Zi Wu Liu Zhu

Ziwu Liuzhu is an operational procedure and method of acupuncture, which involves selecting acupoints on time in addition to syndrome differentiation and meridian circulation. Its meaning is that the circulation and entry and exit of qi and blood in the human body all have a fixed time. Xu's "Great Treatise on Acupuncture and Moxibustion" has the theory that "hardness and softness should be combined, Yin and Yang should be integrated, qi and blood should circulate, and acupoints should open and close at the right time." Blood and qi are most abundant when they are in harmony with The Times and decline when they pass away. They open when they are in harmony with The Times and close when they pass away. When they are released, they take advantage of their abundance, which is what is meant by "stabbing the excess to stab the coming." The principle of tonifying follows its expulsion, that is, through the so-called "piercing the weak, piercing the expelled, welcoming and seizing the expelled, piercing the expelled, followed and rescuing the expelled, the acupoints are selected according to this principle to achieve better therapeutic effects. This is called the Ziwu Liuzhu method. It focuses on the time conditions and is coordinated with the natural cycle phenomena and the circulation of qi and blood in the human body. It is recorded in the "Meridians" and "Yingqi" chapters of the "Ling Shu", as well as in the "First Difficulty" and "Twenty-Three Difficulties" of the "Nan Jing". In the "Nine Needles and Twelve Sources" and "Ben Shu" chapters of the Ling Shu, the records of Jing, Xing and Yu are very detailed. However, when it comes to the Five Elements they belong to, only the Yin Jing is wood and the Yang Jing is metal, while the rest are not associated. The "Sixty-Four Difficulties" of the "Nanjing Classic" provides further explanations on the matching of Jing, Xing and Yu with the Five Elements and the application of the Ten Stems. The Ling Shu: Wei Qi Xing Chapter states: "A year has twelve months, a day has twelve hours, Zi and Wu are the jing, MAO and you are the wei." The "Five Disorders" chapter of the Ling Shu states: "The twelve meridians correspond to the twelve months." December is divided into four seasons. In the chapter "Shunqi: Dividing a Day into Four Seasons" of the Ling Shu, it is stated: "A day is divided into four seasons: morning is spring, midday is summer, sunset is autumn, and midnight is winter." The "Suwen: The Treatise on the Eight Righteous Deities" states: "Any method of stabbing must be based on the eight righteous energies of the four seasons of the sun, moon, stars, and the eight righteous energies of the four seasons. The energies must be used for stabbing." It is said that "one should be in harmony with The Times of heaven." The Jia Yi Jing states: "According to the length of the day, each should be used as a record. When the energy is in place, one should be cautious and adjust it accordingly. This is called meeting the right time." If the illness lies in the Yang aspect, one must first wait for the qi to be concentrated in the Yang aspect and then be pricked. If the disease lies in the Yin part, one must first wait for its qi to be added to the Yin part and then be pricked. If one waits at the right time, illness will come as expected; if one misses the right time, it will turn around and all diseases will not be cured. All of these are closely related to the Zi Wu Liu Zhu. In the Southern Tang Dynasty, He Ruoyu wrote "Liu Zhu Zhi Wei Fu", which provided a general explanation of the application and method of Ziwu Liu Zhu. In the Yuan Dynasty, Dou Hanqing wrote "Biao You Fu", which stated, "Take the formula of sixty-six acupoints in a day to see the opening and closing, and discuss the five elements and five internal organs to check the prosperity and decline of the day." From this, it can be seen that Ziwu Liu Zhu had become a unique acupuncture method by the Yuan Dynasty. It is discussed in books such as "Essentials of Acupuncture and Moxibustion", "Introduction to Medicine", and "Great Achievements of Acupuncture and Moxibustion" from the Ming Dynasty. The "Comprehensive Collection of Acupuncture and Moxibustion" further extended by Xu Fengshi, namely the "Zi-Wu Liuzhu Daily, Time and Point Fixed Rhymes", is often recited by scholars for practical application. It can be known that the Ziwu Liuzhu method has a long history and is an advanced acupuncture therapy that has been valued by the working people for thousands of years.