What is acupuncture medicine?

Acupuncture is a subject that studies meridians, acupoints and acupuncture methods under the guidance of traditional Chinese medicine theory, and discusses the law of using acupuncture to prevent and treat diseases. It is an important part of Chinese medicine, including meridians, acupoints, acupuncture techniques and clinical treatment. Acupuncture therapy has the advantages of wide indications, remarkable curative effect, convenient application, economy and safety. It has been welcomed by the broad masses of the people for thousands of years and has made great contributions to the prosperity of the Chinese nation. A brief history of the development of acupuncture (1) The origin of acupuncture has a long history. According to textual research, it originated from the clan commune system in the primitive society of our country. There have been human activities in China since 4 million years ago, from about 40,000 years ago to the clan commune system, and continued until 4,000 years ago. The ancestors of this era used stone tools as their main production and living tools, so it was called the Stone Age in archaeology. From ancient times to 1000 years ago, it was the Paleolithic Age, from 1000 years ago to 7 million years ago, and from 7 million years ago to 4,000 years ago, it was the Neolithic Age. Acupuncture therapy was born in the Neolithic Age. There are some legends about the origin of acupuncture in ancient books, all referring to this era. For example, as recorded in Huangfu Mi's Century of Emperors, teacher Xi Shi "tasted hundreds of kinds of medicines and made nine needles", while Miro's History of Taoism said that teacher Xi Shi "tasted grass to cure people's diseases". Huangfu Mi's Preface to Acupuncture A and B says: "The Yellow Emperor visited the followers of Qi Bo, Gao Bo, Yu Shao ... and what did acupuncture do", while Sun Simiao's Preface to Emergency Money said: "The Yellow Emperor was ordered to make nine needles". Acupuncture therapy originated in the Neolithic Age and can also be demonstrated from the original acupuncture tools. In ancient books more than 2,000 years ago, it is often mentioned that the original acupuncture tool was a stone tool called Bianshi. For example, a piece of historical data from 550 BC included in Zuo Zhuan mentioned that "beauty is not as good as evil stone", and "Mountain and Sea Classic" recorded that "high mountains are like jade, which is a proverb." "Su Wen Bao Xing Lun" cloud; "Make Bian Shi small and big" and so on. These are all evidences of ancient people's treatment with bian stone. Bian Shi is used to treat diseases. At first, it was mainly used to puncture abscesses, and later it was used to puncture collaterals and bleed blood. In China, a 4.5 cm long stone was found in the Neolithic site in Duolun County, Inner Mongolia. One end of the stone is flat, with an arc-shaped blade, which can be used to cut abscess, and the other end is in the shape of a quadrangular pyramid, which can be used to bleed. In a late Neolithic tomb in Rizhao County, Shandong Province, two stone needles were also found, the length of which was 8.3cm~9. 1cm, and the tips were triangular and conical, which could be used for bloodletting and menstruation regulation. The discovery of bian stone provides strong evidence that acupuncture originated in Neolithic age. The treatment of bian stone originated from the ethnic minorities who lived by fishing in the eastern coastal areas of China. According to "On Su Wenyi's Law and Prescription", "Its people eat fish and love salt, so they are safe and delicious. Fish makes people warm. Salt is better than blood, so people are black and careless, and their diseases are carbuncle, so the treatment should be stone. Therefore, stone knives also come from the East. " The "East" here is equivalent to the Shandong area of China. In recent years, a number of Han Dynasty stone reliefs with needles as the theme have been discovered in Shandong Province. The portrait stone is carved with the shape of half man and half bird, and the doctor is treating people with needles or needles. The shape of the bird obviously comes from the totem worship of the primitive clan, and the stone relief reflects the ancient legend about the origin of acupuncture. Moxibustion also originated from the clan commune system in primitive society. According to "Su Wenyi's Theory on the Righteousness of Law and Prescription", "The northerners are what heaven and earth hide. Its land is high, the wind is cold and the ice is cold, and the folk music is wild and milky. Tibetan cold is sickly, so moxibustion should be treated. So the moxibustion master is also from the north. " This record shows that the discovery of moxibustion is closely related to living habits in cold environment. In primitive society, people living in the north could not keep warm without fire. In addition, they live in the wild, eat milk, and are prone to abdominal cold pain and fullness, which is very suitable for hyperthermia. Therefore, after long-term experience accumulation, moxibustion and ironing therapy were invented. According to the investigation, our ancestors often used moxa as kindling material when drilling wood for fire or knocking flint for fire. Bone divination, which originated in the late primitive society, also burns animal bones with moxa. Obviously, this method of igniting with moxa provided the necessary conditions for the invention of moxibustion. (II) Formation