power of points [Big5]

[Guest guest]

Hi Anand,

 

Please: View - Encoding - Chinese Traditional (Big5).

 

1. ¡u¤W¤u ¥­®ð, ¤¤¤u¶Ã¯ß, ¤U¤uµ´®ð¦M¥Í¡C¡v " The high level worker

keep the energy in balance, the medium worker confuse the 'mo'

(extra [marvelous, or strange] channels), the lower level worker

exhaust the energy and put the [patient's] life in danger " (Huangdi

neijing ¶À«Ò¤º¸g, Lingshu ÆF¼Ï, cap. 5 - ®Úµ² Roots and knots).

 

See also Lingshu ÆF¼Ï, cap. 61 - ¤­¸T The five contraindications,

where you can find details on the¤­¸T five contraindication, the ¤­¹Ü

five depletions, the ¤­¹L five excessiveness, the five ¤­°f adverse

syndromes, and the ¤E©y nine appropriateness.

 

Why must we reinvent acupuncture today, if the Chinese made it 3 -

4000 years ago?

It is more useful to read Neijing ¤º¸g, Nanjing Ãø¸g and Zhenjiu

jiayijing °w¨b¥Ò¤A¸g, than the theories and suppositions of some

second-hand occidentals.

 

2. There are two Chinese terms for the " acupoint " .

 

a). xue ¥Þ, depicting the entrance of a grotto, a cave, hole,

aperture, cavity, nest, or even a grave [1], obtained by ¤K removing

the rocks or the earth, that is as a result of an exterior action.

¡u¥Þ¡A ¤g«Ç¤]¡C¡v " xue ¥Þ - a room in the earth " (Shuowen

jiezi »¡¤å¸Ñ¦r Explaining simple and analyzing compound characters),

where shi «Ç = room, chamber, house, but also grave (under a roof,

an ¦Ü arrow that reached its target, i.e. the shelter where one

stops and rests).

 

b). shu ¿é, from joining the image of an antique ¨® chariot with the

image of a «\ boat, meaning to transport, to convey, to transport

for offering (a tribute, a present).

In Lingshu ÆF¼Ï, chap. 13, it is said: ¡u¥Hµh¬°¿é¡v " any painful

place is shu [i.e. a point] " .

 

Now, must be pointed the difference between xue ¥Þ, by which is

usually designed the " acupuncture point " , and shu ¿é, apparently

with the same meaning.

Because, if xue ¥Þ represents the " place to be pricked " , or " which

can be pricked " , as a result of an exterior action, shu ¿é is the

place by which 'energy' (qi ®ð) is " transported to be offered " .

In other terms, if xue ¥Þ is regarded from the acupuncturist's point

of view, who " action " on it, shu ¿é is regarded from the body's

point of view, as an energetically " passageway " , as in the

expression wubenshu ¤­¥»¿é " the five main points " .

 

Yours,

Laurentiu Teodorescu

------------------------

[1] Ex: ¡uÁ{¨ä¥Þ¡C¡v " looking in his own grave " (Shijing ¸Ö¸g The

Book of Poetry - Qinfeng ¯³­· The odes of Qin - Huangniao ¶À³¾).

[Guest guest]

Mon, 16 Feb 2004 05:34:55 " teo_lau " <teo_lau wrote:

>Re: power of points [big5]

 

>Why must we reinvent acupuncture today, if the Chinese made it 3 -

>4000 years ago?

>It is more useful to read Neijing ¤º¸g, Nanjing Ãø¸g and Zhenjiu

>jiayijing °w¨b¥Ò¤A¸g, than the theories and suppositions of some

>second-hand occidentals.

 

Every era reinterprets the classical writings. We don't even have an

original version of the Nei Jing (Su Wen) without the Tang dynasty

elaborate editing and interpretation of Wang Bing. And we have no physical

copy older than the 11th century, with the added layers of Song exegesis.

 

Studying 3 modern translations into English by prominent Chinese authors

reveals far ranging and notable differences of interpretation, and, when I

take the time to compare with the Chinese text, many blatant errors.

 

What evidence can you show that acupuncture is older than about 2100 years,

as is the consensus of historical (scientific) scholars, in both China and

the West? The medical system is remarkable in terms of its history and its

efficacy. It's age doesn't have to be exaggerated to assert its value. And

asserting mythic notions puts one's general credibility at risk.

 

As for " the theories and suppositions of some second-hand occidentals " ,

serious Western students of CM are no more distant from the spirit of the

classics than those raised on TCM and post-revolutionary historical and

political dogma in China.

 

>2. There are two Chinese terms for the " acupoint " ....

 

Thank you for the interpretation of the two terms for " acupuncture point "

(xue and shu), which I find illuminating.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Something flows, therefore there must be a 'there' to 'here'.

 

It rises, falters, meanders, stagnates, runs smooth, is impeded, and becomes

empty,

or full. Therefore it must have a nature.

 

It seems endless, with no beginning. Therefore it always was.

 

At times it changes faces, and becomes fiery, heated, windward, cold,

settled and deep.

therefore it must be mutable.

 

When it flows but does not form, it is qi, or whatever you care to call it.

When it settles, it becomes tissue or structure, or whatever you care to

call it.

 

To study it one must seek its ways, nature and affinities.

 

Those who do this are Healers.

 

In itself, it has no real name.

 

Dr. Holmes Keikobad

MB BS DPH Ret. DIP AC NCCAOM LIC AC CO & AZ

www.acu-free.com - home based recertification for acupuncturists and health

professionals

[Guest guest]

Hi Chris,

 

Please: View - Encoding - Chinese Traditional (Big5).

