TCM Diagnostic and Therapeutic Methods

Ⅸ-2Traditional MedicineShanghaiBatch 4 (2014)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

The Guben Yijinjing Twelve-Posture Daoyin Method is a traditional daoyin (guiding and pulling) technique guided by the theory of daoyin in Chinese medicine; by channeling and dredging the twelve meridian-sinews (jingjin) one by one, it achieves the effects of strengthening the internal organs and fortifying the sinews and bones. It originated in Shanghai, and its influence radiated to the Yangtze River Delta, the two Hu (Hunan and Hubei), the two Guang (Guangdong and Guangxi), and Beijing.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The Guben Yijinjing Twelve-Posture Daoyin Method takes the twelve meridian-sinews as the basis of its daoyin practice and the three discourses of the Yijinjing as its theoretical foundation; it channels and dredges the twelve meridian-sinews one by one and requires the unity of the three regulations — regulating the body (adjusting physical form), regulating the breath (adjusting respiration), and regulating the mind (adjusting intention). The twelve meridian-sinews begin at the nails of the toes and fingers and end at the chest, abdomen, head, and face, gathering at the genitals and spreading throughout the whole body. Its basic content is divided into three parts: theory, practice, and application. The practice section includes the ancient illustrated charts and essential formulas of the twelve postures of daoyin, including the first and second postures of Weituo's Offering of the Pestle (Weituo Xianchu), "Plucking the Stars and Changing the Dipper" (Zhaixing Huandou), and "Extending the Claws and Spreading the Wings" (Chuzhao Liangchi); these twelve daoyin postures correspond one by one to the twelve meridian-sinews of the human body. The theory section comprises the "General Discourse," "Discourse on Membranes," and "Discourse on Internal Strengthening," which respectively expound the general principles, mechanisms, and effects of the twelve-posture daoyin method. The application section includes the posture-by-posture daoyin applications for the twelve meridian-sinews and auxiliary methods such as kneading (roufa) and patting (dafa).

Wei Tuo offering the pestle, first posture

The first of the twelve postures, taken from the guardian deity and used to settle the body, corresponding to the sinew channel that begins at the toes.

Gathering stars and changing dippers

A lifting and twisting action that draws on the upper limbs and spine, easing the tightness of long desk-bound hours.

Extending claws and spreading wings

Ten fingers spread and arms abduct, opening the sinew channels of both hands and shoulders.

Unifying body, breath and mind

Posture, breathing and intent are corrected against one another at once — the requirement that separates this from ordinary exercise.

Rubbing and patting

Supplementary rubbing and patting applied after the postures, concentrating on the lines the sinews follow.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Emitted from Shanghai, this daoyin method in fact spread along the Yangtze River Delta to the two Hu and the two Guang and on to Beijing; in terms of points of contact, it intersected with the various schools of tuina in Shanghai such as the Zhu school's Yizhi Chan tuina and the Ding school's tuina. The population of transmitters divides along two clear lines: one is that of religious practitioners such as Zen physicians and Daoist physicians, who treated the twelve postures as an exercise aiding the Way, with Buddhist and Daoist terminology appearing in their manuscripts; the other is that of medical practitioners, who treated it as a means of treating bone injury and of acupuncture and tuina, studying the pathways of the meridian-sinews one by one. Over the past century the trend has favored the medical line, with fifth-generation transmitters shifting from bone injury and tuina to the prevention of disease before it arises and daoyin rehabilitation of chronic disease, and participants expanding from clergy to medical personnel in rehabilitation and preventive-treatment departments.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Through successive generations of transmission, the content of the practice section was mostly copied by hand or printed from woodblocks into volumes and passed on to disciples. The theory and application sections, by contrast, were mainly transmitted through the oral and aural instruction of the master-apprentice relationship. The population of transmitters consisted mainly of religious practitioners (including Zen physicians and Daoist physicians) and medical practitioners. Religious practitioners regarded it as an aid to the Way and an expedient means, and their transmitted manuscripts contain many Buddhist and Daoist terms. Medical practitioners focused on the study and application of the twelve meridian-sinews, using it not only as an independent daoyin prescription but also widely in fields such as bone injury and acupuncture and tuina. From the late nineteenth century to the present, the Guben Yijinjing Twelve-Posture Daoyin Method has favored transmission and application by medical practitioners; five generations of transmitters have moved from its initial application to bone injury and tuina to the current orientation of preventing disease before it arises in Chinese medicine and daoyin rehabilitation of chronic disease, forging a path of inclusive transmission and development that advances with the times. Studying the Guben Yijinjing Twelve-Posture Daoyin Method helps reveal the historical threads of cross-transmission and integrated development among daoyin studies of Chinese medicine, Daoist medicine, and Zen medicine; its application to the popularization of preventive health care and to daoyin rehabilitation interventions for chronic disease is of practical significance for the prevention and rehabilitation of chronic diseases such as Parkinson's disease and spine-related disorders, and it provides a social foundation and cultural recognition for the modern transmission and development of daoyin studies in Chinese medicine. Zhu Dingcheng (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in February 1951, a native of Shanghai. He excels at the comprehensive correlation of the four diagnostic methods and pattern differentiation through the meridians; applying the Zhu school's Yizhi Chan tuina therapy to treat external disease by internal means, harmonizing ying and wei, overcoming hardness with softness, and supporting the healthy while dispelling the pathogenic, he treats insomnia, disorders of the spleen and stomach, and pain of the neck, shoulders, lower back, and knees, enjoying high esteem in the profession; his practice is one of the medical hallmarks of Huadong Hospital affiliated with Fudan University. His writings include "Collected Academic Experience of the Tuina Master Zhu Chunting" (Tuina Mingjia Zhu Chunting Xueshu Jingyan Ji), "Haipai Traditional Chinese Medicine" (Haipai Zhongyi), and "A Complete Guide to Healthy Living: Yuesheng, Yuesheng, Cervical Spondylosis" (Jiankang Shenghuo Wanquan Zhinan Yuesheng, Yuesheng, Jingzhuibing), among others. Representative inheritor of the fourth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item "Diagnostic Methods of Chinese Medicine (the Zhu School's Tuina Therapy)." He has been engaged as a mentor for Shanghai's high-level training class for specialists in acupuncture, tuina, and trauma, transmitting the Zhu school's tuina therapy. Lu Deming (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in July 1935, a native of Pinghu City, Zhejiang Province. Professor, doctoral supervisor, and chief physician. Since the 1980s he has led the development of the discipline of "Surgery of Traditional Chinese Medicine" at Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, playing a foundational and pioneering role in its becoming a national key discipline in the field of TCM surgery. Representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item "Therapeutic Methods of Chinese Medicine (the Gu School's Surgical Therapy)." He has successively led more than twenty research projects, including national Seventh Five-Year Plan key tackling projects, National Natural Science Foundation of China projects, and projects of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine; his research results have repeatedly won awards including the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine's Award for Scientific and Technological Progress and the Shanghai Award for Scientific and Technological Progress. In 1995 he was named one of the first "Famous Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctors of Shanghai" by the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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