長 简体 长

cháng

The long quality · chang

Also rendered: The elongated pulse (Literal) · The long-stretched pulse (Clinical)

Reviewed · 2026-10-28

At a glance

Pinyin
cháng
Simplified
长
Literal
長 cháng — long in space or time. As a pulse it runs beyond the position it belongs to, so that its head and tail extend past the finger.
Shuowen
**《說文》:長,久遠也**。**「長」五篇共8見**(經文),其為脉名者,見於肝脉「濡弱而長」、心脉「洪大而長」、陽明「尺寸俱長」三處;餘多為「長幼」「長竿」「陽氣長」之文。

In brief

The long quality: a pulse whose coming and going extend beyond the position, so that it seems to pass under the finger and keep going. It is not one thing in this book. In the liver it is the soft length of wood (濡弱而長); in the heart it is length joined to surging (洪大而長); in the Yangming stage of cold damage it is length in all three positions at once (尺寸俱長). The entry therefore reads length by the organ or stage that carries it.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The liver's soft length 濡弱而長
肝脉微弦,濡弱而長
Slightly string-like, soft, weak and long: this is the liver pulse, and the liver heals when it gets the soft and weak.
其脉微弦,濡弱而長,是肝脉也 — 傷寒論·平脉法第二
2
The heart's length 洪大而長
心脉洪大而長
Surging, large and long: this is the heart pulse, and the heart heals when it gets the surging and large.
其脉洪大而長,是心脉也 — 傷寒論·平脉法第二
3
Yangming's length 尺寸俱長者
尺寸俱長,陽明受病
When cubit and inch are both long, the Yangming is sick; the pulse runs beside the nose and binds the eye.
尺寸俱長者,陽明受病也 — 傷寒論·傷寒例第三
4
Long and short uneven 或短或長
尺寸參差,或短或長,是脉無常
The positions disagree, now short, now long: the pulse has no constancy.
尺寸參差,或短或長 — 傷寒論·平脉法第二
5
Like a long pole 如循長竿者
纍纍如循長竿,名曰陰結
A pulse like a rope, or like running the hand down a long pole, is named the yin knot.
脉纍纍,如循長竿者,名曰陰結也 — 傷寒論·辨脉法第一

Occurrences in the classics

Passages where the term does real work, with the original, pinyin and English on the same line.