 

1. You wrote:

>Studying 3 modern translations into English

>by prominent Chinese authors reveals far

>ranging and notable differences of interpretation,

>and, when I take the time to compare with the

>Chinese text, many blatant errors.

 

It's OK. You took your time to compare the translations with the

Chinese text.

Their interpretations, and your too, are " first-hand " ones.

There are made on Chinese text.

This translations can be discussed, you can be or not in accord with

the translators, but the sources are reliable.

Any Chinese text (of course, classical one, in guwen ¥j¤å, not in

´¶³q¸Ü putonghua), because of its elliptical manner of expression,

is susceptible to be interpreted (or equated).

For example, ¡u¥X¥Í¤J¦º¡C¡v (Laozi, Daodejing, 50) can be

translated " [men] come out in life [and] enter in death " , but

also " coming out is living, entering is dying " , or " who comes out in

life, enter [also] in death " .

And don't forget that classical Chinese texts (at least the medical

ones) had mainly a mnemonic purpose. There were destined to be read,

not to be spoken. For that reason, " the meanings are even more

different " (·N¸q¯q²§ - tray to say that to a Chinese in mandarin, he

will not understand).

 

The " second-hand " occidentals are those who write about the Chinese

texts without reading them beforehand. And I give you only one

example:

A well-known and otherwise respectable French acupuncturist, Jean

Borsarello, explaining the dermatitis, says in his " Manuel clinique

d'acupuncture traditionelle " (Masson, 1981), at p. 17: " It is said

in Suwen <when Chongmo is ill, the exterior is accelerated> " . At p.

27, the same quotation is attributed to Lingshu. In reality, the

mentioned text can be found neither in Suwen nor in Lingshu, but in

Nanjing, and it referred to the " interior " , not to the " exterior " :

¡u½Ä¤§¬°¯f¡A°f®ð¦ÓùØ«æ¡C¡v " When Chong becomes ill, the energy goes

against [or: disobeys], and the interior is urgent " (Nanjing, 29).

 

2. Concerning the " post-revolutionary historical and political

dogma in China " , see the excellent article of Heiner Fruehauf -

Chinese medicine in crisis. Science, politics, and the making

of " TCM " at:

http://www.jcm.co.uk/SampleArticles/tcmcrisis.phtml

 

3. You ask:

>What evidence can you show that acupuncture

>is older than about 2100 years, as is the consensus

>of historical (scientific) scholars, in both China and

>the West?

 

The term yi Âå, meaning " medicine " in Chinese.

It depicts an ¥Ú arrow contained in a ÉC quiver, i.e. a harmless

arrow (obsolete term), É_ moved with the ¤S right hand gently, like

a bird's wing. This is acupuncture. The inferior radical ¨» is a

vase, covered with a lid, containing a liquid substance, the

medicinal remedy. See: Jacques Lavier - Histoire, doctrine et

pratique de l'acupuncture, Ed. Claude Tchou, 1966, p. 22).

Hu houxuan ­J«p«Å, in Yinren jibing kao ®ï¤H¯e¯f¦Ò - The study of the

illness during the Yin dynasty (published in 1954), says that, in

Wuding ªZ¤B's time (1324 b.c.), the character yi ïé had, in its

inferior part, the compound wu §Å = witch, shaman. We can suppose

then that acupuncture is older than about 2100 years. Maybe older

than the use of drugs.

Also, in Shuowen jiezi »¡¤å¸Ñ¦r, we find the term bian ¯¢, explained

as: ¡u¥H¥Û¨ë¯f¤]¡v " using stone [needle] pricking for [treating]

diseases " . Then, maybe acupuncture was used even during the Stone

Age.

 

>We don't even have an original version

>of the Nei Jing (Su Wen) without the

>Tang dynasty elaborate editing and

>interpretation of Wang Bing.

 

The first mentions about Qibo and Huangdi can be found in

Diwang shiji «Ò¤ý¥@¬ö - The records of emperors and kings:

¡u§Á§B, ¶À«Ò¦Ú¤], «Ò¨Ï§B¹Á¯ó¤ì, ¨å¥DÂå¯f, ¸g¤è¥»¯ó¯À°

ݤ§¥X²j¡C¡v " Qibo, Huangdi's subject, was appointed by the emperor

to taste the herbs and plants, to take charge of healing, and to

write on the meridians, formulas, herbs, and their plain questions " ,

and in Sanhuangji ¤T¬Ó¬ö - The records of the three emperors:

¡u«Ò¹î¤­¹B¤»®ð, ¤DµÛ§Á§B¤§°Ý, ¬O¬°¤º¸g,

©Î¨¥¤º¸g«á¤H©Ò§@¦Ó¥»©ó¶À«Ò¡C¡v " Huangdi understood the Five agents

and the Six energies, and his discussions with Qibo were written in

Neijing; however, some said that a later generation wrote Huangdi's

findings and composed Neijing " .

 

In Hanshu º~®Ñ - The book of the Han dynasty (chap. 30 Yiwen zhi

ÃÀ¤å§Ó - Records on literature), written by Bangu ¯Z©T (32-92), it

is mentioned Huangdi's Neijing ¤º¸g (in 18 rolls - juan ¨÷), Waijing

¥~¸g (in 18 rolls), and Huangdi qibo anmo ¶À«Ò§Á§B«ö¼¯ (in 10

rolls), about the massage techniques learned from Qibo. The last two

books are lost.

 

Wangbing, in the Preface (§Ç) to Neijing, says he had access to the

original version.

 

Yours,

Laurentiu Teodorescu