There are many moxibustion methods in China, but generally speaking, they can be divided into two categories: moxibustion and non-moxibustion.

First, moxibustion methods

Moxibustion is a moxibustion method with moxa sticks made of mugwort leaves as moxibustion materials. No matter ancient or modern, this method is the most widely used in clinic.

Moxibustion is divided into moxa cone moxibustion and moxa stick moxibustion. Moxibustion with moxa sticks can be divided into skin moxibustion (direct moxibustion) and material moxibustion (indirect moxibustion). Medical education | There are different types of net moxa stick moxibustion, such as mild moxibustion, rotary moxibustion, bird pecking moxibustion, pressure moxibustion and hanging moxibustion, and their therapeutic effects have their own characteristics. As a moxibustion material, Folium Artemisiae Argyi is bitter in taste, warm in nature, ripe and hot, and pure in yang (recorded by famous doctors), which has the functions of dredging meridians, regulating qi and dispelling cold, and restoring yang to save the adverse. After being made into moxa sticks, they are easy to burn, fragrant in smell and mild in firepower, and their warmth can penetrate the skin and reach deep tissues. Therefore, moxibustion has been widely used and developed in clinic.

Artemisia argyi Etvante. A perennial herb of Compositae with dry leaves. Also known as ice platform, medical grass, moxibustion grass, wormwood, Artemisia annua and so on. Ai's name comes from Compendium of Materia Medica: "This grass can be cured after a long illness, so it is named Ai". One of the "ice platforms" comes from "cutting ice into a circle, holding it in the sun, and holding its shadow with moxa wool, you will get fire" (natural history), medicinal materials (records of famous doctors) and moxibustion medicinal materials (Yaya), all of which are named after doctors who use their moxibustion to treat diseases. It is produced all over China, so it is often named after the place of origin. For example, the manufacturer in Hebei calls it Bei Ai, the manufacturer in Siming, Zhejiang calls it Hai Ai, and the manufacturer in qi zhou, Hubei calls it Ai Ai.

Artemisia argyi is an early plant known and used by working people in China. Feng Wang in The Book of Songs: "If you don't see me for a day, you will be three years old." Qu Yuan's famous poem "Li Sao" wrote: "The orchid serves well, so don't envy others." This shows that mugwort has been widely used in BC. This application should be mainly medicinal, which can be confirmed by other classics, such as Mencius, which says, "I have been ill for seven years, and I want to be in love for three years"; There is a saying in Zhuangzi that "the more people smoke, the more they love".

Moxibustion, as a specific treatment method, is recorded in medical classics, first seen in Fifty-two Diseases Prescriptions, which contains two prescriptions for treating diseases with moxa sticks. One of them is to treat men's intestinal hernia with mugwort leaves as direct moxibustion: "Baldness is expensive (): take dirt, wrap it with mugwort, and moxibustion makes people degenerate and rot." It refers to wrapping the broken powder of coarse hemp in dry folium Artemisiae Argyi, and applying moxibustion in the middle of the head of patients with prolapsed hernia until the local skin burns and festers. Later, the moxibustion therapy mentioned in the book Lingshu is also made of mugwort leaves, and it is said that "its therapy is acupuncture". "Ai" has been synonymous with "moxibustion". Although other moxibustion materials have been recorded in medical books in past dynasties, they have not been widely used and have a long history. As a medical book, Folium Artemisiae Argyi was first recorded in Liang Tao Hongjing's Bielu of Famous Doctors, and its theory of medicinal properties was comprehensively discussed: "Folium Artemisiae Argyi is bitter in taste, mild in nature and nontoxic, and it is the main moxibustion for all diseases". Illustration of Materia Medica in Song Dynasty is the earliest and relatively complete monograph of Artemisia argyi pharmacognosy in China. As the saying goes, "mugwort does not leave the state, but grows in the field." It's everywhere today, so it's better to return to Taoism. This moxibustion disease is particularly good. In early spring, seedlings grow on the ground, with wormwood stems and white leaves. It is best to be a short seedling. " In Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen strongly advocated moxibustion. He pointed out in Compendium of Materia Medica: "Since its formation, the people of qi zhou have won the victory. They have prescribed a prescription called Folium Artemisiae Argyi. According to legend, the moxibustion altar in other places is airtight, and moxibustion is straightforward and different. "

Moxibustion requires picking young leaves, preferably in spring and keeping them for a long time. Therefore, in Song Dynasty, Su Song's Illustration of Materia Medica said, "On March 3rd and May 5th, the leaves will be plucked fiercely, and those who have been aged for a long time will be available.". Sun Simiao's "Thousand Girls Spread their Wings, Volume 17" in the Tang Dynasty said: "Whoever uses mugwort leaves must use Chen Jiu, which is delicate and soft, and it is called cooked mugwort leaves. If there is ai, moxibustion fire is easy to hurt the skin. " Secondly, when making moxa sticks, impurities and dust should be removed and the moxa sticks should be crushed. Li Shizhen described it in detail in Compendium of Materia Medica: "Take clean leaves, dust them, put them in a mortar, pound them with a wooden pestle, remove residues, and pound them again when they are white, until they are soft and rotten like cotton." . Moxibustion fire is effective when baking. "These experiences of the ancients still have reference significance today.

