The origin of acupoint names
Acupoints in the human body can be roughly divided into three categories: Fourteen Meridians, Strange Meridians and Ashi Acupoints. The Fourteen Meridian points are acupoints with fixed names and positions, belonging to the Fourteen Meridian System. Strange points have names and directions, but they are not classified as fourteen classics because of their "personality"; Ashi point is very powerful. It is recorded in "A Thousand Gold Prescriptions for Emergency": "People have pain, and there is a saying, that is, pinch it. If you treat it internally, don't ask the acupoints, you will get a sore spot, that is, Yun Ashi acupoint. Moxibustion is a test, so luck is a point. "That is to say, when needling this point, the patient shouts" Ah ",so this position is Ashi point.
The names of acupoints all have certain meanings. Fang Yi pointed out: "All acupoints have profound meanings, regardless of their names". Based on the position and function of acupoints, doctors in past dynasties combined natural phenomena and medical theories to name acupoints by analogy, but in the final analysis, they did not break away from their functions.
Acupoints have their own positions, so they are called "points" because they are mostly located in depressions between joints or muscles, so they are also called "joints", "bone gaps" and "points". Generally speaking, the names of acupoints can be divided into three categories.
First kind
Directly describe the anatomical position and function of acupoints.
Such as the body column, Dazhui, Houding, Baihui, Ding Qian, Huanhui and Tang Yin.
the second type
The ancients associated acupoints with natural phenomena with the way of thinking corresponding to heaven and man, and most of their names reflected the structural characteristics of acupoints in positioning.
For example, the Sun and Moon, Shangxing, Taiyi and Chengshan named after celestial landforms; Rabbits, thenar, calf noses and crane tops named after animals and plants; Courtyard, Tang Yin, Suzaku and so on. Named after a building.
The third category
Synthesis of the first and second naming methods.
Such as Yaoyangguan, Mingmen, Lingtai, Shinto, Dumen Pass, Fengfu, Naohu, Qiang Jian and Shenting all belong to this category.
Detailed case analysis
Guanyuan point
"Guan", the door also means Guan and Shou; "Yuan", the original also, eventually also, to the big, to the beginning. Vitality is endowed by innate vitality, and it is also the Yuan Yin and Yuanyang of the human body, so Guanyuan refers to the place where vitality is closed and guarded, so this acupoint has the function of strengthening the body and prolonging life; At the same time, Guan Yuan belongs to Ren Mai, a "sea of Yin Mai", and all its owners are Yin Qi. Clinical moxibustion on Guanyuan can nourish Yin Qi and delay aging, so it is also a key point of health care.
puddle
This acupoint is related to water as soon as it is heard. Water, that is, water liquid; The meaning of separation. Also called water diversion. "Jin Baihe Plum Blossom Poetry" says: "Water needs to be divided, but it is difficult to divide water when it is clear and turbid." This point has the function of separating the turbid part of water and liquid, and is an important point for clinical water control. "The Analects of Confucius" records: "At the entrance to the small intestine, turbidity will be secreted, water will enter the bladder, and dregs will enter the large intestine". Because the function of the small intestine is to distinguish turbid secretions, so that clear water enters the bladder, and turbid water enters the large intestine together with dregs, so the water points near the small intestine also have this function.
The names given by the ancients to acupoints are nice and meaningful, so how to translate them when they spread abroad?
It is estimated that foreign readers will be confused when they see the wind market, the acupoint for evacuating colds. What? What is a "windy city"? 199 1 year, who finally released the international standardization scheme of acupoint names, ending the chaotic situation of acupoint name translation. The plan stipulates that the names of acupoints should be unified in Chinese Pinyin with international codes attached. For example, "Yongquan" is translated as "Kid. 1" and "boy." It is the abbreviation of the English word "kidney meridian". This concise and practical method of acupoint translation has been widely welcomed, and has been applied in the international acupuncture field since then, which has played a very positive and important role in the external spread of acupuncture.
Contributed by: Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Author: Li Ru Gao Yue Lynn Yang