Chinese Medical Theory
Based on observation of phenomena and
integrated with Chinese philosophy
Chinese philosophy has always had an important
role in day to day life
Chinese philosophers interpreted what they
saw in nature and applied it to the diseases/
disharmonies they witnessed in people
Neijing Suwen and Lingshu
THE reference for all modern
Chinese Medical Traditions
Neijing – Internal Treatise
Suwen – Simple Questions
Lingshu – Spiritual Axis
81 Chapters
Neijing Suwen
It is a conversation
Huang Di – the Yellow Emperor
A mythical(?) character who existed in 2700 BCE
Qi Bo – one of his ministers
Concludes with Huang Di teaching another of his
ministers, Lao Gong
The student becomes the teacher
The First Question
“I’ve heard in the days of old everyone lived
one hundred years without showing the usual
signs of aging. In our time, however, people
age prematurely, living only 50 years. Is this
due to a change in the environment, or is it
because people have lost the correct way of
life?”
The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine
The Answer
Qi Bo answers: “In the past people practiced
the Dao, the Way of Life. They understood
the principle of Balance, of yin and yang, as
represented by the transformation of the
energies of the universe.”
The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine
The Conversation
From this question and this answer come all
other questions and the tenants of Chinese
Medical thinking
The primary goal is to live in a state of balance
If this is not so then it is the duty of the
practitioner to bring everything back into
balance
The Information
How to live in balance – Proper lifestyle
Meridians – Anatomy
Zang Fu Organs – Physiology
Functions
Jing, Blood, Fluids, Qi and Shen
Yin and Yang Balance
Interrelationships
Eight Principle and Five Element
Causes of Disease – External and Internal
Clinical Signs and Symptoms when the Zang
Fu are out of balance – Pathophysiology
How to bring the body back into Balance –
Treatment strategies
What to expect from treatment strategies –
Prognosis
Neijing Lingshu
Original title – Zhen Jing or Acupuncture
Classic
Details on specific needling techniques
Gifts of Heaven and Earth
Self-cultivation to understand the art of
needling and the Channel system
Historical Background
Neijing Suwen and Lingshu
Written in 400 BCE; the Warring States
Earliest text found dated to the Han Dynasty
206 BCE – 220 CE
Philosophical Influence
School of Naturalism
Concept of Yin and Yang and Five elements
Daoism
Concept of De, Virtue, and living in balance with
Nature
Confucianism
Belief of Morality and giving to future generations
Nanjing
Classic of Difficulties
Bian Que – 407-310 BCE
also thought to be a Shaman
Also consists of 81 chapters
Intended to clarify 81 difficult concepts of the
Neijing Suwen
Put into writing in the Han Dynasty
Energetics of the points
Antique points
Front-Mu Points
Back-Shu points
Influential-Hui Points
Pathways of Extraordinary vessels and
symptoms of pathology
Details of Examination
Looking
Asking
Listening
Smelling and Palpating
Reference for 5 Element School of Thought
according to J.R. Worsley
Shang Han Lun
Written late in the Han Dynasty
Zhang Zhong Jin
Treatise on Injury due to Cold and
Miscellaneous Diseases
EPF Cold and how it affected the normal
physiology of the Channels and Zang Fu
Based on the Neijing Suwen and the primary
etiologies of Wind and Cold
Many of the concepts of the TCM Tradition
come from the SHL
Jin Gui Yao Lue
Essentials from the Golden Chamber
Great Herbal Text based on SHL theory
Small formulas and elegant in design
Jin-Yuan Dynasty
1115-1368 CE
A period of turmoil
Invasion of Tartars and Mongols
Chinese Philosophers are reevaluating their
philosophy and medical thinking
The Four Great Masters
Liu Wan-Su
Cooling and Cold School
Heat was considered the primary pathogen
With overpopulation there was the beginning of
epidemics
Treatments used Cold and Cooling herbs
Zhang Zi-He
Purging School
The school of attacking and purging, sweating and vomiting to expel the pathogenic factor
Phlegm is first introduced
Hot-phlegm, Cold-Phlegm, Phlegm Harassing the Heart
Tonifying should not be done first as this could be misread as a cure
Li Dong Yuan
Post-natal Qi School or Earth School
Theorized that all disease stemmed from an
imbalance of Spleen and Stomach
Influenced by School of Harmonization which
placed importance on Liver and Gall Bladder
Did not agree with Purging School as he felt
purging could damage th Yuan Qi
Zhu Dan Xi
Nourishing Yin School
Believed all conditions due to Damp-Heat
which became internalized as Chronic Disease
Many of these masters stressed herbal
treatments but the theory also became infused
with acupuncture strategies
Ming Dynasty
1368-1644 CE
Wen Bing School
Feverish Diseases Tradition
Heavily influenced by teachings of Liu Wan-
Su of the Cooling and Cold School
Ming Dynasty
Zhang Zhi Bing
Develops the 6 parameters
Hot and Cold
Excess and Deficiency
Internal and External
Become incorporated into the 8 Principles
Ming Dynasty
Further elucidation of the Extraordinary
Vessels by acupuncturists
Trajectories
Diseases
Opening points
Coupled pairs
Influence of Western Medicine in China
Jesuit Priests
Great Accomplishments of Acupuncture by
Yang Ji Zhou
Published by Zhen Jiu Da Cheng in 1601
Basis for today’s acupuncture
Qing Dynasty
The Last Chinese Dynasty
1644-1911 CE
Further development of Wen Bing Tradition
Concept of Latent Heat
Exploration of the San Jiao and Fire and Water
imbalances
Wang Qing Ren
Chinese Physician
Anatomical studies and surgery of
thoracic cavity
Heart and vena cava
Skull and Brain
Heavy integration of Western Medicine
Imperial China
1911-1949 CE
Acupuncture has fallen out of favor
Forced underground in 1822
By the 1920’s it is officially banned by the
rulers of The National Republic of China
The People’s Republic of China
1949-current
Following the Cultural Revolution Mao Tse
Dong comes to power
Mandarin is made the official language of
China
Desire to distance China from the West
Go back to its roots
Formation of Traditional Chinese Medicine
A separate School of Thought or Tradition
Barefoot Doctors
Chinese Medicine no longer taught from
Master to Student
Sometimes requiring up to 10 years of study
Chinese Medical Theory and
Veterinary Acupuncture
Classic history of Veterinary Acupuncture is
seen primarily in texts regarding the treatment
of horses
By the Chou Dynasty (1066-221 BCE)
acupuncture was practiced by veterinarians
who were government employees
Bo-le (Sun Yang)
430 BCE
Equine veterinarian skilled in acupuncture
Bo-le Zhen Jing
Bo-le Canon of Veterinary Acupuncture
Most problems treated involved bleeding
points – Hemoacupuncture
Little reference to treatment of small animals
During the Sui (589-618 CE) and Tang (618-
907 CE) Dynasties many books written on the
treatment of horses
Interestingly the practice of inoculation/
vaccination took place in the Sui Dynasty but was
abandoned after 200 years as it was found
ineffective
In 1608 two brothers Yu Ben-Yuan and Yu
Ben-Hang compiled and published
Yuan-Heng Liao-ma Ji, Yuan and Heng’s
Therapeutic Treatise of Horses
Now being translated into English by Dr. Yann-
Ching Hwang, DVM, PhD
Unanswered Questions
There exists many unanswered questions
concerning veterinary acupuncture
Do meridians exist in animals?
If so, why are they not documented in the
ancient texts?