Display
4 passages
傷寒論·平脉法第二 Read in context →
問曰:東方肝脉,其形何似?師曰:肝者,木也,名厥陰。其脉微弦,濡弱而長,是肝脉也。肝病自得濡弱者,愈也。 问曰:东方肝脉,其形何似?师曰:肝者,木也,名厥阴。其脉微弦,濡弱而长,是肝脉也。肝病自得濡弱者,愈也。
wèn yuē dōng fāng gān mài qí xíng hé sì shī yuē gān zhě mù yě míng jué yīn qí mài wēi xián rú ruò ér cháng shì gān mài yě gān bìng zì dé rú ruò zhě yù yě
Asked: “The liver pulse of the east — what is its form?” The Master said: “The liver is wood, named reverting yin. Its pulse is slightly wiry, soft and weak yet long — this is the liver pulse. When liver disease of itself gets the soft and weak, it will heal.”
**「長」五篇共8見**(經文,不含成注),本文引第2篇第31段、第2篇第33段、第3篇第24段、第2篇第01段。
傷寒論·平脉法第二 Read in context →
南方心脉,其形何似?師曰:心者,火也,名少陰,其脉洪大而長,是心脉也。心病自得洪大者,愈也。 南方心脉,其形何似?师曰:心者,火也,名少阴,其脉洪大而长,是心脉也。心病自得洪大者,愈也。
nán fāng xīn mài qí xíng hé sì shī yuē xīn zhě huǒ yě míng shào yīn qí mài hóng dà ér cháng shì xīn mài yě xīn bìng zì dé hóng dà zhě yù yě
The heart pulse of the south — what is its form? The Master said: “The heart is fire, named lesser yin; its pulse is flooding, large and long — this is the heart pulse. When heart disease of itself gets the flooding and large, it will heal.”
長非一象:肝得之為柔和之長,心得之為洪大之長,陽明得之為三部俱長。同名而異主,故義項各繫其所出。
傷寒論·傷寒例第三 Read in context →
尺寸俱長者,陽明受病也,當二三日發,以其脉俠鼻,絡於目,故身熱、目疼、鼻乾,不得卧。 尺寸俱长者,阳明受病也,当二三日发,以其脉侠鼻,络于目,故身热、目疼、鼻干,不得卧。
chǐ cùn jù cháng zhě yáng míng shòu bìng yě dāng èr sān rì fā yǐ qí mài xiá bí luò yú mù gù shēn rè mù téng bí gān bù dé wò
When both inch and cubit are long, the yang brightness is diseased; it shows on the second or third day. Its vessel runs beside the nose and nets the eye, and so there is body heat, eye pain, dry nose, and inability to lie down.
長非一象:肝得之為柔和之長,心得之為洪大之長,陽明得之為三部俱長。同名而異主,故義項各繫其所出。
傷寒論·平脉法第二 Read in context →
問曰:脉有三部,陰陽相乘,榮衛血氣,在人體躬,呼吸出入,上下於中,因息遊布,津液流通,隨時動作,效象形容。春弦秋浮,冬沉夏洪。察色觀脉,大小不同。一時之間,變無經常。尺寸參差,或短或長。上下乖錯,或存或亡。病輒改易,進退低昂。心迷意惑,動失紀綱。願爲具陳,令得分明。師曰:子之所問,道之根源。脉有三部,尺寸及關。寸爲上部,關爲中部,尺爲下部。榮衛流行,不失衡銓。 问曰:脉有三部,阴阳相乘,荣卫血气,在人体躬,呼吸出入,上下于中,因息游布,津液流通,随时动作,效象形容。春弦秋浮,冬沉夏洪。察色观脉,大小不同。一时之间,变无经常。尺寸参差,或短或长。上下乖错,或存或亡。病辄改易,进退低昂。心迷意惑,动失纪纲。愿为具陈,令得分明。师曰:子之所问,道之根源。脉有三部,尺寸及关。寸为上部,关为中部,尺为下部。荣卫流行,不失衡铨。
wèn yuē mài yǒu sān bù yīn yáng xiāng chéng róng wèi xuè qì zài rén tǐ gōng hū xī chū rù shàng xià yú zhōng yīn xī yóu bù jīn yè liú tōng suí shí dòng zuò xiào xiàng xíng róng chūn xián qiū fú dōng chén xià hóng chá sè guān mài dà xiǎo bù tóng yī shí zhī jiān biàn wú jīng cháng chǐ cùn cēn cī huò duǎn huò cháng shàng xià guāi cuò huò cún huò wáng bìng zhé gǎi yì jìn tuì dī áng xīn mí yì huò dòng shī jì gāng yuàn wéi jù chén lìng dé fēn míng shī yuē zǐ zhī suǒ wèn dào zhī gēn yuán mài yǒu sān bù chǐ cùn jí guān cùn wéi shàng bù guān wéi zhōng bù chǐ wéi xià bù róng wèi liú xíng bù shī héng quán
Asked: “The pulse has three parts; yin and yang encroach on one another; the ying and wei, the blood and the qi, are within the body. Breath goes out and in, rises and descends within it; by the breath they are spread abroad and the fluids flow freely. They move with the seasons, and their form is imaged in the pulse: in spring it is wiry, in autumn floating, in winter deep, in summer flooding. Looking at the complexion and feeling the pulse, the sizes differ. Within a single breath the changes have no constant measure; the inch and the cubit are uneven, now short, now long; above and below go contrary, now present, now gone. The illness shifts with them, and the pulse rises and falls. My mind is confused and I lose the guiding rules — I beg you to set it all out plainly.” The Master said: “What you ask is the very root of the healing art. The pulse has three parts: the cubit, the inch and the gate. The inch is the upper part, the gate the middle, the cubit the lower. The ying and wei move through them without losing their balance.”
長非一象:肝得之為柔和之長,心得之為洪大之長,陽明得之為三部俱長。同名而異主,故義項各繫其所出。

Compounds built on this term

濡弱而長
rú ruò ér cháng
soft, weak and long
平脉法第二
洪大而長
hóng dà ér cháng
surging, large and long
平脉法第二
尺寸俱長
chǐ cùn jù cháng
cubit and inch both long
傷寒例第三
如循長竿
rú xún cháng gān
like running the hand down a long pole
辨脉法第一

How it has been translated

Every rendering below is a decision about which reader is being addressed. There is no neutral option.

This sitethe long qualityone word, three carriers
Literallongexact, and it needs its organ to mean anything
Clinicalextendedclear, and it blurs long with wide

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-28

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Reading path

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