Acupuncture and Moxibustion
01 · Historical Records
It flourished during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Represented by physicians such as Li Shizhen and carried by works such as the Compendium of Materia Medica, it is a custom of disease prevention and treatment and of health preservation passed down from generation to generation by the people of Qichun and the surrounding regions. The Qichun mugwort moxibustion therapy originates from the folk moxibustion methods of China; its representative method, the Thunder-Fire Miraculous Needle moxibustion, was first created by Li Shizhen. The grand moxibustion method, which derives from the Compendium of Materia Medica, and the fire moxibustion method, which circulates among the people of Qichun, feature unique techniques, precise point selection, simple operation, convenient use, low cost, and proven efficacy.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Qichun mugwort moxibustion therapy is an external treatment method that uses mugwort produced in Qichun as the moxibustion material and the folk moxibustion techniques that have circulated in the Qichun region for more than four hundred years as its distinctive art. Qichun County is under the jurisdiction of Huanggang City, Hubei Province. It has a subtropical continental monsoon climate with abundant rainfall, ample sunlight, and fertile soil, which is especially suitable for the growth of Qiai mugwort. Qiai mugwort is an authentic regional medicinal material and a nationally protected geographical indication product. Li Shizhen praised it, saying: "Since the Chenghua reign, that from Qizhou has been considered the finest; used as a local tribute product, it is prized throughout the empire and is called Qiai." Legend has it that with mugwort from other places the heat cannot penetrate a wine jar, but with Qiai mugwort a single application of moxibustion penetrates straight through; this is its remarkable difference. The Thunder-Fire Miraculous Needle moxibustion method uses Qiai mugwort floss as its main ingredient, with more than ten Chinese medicinal herbs such as musk added; the mixture is rolled to the size of a finger, ignited over a lamp flame, and then blown out. Through ten layers of paper, while the remaining heat lasts, the moxa cone is aimed at the diseased area and applied; the heat vapor penetrates directly to the site of pain, and the effect is rapid. It is mainly used to treat cold pain in the chest and abdomen; pain, numbness, and impaired flexion and extension of the limbs and joints caused by wind, cold, and dampness pathogens; and cold abscesses arising in the joints or deep within the bones. The grand moxibustion method is an indirect moxibustion applied over a large area of the diseased site or along an entire channel; it has abundant heat and a strong moxibustion sensation, and is mainly used to treat chronic deficiency-cold ailments and stubborn diseases covering relatively large areas. The fire moxibustion method comes from Qichun folk practice: with Qiai mugwort as the main ingredient, several Chinese medicinal herbs are added to make a medicinal wine; cotton strips soaked in the medicinal wine are applied to the diseased area or along the channel, covered with wet dark cloth, over which aged wine is sprayed and then ignited to apply moxibustion. It is mainly used to treat diseases such as rheumatic and rheumatoid arthritis.
The thunder-fire divine needle moxibustion
Li Shizhen's signature method: mugwort wool mixed with musk and a dozen other herbs, rolled finger-thick, lit and then blown out.
Moxibustion through ten layers of paper
The moxa cone is applied through ten layers of paper while still hot, letting heat reach the painful spot quickly while sparing the skin.
The great moxibustion
Derived from the Bencao Gangmu: large-area or whole-channel indirect moxibustion, strong in fire and sensation, used for stubborn deficiency-cold disease.
Fire moxibustion
A folk method from Qichun: medicated wine with mugwort, soaked cotton laid on the area, covered with damp cloth, then wet with aged wine and set alight.
The distinctive Qizhou mugwort
The craft depends on mugwort grown in Qizhou itself, whose heat was said to penetrate where other mugwort could not.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Qichun mugwort moxibustion therapy takes Qichun County, Huanggang City, Hubei Province as its place of origin and core transmission area; the region has a subtropical continental monsoon climate with abundant rainfall, ample sunlight, and fertile soil, which is especially suitable for the growth of Qiai mugwort. Qiai mugwort is an authentic regional medicinal material and a nationally protected geographical indication product. The tradition flourished here in the Ming and Qing dynasties, represented by physicians such as Li Shizhen and carried by works such as the Compendium of Materia Medica; it is a custom of disease prevention and treatment and of health preservation passed down from generation to generation by the people of Qichun and the surrounding regions. It has been transmitted from heart to hand in Qichun and the surrounding areas and continues to this day; in the contemporary era it is mainly passed on through vocational training and master-to-apprentice teaching, and it has become deeply integrated into the real life and social customs of the local people.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Acupuncture and Moxibustion · Acupuncture and Moxibustion · Acupuncture and Moxibustion · Acupuncture and Moxibustion · Acupuncture and Moxibustion · Acupuncture and Moxibustion · Acupuncture and Moxibustion · Acupuncture and Moxibustion.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Modern research indicates that the Qichun mugwort moxibustion therapy has antibacterial, antiviral, and other multiple effects. The Qichun mugwort moxibustion therapy has been transmitted from heart to hand in Qichun and the surrounding areas and continues to this day; in the contemporary era it is mainly passed on through vocational training and master-to-apprentice teaching. Guided by the theories of Chinese medicine and rich in the wisdom of ancient Chinese philosophy, it is a summation of the experience of the people of Qichun in preventing and treating disease over thousands of years. It embodies Chinese medical ideas such as "treatment based on pattern differentiation" and "the unity of heaven and humanity", and is a contemporary inheritance and living memory of Li Shizhen's culture of traditional Chinese medicine, possessing extremely important historical and cultural value. At the same time, it is deeply integrated into the real life and social customs of the people of Qichun, and possesses important value in health science and socioeconomics.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wang Xuetai 01-0210
- He Puren 01-0211
- Liu Guangrui 03-1445
- Guo Chengjie 05-2944
- Li Ding 05-2945
- Shi Xuemin 05-2946
- Tian Conghuo 05-2947
- Zhang Jin 05-2948
- Lu Yanyao 05-2949
- Jin Ying 05-2950
- Huang Longxiang
- Han Shanming
- Chen Xiuhua
- Zhao Shibi
- Cheng Hongfeng
- Yang Jinsheng
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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