of the Theoretical System of Acupuncture During the Warring States Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, the book Neijing was the symbol. At this time, medical scientists not only built a theoretical framework with the theory of collaterals as the core, but also effectively used acupuncture and other technologies to prevent and treat diseases, and were good at combining theory with practice, constantly developing and updating the theory in practice, and initially formed a unique acupuncture with principle, method, prescription, acupoint and technique as one. From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, China entered the feudal society from the slave society. The improvement of productivity, the change of social system, the progress of various academic thoughts and the influence of ancient philosophical thoughts have promoted the deepening of acupuncture from practical experience to theoretical height. Acupuncture tools have developed from stone needle, bone needle and bamboo needle to metal needle, which has expanded the application scope of acupuncture therapy. According to Zuo Zhuan, doctors were good at acupuncture during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Bian Que (Qin Yueren), a famous doctor in the pre-Qin period, made disciple Ziyang take three Yang and five clubs to save the prince, and made disciple Zibao iron medicine under two threats, and the prince sat up. It is proved that acupuncture, fire moxibustion and medicated ironing have been widely used in the treatment of various diseases in the pre-Qin period. From 65438 to 0973, there were two ancient books about meridians in the medical silk unearthed from the No.3 Han Tomb in Mawangdui, Changsha, which recorded the circulation, symptoms and moxibustion treatment of eleven meridians. According to the naming characteristics of foot arm and yin and yang, they are called "eleven-pulse moxibustion meridian of foot arm" and "eleven-pulse moxibustion meridian of yin and yang", which reflects the early emergence of the core theory of acupuncture and moxibustion-meridian theory. The appearance of Neijing is the inevitable result of the development of medicine from pre-Qin to Western Han Dynasty. This book was written from the Warring States to the Qin and Han Dynasties, and it was still revised and supplemented from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Neijing consists of Su Wen and Ling Shu, with a total of 18 volumes and 162 articles. On the basis of summarizing the previous literature, based on the basic theory of Yin and Yang, five elements, viscera, meridians, acupoints, spirit, qi and blood, body fluid and so on, acupuncture is the main medical technology. The meridian theory in Neijing is particularly incisive, which not only clearly records the twelve meridians's route, viscera and its main symptoms, but also records the direction, distribution and function of the eight strange meridians, the twelve meridians, fifteen meridians, twelve tendons and twelve skins, as well as the roots, specimens, strange streets and four seas related to the meridian system. Neijing also has a great deal of discussion on the theory of acupoints, including the names of about 160 commonly used acupoints, and expounding the specific acupoints theory in detail, especially the theory of five shu points. There are also original points, Xiahe points, Fifteen Collateral Points, Five Zang-organs Back Shu and so on. In Neijing, acupuncture methods are discussed in detail, and reinforcing and reducing methods are put forward, such as reinforcing and reducing by welcoming, reinforcing and reducing by Xu disease, reinforcing and reducing by breathing, and reinforcing and reducing by opening and closing. In terms of treatment, the treatment principles such as "excess is diarrhea and deficiency is tonic" are discussed. Many specific methods are put forward in the aspect of acupoint selection and acupoint matching, such as fish-purpose acupoint matching method and remote acupoint selection method. Neijing recorded more than 100 diseases, most of which were treated by acupuncture. Difficult Classics is a classic medical work comparable to Neijing, and it is said that it was written by Qin Yueren (Bian Que). The content of this book is concise and exquisite, which further enriches and enriches the theoretical system of acupuncture. Among them, the discussion of the eight strange meridians and vitality supplements the deficiency of Neijing. At the same time, the eight-meeting point is put forward, and the five-Shu point is explained in detail according to the theory of five elements. Zhang Zhongjing, who invented the differentiation of six meridians, not only left many brilliant models in prescription and medicine, but also had many original opinions and contributions in acupuncture. Among his works, 69 articles are directly related to acupuncture and moxibustion, and advocate the combination of acupuncture and medicine and the treatment based on syndrome differentiation. The lost Tang Ming Acupuncture and Moxibustion Therapy (namely Huangdi Tangming Classic) should be a monograph on acupoints in this period. Huatuo, who is famous for his surgery, is also good at acupuncture and moxibustion. He founded the famous "Huatuo Jiaji Point" and wrote "Acupuncture in Pillow". During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Ming was good at moxibustion and wrote the Cao Shi Moxibustion Classic, but it was lost.