Were there any relevant developments in acupuncture after the publication of Ling Shu? – smart health with Traditional Chinese Medicine

Ling Shu is the first book written on acupuncture. Composed of 81 chapters, it is constructed in the form of a dialogue between the master Qibo and his illustrious student Huangdi. Their discussion covers all aspects of acupuncture: the theory of meridians, their routes and functions, the location and application of points, the different acupuncture techniques, etc. Qibo also discusses the etiopathology and treatments of many diseases.

According to Ling Shu, our body is made up of six pairs of regulator systems called meridians; each meridian connects to an internal organ and certain areas of the body. Each meridian corresponds to certain physiological functions. These twelve meridians constitute our respiratory, immune, metabolic, endocrine systems etc described by modern Western medicine.

Chapter 10 of Ling Shu states, for example, that asthma is caused by an imbalance in the meridian of the lung. Chapter 2 of Ling Shu deals with a link between the points on the forearm and the lungs. Therefore puncturing these points of the forearm helps to rebalance the meridian of the lung and relieve asthma.

Ling Shu also discusses the puncturing technique. For example, in Chapter 12, Qibo describes the average needle retention time for each meridian. Those who have already experienced acupuncture probably remember that the treatment consists of lying on a treatment table for fifteen to thirty minutes with needles inserted in different parts of the body. It is the appropriate method to treat muscle problems such as stiff neck or lower back pain. However, in cases of unbalanced meridians producing manifestations like allergies, asthma or multiple sclerosis, retaining the needles for the same period goes against the principles of Ling Shu acupuncture.

Qibo says the longest time the needle stays in the stomach meridian should be no more than a minute. What happens if the needle retention time is longer than the time mentioned in Ling Shu? It is simply what is called poor acupuncture practice and the patient's condition may worsen.

It would be perfectly logical to believe that acupuncture, like most human activities, should have improved and progressed through the ages. This is what I believed for a long time until I started to study Ling Shu. As I progressed in the study of Ling Shu and I began to understand the depth of the work, I realized that we were rather faced with a cascading deterioration of the theories of origins acupuncture.

By observing how the differentiation of the meridians is done nowadays, the way in which the acupuncture points are punctuated and the toning and sedation techniques which are used, we can say that from the point of view of Ling Shu, acupuncture is practiced today in a degraded form.

For example, there is no record of the five Shu points of the Shou Shaoyin in Ling Shu, which did not prevent the authors of the following generations from adding them probably thinking that they had been forgotten by mistake. Thus, in the Systemic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, the author adds the 5 Shu points of the hand Shaoyin. Yet we find in chapter 71 of the Ling Shu a very clear explanation of the voluntary omission of these points.

The addition of the 5 Shu points of Shou Shaoyin not only violates the completeness of the theory of meridians and acupuncture points of Ling Shu, but also contradicts the theory of 5 Shu points reflecting the activity of Zang Fu. We must remember that the acupuncture theory of Ling Shu is drawn from clinical practice.

For example, there is no diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis in traditional Chinese medicine. Most acupuncture texts mistakenly treat it as a type of bi syndrome (see Su Wen chapter 43 "Bi syndrome"). It’s according to Ling Shu, a malfunction of “Ye” fluids and we should treat shou tai yang.

By simply choosing a few points we can treat rheumatoid arthritis and get great results.

Chapter 44 of Su Wen deals with the differentiation and treatment of “Wei syndrome”. The symptoms of Wei syndrome described in Su Wen resemble diseases such as acute myelitis, myasthenia gravis, multiple neuritis and multiple sclerosis, considered to be incurable today. However, in the same chapter, it is stated that "an acupuncturist has successfully treated such a patient by toning the Ying point and dispersing the Shu point, harmonizing excess and deficiency, harmonizing Qi and blood and punctuating in certain seasons. Based on differentiation, Wei syndrome has been cured. ”

This is one of the many examples in the Huangdi Neijing that shows how advanced acupuncture was at that time. Today acupuncture treatment is often limited to the treatment of pain only. This type of symptoms is mainly linked to the disorder of the muscle chains and not to dysfunctions of the main meridians, nor to dysfunctions of Zang Fu.

I think that a large part of the practical knowledge contained in Ling Shu has not yet been fully used in acupuncture. We cannot really claim to know acupuncture until we have studied Ling Shu in detail.

As a professor of acupuncture, I have often been faced with questions such as, "Do we use the theory of Yin / Yang balance in the practice of acupuncture?" Do we use meridian theory in diagnosis? How can we remember all the indications for acupuncture points? Do we use all of these points in clinical practice? Do we apply the toning and dispersion technique during the treatments? Do we apply different techniques for different types of diseases? What part of the theory of TCM actually applies to the practice of acupuncture?

If acupuncture is to be taken seriously as a medical practice, these questions must be answered.

I tried to answer these questions through my clinical practice and my knowledge of the universal language of the symbolism of numbers, geometry, astrology and music. By dint of persistence and hard work I finally realize that the answers to my questions today seem simple and clear.

My doubts about acupuncture have now disappeared.

Ling Shu is not an easy book to understand. I will take the opposite view of some Sinologists by saying that a complete and thorough understanding is crucial to produce an accurate translation. One cannot correctly translate a work like Ling Shu if in addition to a solid base of classical Chinese, a perfect knowledge of Su Wen, a consequent clinical practice, one does not have a scholarship in the area of ​​mystical arts from Upper Egypt. Translating Ling Shu is not just a matter of language.

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