The return of the “Ashi Point” from its journey East and its modern theoretical reconstruction

ABSTRACT

In the current knowledge system of acupuncture and moxibustion, the Ashi Point belongs to one of the three categories of acupoints. However, the source of this knowledge is from an inconspicuous rural therapy record in the “Qian Jin Fang.” The historical process of how the Ashi Point rose from a corner of classical literature to the core position of modern acupuncture theory has rarely been discussed. There is no proof of its popularity in the old literature; its sudden rise in China originated in the Republican period. The modernization and transformation of acupuncture theory in Republican China was to a certain extent influenced by Japan. With Japan’s preference for practical knowledge and its promotion of modern science, the Ashi Point has been placed at the core of the acupuncture knowledge system. Alongside with the translation, introduction, and promotion of Japanese acupuncture literature in Republican China, the Ashi Point gradually entered the theoretical system of Chinese acupuncture and moxibustion. The conceptual history of Ashi Point may weave a story full of encounters of different knowledge systems, cultures, and ideas.

KEYWORDS:

• Ashi Point
• history of acu-moxa
• the scientification of acu-moxa
• Japan
• Republican China

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Professor Zhao Jingsheng from the Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences for his great support and important insight on the writing of this article; I thank Professor Zhang Shujian of Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences for selflessly sharing important original sources required for this research. I also would like to express my thankfulness to a Japanese acupuncturist Inada Kenichi, for his full help of providing an important clue relevant to Ashi Point in Japanese textbooks.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Glossary

Abo 阿謈

Ashixue 阿是穴

Aze yōketsu 『阿是要穴』

Daijōkan 太政官

Goseiha 後世派

Han Shu: Dongfang Shuo Zhuan 《汉书·东方朔传》

Huang Di Nei Jing 《黄帝内经》

Ishinpō 『医心方』

jing 经

jingluo 经络

jingsui 经隧

Kagawa Shuan 香川修庵

Keiketsu Sanyou 『経穴纂要』

Kohouha 古方派

kongxue 孔穴

Kosaka Genyou 小阪元祐

Kyuten Zukai『一本堂灸點圖解』

Mian Xue Tang zhenjiu jicheng 《勉学堂针灸集成》

Okamoto Ippō 岡本一抱

Shinkyūsoku 『鍼灸則』

Shinpen Kyūhō Kuketsu Shinan 『新編灸法口訣指南』

shu 俞/输/腧

shuxue 输穴/腧穴

Suganuma Shukei 菅沼周桂

xue 穴

xuewei 穴位

Yanagiya Sorei 柳谷素灵

Yi Xue Ru Men 《医学入门》

Yu Yunxiu 余云岫

zhengjing shuxue/jingxue 正经腧穴/经穴

Notes

¹ Zhao Hongjun, “Jindai zhongxi yi lunzheng shi (xiuding ban),” 251.

² See Mao Zedong, “Dui zhongyi gongzuo de zhishi” (July 30, 1954). https://www.marxists.org/chinese/maozedong/1968/3–055.htm.

³ Wei Jia, “Zaitan ‘ashi’,” 18–20.

⁴ Chen Hanping, Jianming zhenjiu cidian, 397.

⁵ Wu Zidong, “‘Ashi zhifa’ yu ‘ashixue’,” 17.

⁶ Ban Mei, and Zhang Yancheng, “‘Ashixue’ mingming liju kao,” 74.

⁷ Wu Xingui, “Ashixue tanshi,” 102–104; and Zhao Jingsheng, “Yitongweishu yu ashixue,” 388–390.

⁸ Zhang Shujian, “Ashi quxue fa yuanliu lun,” 165–167; and Chen Bo, “Ashixue fazhan licheng kao,” 33–37.

⁹ Zhu Bing, Xitong zhenjiu xue, 11, 256.

¹⁰ Zhao Jingsheng, “Cong yingyong jiaodu jianzhi zhenjiu lilun,” 1115.

¹¹ Zhao Jingsheng, “shuxue gainian xi,” 149.

¹² Lu Shuchao, “Cong ‘Huangdi neijing’ shuxue shumu yanbian kan shuxue fazhan,” 1937.

¹³ See Nanjing Zhongyi xueyuan zhenjiu jiaoyanzu, Zhenjiuxue jiangyi, 11–16.

¹⁴ Chen Bo, “Ashixue fazhan licheng kao,” 34.

¹⁵ See Lingshu jing, 43.

¹⁶ I.e. Qianjin fang. Beiji qianjin yaofang is the original name in the Northern Song dynasty corrected by Lin Yi. It is referred as “Qian jin fang” hereinafter.

¹⁷ Sun Simiao, “Beiji qianjin yaofang,” vol. 29, 508.

¹⁸ In the acupoint system, there are also many acupoints have two, three, or even more different names. In writings of acu-moxa, it is common to summarize and explain such acupoints to prevent mistakes.

¹⁹ Liao Runhong, Mianxuetang zhenjiu jicheng, 60.

²⁰ Du Sijing, “Zhenjing zhaiying ji,” 409; and Wang Guorui, “Bianque shenying zhenjiu yulong jing,” 428.

²¹ According to Zhang Xinghao’s calculations, there are a total of 191 books. See Zhang Xinghao, “Zhongguo gudai zhenjiulei zhuanzhu, zai gudian mulu guishu de yanbian yu fazhan,” 44.

²² Fujiwara Sukeyo, Nihon koku genzai shomoku roku.

²³ Liu Benshan, Xue Yuhong, and Wang Qingwa, “‘Qianjinfang’ dui riben yixue de yingxiang,” 14.

²⁴ Ge Rongjin, Zhongri shixue shi yanjiu, 231.

