。这些颜色也都与它们所属经脉的颜色相应。（这里说明经脉对应五脏，所以有固定的颜色。经，指十二经脉。五脏具备五色，也都与其经脉相应，表现为青、黄、赤、白、黑的固定颜色。）
黄帝问：络脉的阴阳属性，是否也与经脉相应呢？（黄帝认为经脉对应五脏形成五色，那么络脉的阴阳属性，也应当对应经脉了。）
岐伯说：阴络的颜色与经脉相应，阳络的颜色变化无常，是随着四季的变化而改变的。（这里说明阴络对应经脉而形成五色，阳络则随着四季而形成五色。所谓阴络，是指六条阴经的络脉，它们对应五脏的经脉，各有固定的颜色而不改变；所谓阳络，是指六条阳经的络脉，它们合属于六腑之阳气，随着春季青色、夏季赤色、秋季白色、冬季黑色的变化而发生改变。这些都是顺应四时五行的正常颜色，称为无病。如果在四季之中，五脏的络脉出现青色或黑色，表示有寒邪；出现黄色或赤色，则表示有热邪。王芳侯说：阳代表天气，主外；阴代表地气，主内。六腑属阳，外部对应三阳之气；五脏属阴，内部合应地的五行。因此，阳络随天之四时而颜色变化无常，但内部通连于五脏；五脏内部对应五行，外部合应于三阳。脏腑的阴阳又是互相交合的。）
寒邪多则气血凝滞不通，凝滞不通则呈现青黑色；热邪多则气血滑润泽亮，滑润泽亮则呈现黄赤色。这些都是正常的颜色，称为无病。如果五色同时出现，则称为寒热错杂。
黄帝说：讲得好。（这里说明颜色变化是由于寒热引起的。“泣”同“涩”。凝泣和淖泽，指的是络脉中的血气状态。这八句话“此皆常色，谓之无病”，原本应该位于“随四时而行也”之后，此处误脱在此处。王芳侯说：内因的寒热，由阴影响阳；外因的寒热，由阳影响阴。因此，病态的颜色并不区分阳络和阴络。）
Yellow Emperor asked, saying: When the collateral vessels (Luo Mai) are visible, their colors vary; they differ in blue-green, yellow, red, white, and black. What is the reason for this? (This continues the discussion from the previous chapter, asking why the varying colors of the collateral vessels lead to conditions such as painful obstruction [Tong Bi], cold, and heat.)
Qibo replied: The meridians have constant colors, whereas the collaterals do not have fixed changes. (This means that the primary meridians possess constant colors corresponding to the Five Elements, while the colors of the collaterals change without fixity according to the four seasons.)
The Yellow Emperor asked: What are the constant colors of the meridians? Qibo said: The Heart corresponds to red, the Lungs to white, the Liver to blue-green, the Spleen to yellow, and the Kidneys to black. These all correspond to the colors of their respective meridians. (This explains that the meridians correspond to the Zang organs, thus having constant colors. "Meridians" refers to the twelve primary meridians. The five Zang organs exhibit five colors, which also correspond to their meridians, manifesting as the constant colors of blue-green, yellow, red, white, and black.)
The Yellow Emperor asked: Do the Yin and Yang of the collaterals also correspond to their meridians? (The Yellow Emperor reasoned that since the meridians correspond to the five Zang organs to form five colors, the Yin and Yang of the collaterals should likewise correspond to the meridians.)
Qibo said: The color of the Yin collaterals corresponds to their meridians, but the color of the Yang collaterals varies without fixity, changing along with the four seasons. (This states that Yin collaterals correspond to the meridians to form five colors, while Yang collaterals form five colors following the four seasons. By "Yin collaterals," we refer to the collaterals of the six Yin meridians, which correspond to the meridians of the five Zang organs and each has a constant color that does not change. By "Yang collaterals," we refer to the collaterals of the six Yang meridians, which combine with the Yang of the six Fu organs and change along with the spring's blue-green, summer's red, autumn's white, and winter's black. These are all the normal colors of the four seasons and Five Elements, referred to as indicating no disease. However, within the four seasons, if the collaterals of the five Zang organs appear blue-green or black, it indicates cold; if they appear yellow or red, it indicates heat. Wang Fanghou stated: Yang represents heavenly Qi and governs the exterior; Yin represents earthly Qi and governs the interior. The six Fu organs are Yang and externally correspond to the Qi of the three Yang channels; the five Zang organs are Yin and internally harmonize with the Five Elements of the earth. Therefore, the Yang collaterals change color unpredictably with the four seasons of heaven, yet internally connect to the five Zang organs. The five Zang organs internally correspond to the Five Elements and externally harmonize with the three Yang. Thus, the Yin and Yang of the Zang and Fu organs interconnect and combine.)
When cold predominates, there is coagulation and stagnation; coagulation and stagnation result in blue-black colors. When heat predominates, there is liquidity and luster; liquidity and luster result in yellow-red colors. These are all normal colors, referred to as indicating no disease. If all five colors are seen simultaneously, it is referred to as mixed cold and heat.
The Yellow Emperor said: Excellent. (This explains that the causes of color changes lie in cold and heat. "Qi" is synonymous with "Se" (astringent/stagnant). Coagulation-stagnation and liquidity-luster refer to the state of Qi and Blood within the collaterals. The eight characters "These are all normal colors, referred to as indicating no disease" should originally have been placed after "changing along with the four seasons." Their current placement here is due to a textual error. Wang Fanghou stated: Internal causes of cold and heat affect Yang through Yin; external causes of cold and heat affect Yin through Yang. Therefore, pathological colors do not distinguish between Yang collaterals and Yin collaterals.)