In modern times, the application research of mugwort leaves is more and more in-depth. As far as varieties are concerned, it is found that there are many areas of Artemisia argyi (DC lavender) besides genuine Artemisia argyi. ) and Artemisia annua (A.princeps Pamp. ) is used as mugwort. According to statistics, there are more than 20 varieties of mugwort in China at present. Due to historical reasons, the first three kinds can be regarded as substitutes of mugwort leaves, and the remaining 20 kinds should be divided into mixtures of mugwort leaves. In terms of the quality of mugwort leaves, a large number of studies show that mugwort leaves are obviously superior to mugwort leaves produced in other areas in terms of volatile oil and trace elements content and heat release during combustion. In the study of the harvest time of Artemisia argyi leaves, the results show that the harvest time of Artemisia argyi leaves is the most suitable around the Dragon Boat Festival (May-June). In daily collection, the content of volatile oil collected at noon is used.

Because mugwort leaves have the advantages of convenient materials and low price; Artemisia argyi is easy to make into various shapes of Artemisia argyi and moxa sticks; Artemisia argyi is easy to ignite, the heat is mild and lasting when burning, and it can penetrate through the skin to the deep layer, so it has been used for a long time.

Second, non-moxibustion method

Non-moxibustion refers to moxibustion without moxa as stimulation source, which is an important part of rich and diverse moxibustion methods in China. Non-moxibustion methods can be divided into three categories because of different stimulation sources. One is hot moxibustion with warmth as the stimulation source; One is cold moxibustion with some substances that can stimulate the skin at room temperature, which is also called natural moxibustion and modern moxibustion; Foam or bubble induction therapy; The other is frozen moxibustion, which uses the stimulation of temperature below zero degrees Celsius to act on acupuncture points to achieve the purpose of moxibustion treatment.

Non-moxibustion, especially hot moxibustion and cold moxibustion, has a long history in China. As early as the Jin dynasty, there was wax moxibustion in the elbow backup first aid prescription to treat rabies bites. The method was "fire moxibustion plus wax to fill sores". "Qianjin Fang Yi" uses bamboo shavings as a heat source to treat boils: "Shaving bamboo arrows, using bamboo shavings as a wick, moxibustion will be strong." In Song Dynasty, the methods of cold moxibustion and hot moxibustion were clearly described in Zi Sheng Jing. For example, hot moxibustion, which mentioned that moxibustion was carried out by burning dry rat dung: "In ancient times, it was said that someone was old and looked like a boy, and it was effective to moxibustion the navel with rat dung every year." Another example is cold moxibustion: "The villagers mashed Eclipta prostrata and put it in their palms. When the two tendons are pressed with China ancient money, they are tied with silk thread. After a long time, small bubbles are formed, which is called natural moxibustion. It can still cure malaria. " In the Ming Dynasty, non-moxibustion developed further, and there appeared mulberry branch moxibustion and peach branch moxibustion similar to moxa stick moxibustion, such as Li Qian's "Introduction to Medicine": "Mulberry branches burn, blow flames, and use fire to moxibustion the affected area." Peach branch moxibustion is more similar to thunder fire needle: "take peach branches and cut them into wooden needles, such as chickens, which are five or six inches long and flat." When in use, stick three or five layers of cotton paper on the affected part, dip the needle in sesame oil, ignite, blow out and heat. " (compendium of materia medica). In addition, various forms of non-moxibustion methods appeared in Ming and Qing Dynasties, such as light moxibustion, magic lamp lighting, medicated ingot moxibustion, medicated twist moxibustion and water moxibustion. Non-moxibustion has made great progress in modern times. On the one hand, it sublates the traditional methods, that is, it eliminates some moxibustion methods that are no longer suitable for modern clinic, such as mulberry branch moxibustion, peach branch moxibustion and rat dung moxibustion, while excavating, perfecting, popularizing and improving some valuable moxibustion methods, especially inheriting and carrying forward some ethnic moxibustion methods, such as Zhuang medicine line moxibustion. On the other hand, with the participation of modern science and technology, a large number of new non-moxibustion methods have emerged. These, we will introduce in later chapters.