Chinese tongue diagnosis diagram: 'Incipient plague' tongue

Woodblock illustration of 'Incipient plague' tongue (jiang wen she) from Yuan Ao Shi shanghan jinjinglu (Mr Yuan Ao's Golden Mirror of Cold Damage), a treatise on tongue diagnosis -- original text by Ao Jiweng (Song period, 960-1279); additional material by Du Ben (Tao Hua) (Yuan period, 1206-1368 ); continuation by Xue Ji and Ma Chongru (Ming period 1368-1644). This edition was published in 529 (8th year of the Jiajing reign period of the Ming dynasty).

The text states: In 'Incipient plague' tongue image, the tongue is bright red. This tongue image shows that heat malignity has accumulated inside the body. Irrespective of the channels that are involved, it should be treated with Head and Mind Clearing Powders (tou ding qing shen san).