²⁵ Sugiura Yui, and Takaichi Shinohara, “Kinsei Nihon harikyū-shi ni okeru Aze YōKetsu no igi,” 85.

²⁶ The original title of the book was “Aze O Benzu” (On Ashi).

²⁷ Takahiro Miyagawa, “Shinkyū Aze YōKetsu,” 83.

²⁸ In fact, many of the acupoints recorded here by Okamoto Ippō are not extra acupoints out of the channels, and some of the acupoints belonging to the channels are also included. The author will write about this in another article.

²⁹ See Nan’yō Hara, Keiketsu Ikai: Kiketsu Bu: 11, vol. 7, and Suiketsu Keimō written by Teiken in 1831. They contained sayings such as “Qishu is so-called Ashi, Tianying,” “Qi Shu is Ashi” and so on.

³⁰ Kosaka Gen’yū, Keiketsu san’yō.

³¹ Ye Mingzhu, and Feng Hechang, “Ashixue mingming bian,” 34.

³² Jiang Shan, and Zhao Jingsheng, “‘Ashi’benyi yu ‘ashixue’ youlai,” 197–199.

³³ Liao Yuqun, Fusang hanfang de chunhui qiuse, 76–77.

³⁴ Fujimoto Renpu, Korekara no shinkyū ni tsuite, 288.

³⁵ Akio Debata, “Shinkyū no kagaku-ka wa ikani arubeki ka,” 8.

³⁶ Sorei Yanagiya, Shinkyū igakuzensho shogaku kara gōkaku made.

³⁷ The contents of this and the following are cited from Dong Demao’s translation of Zhenjiu jingxue gaiyao.

³⁸ See Dong Demao, Zhenjiu jingxue gaiyao, 1.

³⁹ Yokoyama Shō, “Kimi wa yanagiya sorei o shitte iru ka?”.

⁴⁰ Ito Zuio, Nishida Yuzaburo, Nakamura Makio, and Tomita Michio, “Yanagiya sorei sensei no gyōseki.”

⁴¹ Zhao Hongjun, “Jindai Zhongxi yi lunzhengshi (xiuding ban),” 91–119.

⁴² Zhang Jianlan, and Zhang Shujian, “Minguo shiqi zhenjiu yi ji fenleiji neirong tedian,” 27–38.

⁴³ Liu Kechen, and Zhang Shujian, “Jinxiandai hanyi Riben zhenjiu yiji shuyao,” 39.

⁴⁴ Luo Zhechu, Zhenjiu jinghua.

⁴⁵ Liao Runhong, Mianxuetang zhenjiu jicheng, 60.

⁴⁶ Lin Yi, Dai Ming, and Peng Junmei, “Jindai zhenjiu xuejia Luo Zhaoju shengping zhushu kaolue,” 246.

⁴⁷ Luo Zhaoju, Shiyong zhenjiu zhiyao.

⁴⁸ Zhang Junyi, Gaodeng zhenjiuxue jiangyi, 2.

⁴⁹ Luo Zhaoju, Zhenjiu bianlan biao.

⁵⁰ Wang Fuchun, and Yang Kewei, Zhongguo jinxiandai zhenjiu wenxian yanjiu jicheng (jiaocai juan) zhenjiu zonghe: guangxi; Zhongguo jinxiandai zhenjiu wenxian yanjiu jicheng (jiaocai juan) zhenjiu jifa: xia; and Zhongguo jinxiandai zhenjiu wenxian yanjiu jicheng (jiaocai juan) zhenjiu linchuang: shang.

⁵¹ See Cheng Dan’an, “Dongdu guilai,” 137–143.

⁵² Zhang Jianbin, “Xiandai zhenjiu xueke tixigoujian guiji de tanxi goujian guiji de tanxi,” 208.

⁵³ Cheng Dan’an, Zhongguo zhenjiu xue jiangyi, 35.

⁵⁴ Regarding the origin of the Ashi Point in this book, Cheng Dan’an did not choose the words of “Qianjin Fang,” but instead took the “Yi Xue Ru Men” which was written in the Wanli period as the reference. According to my research, the error can be traced back to the mistakenly copying of Dongui Bogam.

⁵⁵ Zhang Jianbin, “Xiandai zhenjiu xueke tixi goujian guiji de tanxi,” 208.

⁵⁶ Xiao Xiong, “Xin zhongguo ‘shiqi nian’ zhenjiu tuiguang yundong yanjiu,” 49.

⁵⁷ Li Ding, “Zhendao jinling wushinian,” 30–32.

⁵⁸ Ibid.

⁵⁹ See Jiangsu sheng Zhongyi xuexiao zhenjiu xueke jiaoyanzu, Zhenjiuxue, 81–82.

⁶⁰ Dong Demao, Zhenjiu jingxue gaiyao, 1958.

⁶¹ See Nanjing Zhongyi xueyuan zhenjiu jiaoyanzu, Zhenjiuxue jiangyi, 1.

⁶² Yan Fu, “Mule mingxue anyu,” 1047.

Additional information

Funding

This article is part of a project funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The name of the project is “Correlation of Functional Similarity of ‘Taxonomic Acupoints’ and Body Parts” (81873241). It is also the stage result of a major project funded by National Social Science Fund, bearing the title “Research on the Evolution of Traditional Chinese Medical Knowledge since the Song and Yuan Dynasties and the Formation of Modern ‘TCM’” (18ZDA175).

Notes on contributors

Shan JIANG

JIANG Shan is Assistant Researcher at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Peking Union Medical College. Her main research fields include the history of TCM communication and acupuncture theory. Her representative works are Needle and Qi: Acupuncture and Moxibustion Qi Theory in the Classics (Beijing: People’s Medical Publishing House, 2018).