Acupuncture and Moxibustion

Ⅸ-5Traditional MedicineChina Academy of Chinese Medical SciencesBatch 1 (2006)Newly Added Item

01 · Historical Records

In the Northern Song dynasty, the medical official Wang Weiyi verified the indications of the acupoints and standardized their locations, wrote the Illustrated Manual of Acupuncture Points on the Bronze Figure (Tongren Shuxue Zhenjiu Tujing) and had it promulgated nationwide, and cast bronze figures — lifelike in form and ingeniously constructed — as teaching tools, giving great impetus to and promoting the development of acupuncture scholarship. From the Ming and Qing dynasties onward, acupuncture theory carried the past forward and opened up the future; techniques and instruments were continually improved, schools contended, famous masters emerged in succession, and excellent works appeared without end, and acupuncture therapy achieved still greater development. Because acupuncture therapy has unique advantages, a broad range of indications, rapid and marked efficacy, simple and easy operation, economical medical cost, and very few side effects, as early as the Tang dynasty Chinese acupuncture and moxibustion had already spread to Japan, Korea, India, the Arab regions, and other countries and regions, where it took root and flourished, giving rise to some acupuncture medicines with foreign characteristics.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Acupuncture and moxibustion are a unique medical method created by the ancient working people of China, with a long history. For thousands of years, people have used metal needles or moxa cones and moxa rolls to insert needles and apply moxibustion at specific points of the human body to treat disease and relieve pain, and from this created the distinctive theory of the channels, collaterals, and acupoints of the human body, becoming a singular flower of Chinese medicine and enjoying high prestige in the world. As early as the Neolithic Age, people used 'stone needles' (bian shi) to prick parts of the body to treat disease. The Classic of Mountains and Seas says: 'There is a stone like jade that can be used as a needle' — the earliest record of stone needles. Moxibustion therapy arose after the discovery and application of fire. The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon of the Qin and Han period says: 'When cold is stored, it produces diseases of fullness; the appropriate treatment is moxibustion', referring to the art of moxibustion; it describes in detail the forms of the nine needles and records extensively the theory and technique of acupuncture and moxibustion. By the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, acupuncture therapy was already quite mature; many physicians skilled in acupuncture appeared, among whom Bian Que, recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian, was one of the representative figures. Bian Que is honored as the 'ancestor of Chinese medicine'; his miraculous needling that revived the dead and his moving deeds of healing the living have been praised by later generations for ages. To this day, memorials such as the Que King Temple and Que King Shrine, as well as various folk traditional sacrificial activities commemorating Bian Que, are still preserved in Neiqiu, Hebei, and other places. The Cauterization Canon of the Eleven Vessels of the Foot and Forearm and the Cauterization Canon of the Eleven Yin and Yang Vessels, excavated from the Han dynasty tomb at Mawangdui in Changsha, Hunan, and the Book of Vessels (Mai Shu), excavated from the Han dynasty tomb at Zhangjiashan in Jiangling, Hubei, all record the courses of the channels and their principal diseases. From the Western Han dynasty tomb at Shuangbaoshan in Mianyang, Sichuan, a small black-lacquered wooden human figure was excavated; its front and back surfaces are marked with crisscrossing channel pathways, and it is the earliest physical model of the human channels discovered in China to date. By the Sui and Tang dynasties, acupuncture and moxibustion had developed into a specialized discipline: works on them multiplied in number, their content was rich and varied, acupuncture was formally included in the national medical education curriculum, and the Imperial Medical Office established official titles such as Erudite of Acupuncture, Assistant Instructor of Acupuncture, Acupuncture Master, Acupuncture Artisan, and Student of Acupuncture. In long-term medical practice, acupuncture and moxibustion formed the channel theory composed of the fourteen channels, the eight extraordinary channels, the fifteen divergent collaterals, the twelve channel divergences, the twelve sinew channels, the twelve skin regions, and the grandchild and floating collaterals, together with the knowledge of the 361 acupoints, the extraordinary points, and the principal diseases of the acupoints; they discovered the laws of the specific connections between specific parts of the human body, created the doctrine of the channels and collaterals, and thereby produced a complete system of methods for treating disease.

The shapes of the nine needles

The Inner Canon sets out nine needle forms of differing length and sharpness, each with its own use, together with stone needles, the source of later needle families.

The bronze figure and standard point locations

Wang Weiyi verified the indications of the points, fixed their locations, published the Illustrated Classic and cast a bronze figure as a teaching model, standardising the art across regions.

Bian stone as the earliest needling tool

Long before metal needles, bian stone was used to prick the body, and the Shanhai Jing already notes stone fit for making needles.

Official posts for needling in the imperial academy

By the Sui and Tang the theory became a distinct subject, formally taught in the imperial academy with posts for needling doctors, assistants and students.

Modelled pathways of the vessels

A lacquered wooden figure with the vessel pathways marked on both surfaces, excavated from a Western Han tomb at Shuangbaoshan, is the earliest known anatomical model of the meridian system.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Acupuncture and moxibustion are composed of 'needling' (zhen) and 'moxibustion' (jiu) and are one of the important components of traditional Chinese medicine. Their content includes acupuncture theory, acupoints, acupuncture technique, and related instruments. In the process of their formation, application, and development they bear distinctive cultural and regional characteristics of the Chinese nation, and they are a precious heritage produced on the basis of Chinese culture and scientific tradition.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

To date, acupuncture and moxibustion have spread to more than 140 countries and regions of the world and have played an enormous role in safeguarding the life and health of all humanity. Acupuncture and moxibustion are a body of scientific and cultural knowledge that grew up in the specific natural and social environments of successive Chinese dynasties. They embody the distinctive spirit, thought, and cultural essence of the Chinese nation, incorporate extensive practical observation, knowledge systems, and techniques and skills, concentrate the powerful vitality and creativity of the Chinese nation, and are the crystallization of the wisdom of the Chinese nation as well as a treasure of all human civilization; they should receive better protection and utilization. Wang Xuetai (official archive record of associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in 1925, from Yi County, Liaoning. Through nearly sixty years of acupuncture practice, Wang Xuetai did extensive excavation and collation work on channel theory, needling knowledge, moxibustion technique, and ancient moxibustion methods. He participated in many international acupuncture conferences, expressing views on acupuncture research methods and mechanisms of action, acupuncture education and legislation, and acupuncture development strategy and trends, paving the way and building bridges for the wide international dissemination of Chinese acupuncture. He led the compilation of the traditional Chinese medicine section of the Chinese Thesaurus and was chief editor of works including the Handbook of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, The Complete Work of Chinese Acupuncture, Encyclopedia of Chinese Medicine: Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Dictionary of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Illustrated History of Acupuncture, Outline of Acupuncture History, and Medical Cases of Contemporary Famous Chinese Acupuncturists. Representative inheritor of the first national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage project acupuncture and moxibustion; senior researcher of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, member of its academic committee, senior adviser of the China Association of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, and lifetime honorary president of the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies. Since the end of the 20th century, Wang Xuetai's research focus has gradually shifted to the development strategy of acupuncture, and he has called for the development of acupuncture to attach importance to protecting and carrying forward its traditional medical characteristics.

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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