TCM Diagnostic and Therapeutic Methods

Ⅸ-2Traditional MedicineZhongguominzuyiyaoxuehuiBatch 5 (2021)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

What Ying's Extraordinary-Point Therapy rests upon is a line of clinical experience that treats the hour of the day as an element of the prescription — an orientation that follows directly from the established conception of time within Chinese medicine. The five movements and six qi infer the waxing and waning of visceral qi from the annual cycle and the climate; the midnight-noon ebb-flow (ziwu liuzhu) doctrine fixes the times for opening acupoints according to the flow of qi and blood in the twelve meridians. Both frameworks had already taken shape by the time of the Huangdi Neijing, and later acupuncture texts such as the Zhenjiu Dacheng (Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) still listed point selection according to the hour as a specialized technique. On this foundation, Ying's Extraordinary-Point Therapy advances the selection of timing to the level of selecting meridians, choosing medicinals, and observing appropriate uses and contraindications, forming its own order of treatment. As far as the traceable line of transmission shows, this therapy was sustained chiefly through family and master-apprentice teaching in the northeast region; its clinical practice was long fixed in the area around Changchun, after which it spread outward through scholarly exchange between the three provinces of the northeast and the provinces within the passes, becoming a technical project routinely carried out in the Chinese medicine departments of a number of local hospitals.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Ying's Extraordinary-Point Therapy is a therapy guided by 'time-based Chinese medicine,' in which the human being is examined in correspondence with heaven and earth and the qi of the viscera follows the seasons. In accordance with the different year, season, and hour at which a patient presents for consultation, it applies the theory of the five movements and six qi to treat conditions such as spleen-stomach disease, insomnia, depression (yu) syndrome, and obesity. Ying's Extraordinary-Point Therapy holds that natural time, the seasons, and climate are closely related to the body's functions and even to its pathological changes; as the year and hour change, the waxing and waning of qi and blood in the different meridians also change. It therefore takes the seasons as its method and treats in accordance with the times: selecting acupoints at the proper moment, needling at the chosen hour, and embedding thread at extraordinary points; herbal pairs are chosen, prescriptions are selected in response to the season, medicinals are attributed to meridians according to the pattern, drugs are administered according to the hour, medicinals have their appropriate uses and contraindications, and treatment changes with the seasons. The treatment method is to needle the five transport (shu) points using the midnight-noon ebb-flow point-opening method, then use a special needle instrument to embed absorbable thread in the meridian acupoints and extraordinary points so as to stimulate the points over a long period, while concurrently administering oral midnight-noon ebb-flow Chinese medicinals. It has the characteristics of 'treating in accordance with the times,' 'acupuncture, moxibustion, and thread embedding according to the hour,' and 'administering drugs in accordance with the seasons,' with reliable curative results. Ying's Extraordinary-Point Therapy is an achievement of the clinical practice of 'time-based Chinese medicine' and is capable of treating a variety of intractable conditions. This therapy has always upheld the Chinese philosophical idea of the unity of heaven and humanity, carrying the genes of Chinese culture; it fully excavates the essence of traditional medicine, enriching the traditional medical system and enabling it to continually radiate new vitality. With its flexible, convenient character and the advantage of low cost, this therapy has served the public over the long term, effectively conserving health resources and playing an important role in safeguarding people's health.

Opening points by the midday-noon ebb flow

The meridian whose qi and blood flow at a given hour is identified first, and the point is then taken from its five-shu well points; timing and point choice are decided together.

Embedding absorbable thread in extra points

A special needle leaves absorbable thread inside a meridian point or extra point, turning a single needling into long-lasting stimulation.

Prescribing by the hour

The oral prescription is composed for the hour, solar term and pattern of the day, its ingredients matched to channels and its cautions shifting with the seasonal qi.

Five teaching sites

Over ten teaching sites in Changchun, Mudanjiang, Yingkou, Shenyang and Hangzhou have built this time-based diagnostic routine into hospital and clinic schedules.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

This therapy is distributed mainly in Changchun City, Jilin Province, and is also found in Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, Beijing, and elsewhere, serving more than 20,000 patient visits each year.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

At present, the inheritors of this heritage project hold long-standing regular consultations, with more than 90 people applying this therapy in clinical practice. More than 10 intangible-cultural-heritage transmission bases have been established in places such as Changchun, Jilin Province; Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province; Yingkou and Shenyang, Liaoning Province; and Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, widely transmitting and practicing this heritage project.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

TCM Diagnostic and Therapeutic Methods (Zhongguominzuyiyaoxuehui) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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