Figure 1.1.2. Application of Heat to Treat Disease
1.2 THE DEVELOPMENT OF MOXATHERAPY
After the appearance of moxibustion, it became widely used and was promoted as a method of medical treatment and health preservation. As the therapy developed over the centuries, the accumulation of experience led to the creation and improvement of medical theory. Among the medical texts excavated from the Han Dynasty tombs at Ma Wang Dui were the two channel vessel texts, the Yin Yang Shi Yi Mai Jiu Jing and Zu Bi Shi Yi Mai Jiu Jing (Yin-Yang Eleven Vessel Cauterization Classic and Leg-Arm Eleven Vessel Cauterization Classic) (Figure 1.1.3).
In these texts the pathways, diseases and moxatherapy for each channel vessel are described. In the classic text Huang Di Nei Jing (including Ling Shu and Su Wen), dating from the Warring States period, there are many passages that refer to moxatherapy: the chapter Yi Fa Fang Yi Lun of the Su Wen asserts that ‘In the North […] cold in the zang organs gives birth to repletion disease; the treatment is moxibustion’; the chapter Jing Mai Pian of the Ling Shu asserts that ‘In the case of fallen [qi], use moxibustion’; furthermore, the chapter Guan Neng Pian asserts that ‘If acupuncture is not appropriate, moxibustion is recommended.’ These quotations illustrate that at that time moxatherapy was already an important and commonly used treatment modality.
During the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period a new class of physician appeared, known, literally translated, as ‘moxa-attack needle-reach’. In Zuo Zhuan (Commentary of Zuo) a story is recorded about a certain doctor Huan, who in 581 bc was sent from his native country of Tai to attend to the disease of Duke Jing of Jin. Huan stated that ‘The disease cannot be treated. It is below the heart and above the diaphragm; it cannot be attacked [with moxa] nor reached [by needle].’ The method of ‘attacking’ referred to in this quotation was moxatherapy, and ‘reaching’ was acupuncture. In the chapter Li Lei Pian from Mencius it states that ‘treating a disease of seven years requires moxa aged for three years; the careless will not have prepared it, and hence will never be availed of it.’ This quotation shows that during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods the preparation of mugwort for treating disease already existed.
As society advanced, moxatherapy also developed. During the Eastern Han period the great physician Zhang Zhong Jing (Figure 1.1.4) recorded more than 12 lines regarding moxatherapy in his classic Shang Han Lun (On Cold Damage). He recorded the contraindicated patterns and moxatherapy methods for certain diseases. The book stated which patterns can be treated with moxa and which should not be, and introduced the viewpoint that ‘Yang patterns can be needled; yin patterns can be treated with moxa.’
During the Three Kingdom’s period the book Cao Shi Jiu Jing (Cao Family Moxatherapy Classic) was printed, marking the emergence of the first specialized book on moxatherapy. It summarized the moxatherapy experience from the Qin and Han periods, and did much to promote the development of Chinese moxatherapy; unfortunately the book was lost during the ensuing dynasties.
Although the Jin Dynasty physician Ge Hong is most famous for his alchemy, in his book Zhou Hou Bei Ji Fang (Emergency Formulas to Keep Up One’s Sleeve) he also recorded the use of moxatherapy in the treatment of acute disease patterns such as sudden death (cu se), five corpses (wu hu), sudden turmoil (cholera) and vomit-dysentery (tu li). His wife Bao Gu (Figure 1.1.5) loved the art of medicine and was known to have consummate clinical skills, especially in moxatherapy. She is the first recorded female moxatherapist in Chinese history.
Figure 1.1.3. Yin Yang/Zu Bi Shi Yi Mai Jiu Jing (Yin-Yang/Leg-Arm Eleven Vessel Cauterization Classic)
Figure 1.1.4. Zhang Zhongjing
Figure 1.1.5. Bao Gu
Figure 1.1.6. Sun Simiao
By the Tang Dynasty moxatherapy had developed even further. For example, the famous Tang Dynasty physician Sun Simiao (Figure 1.1.6), in his book Qian Jin Fang (Thousand Pieces of Gold), recorded a technique to treat ear disease whereby a bamboo or reed tube is inserted into the ear and moxa is burned in the opening. He also asserted that ‘without moxibustion one will lack essence: therefore, moxa Zu San Li (ST-36)’; referring to this as ‘longevity moxa’. Sun Simiao had clearly recognized the benefits of moxatherapy, its preventative and curative properties, and its ability to strengthen the body and postpone ageing.
The work Bei Ji Jiu Fa (Moxatherapy for Any Emergency), written during the Song Dynasty, stated: ‘In emergencies, moxibustion should be used first.’ In the same dynasty there was also a practitioner called Du Cai, who recorded the observation in his book Bian Que Xin Shu that using moxa on Guan Yuan (RN-4), Qi Hai (RN-6), and Zhong Wan (RN-12) could lengthen one’s lifetime. A major part of the book Gu Zheng Bing Jiu Fang (Moxa Prescriptions for Bone Steaming Disease) is devoted to the use of moxatherapy in the treatment of consumption; the descriptions in this book made the ‘Four Flower Points’ (Si Hua Xue) moxatherapy technique popular.
During the Song and Yuan dynasties moxatherapy developed considerably. The founder of the Song Dynasty personally applied moxa to his younger brother, and collected and applied it to himself; deeds later praised far and wide. The books Tai Ping Sheng Hui Fang (The Great Peace Sagacious Benevolence Formulary), Pu Ji Ben Shi Fang (Formulas of Universal Benefit [from My Practice]) and Sheng Ji Zong Lu (Comprehensive Recording of Sage-like Benefit) all included extensive content regarding moxatherapy, and resulted in the acceptance of moxatherapy as an emergency treatment method. In the Yuan Dynasty the famous physician Zhu Danxi created the theory of using moxatherapy in the treatment of heat patterns.
During the Ming Dynasty the number of acu-moxatherapists increased greatly. A whole slew of famous works were published in quick succession: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng (The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion), Zhen Jiu Da Quan (The Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion), Zhen Jiu Ji Ying (Gathered Blooms of Acupuncture and Moxibustion), etc. It was at this time that ‘Lightning-fire amazing needle’, ‘Tai Yi amazing needle’, and other new techniques of combining moxa with other medicinals emerged. At the same time techniques such as Sang Zhi (mulberry twig) moxa, juncibustion (lantern-fire moxa), Yang Sui (yang-flint) moxa and others also made a contribution to enriching the field of moxatherapy.
During the Qing Dynasty there was still a certain amount of creativity and development. Shen Jiu Jing Lun, a moxatherapy monograph published during this period, represented a new high point in the development of the field. However, the weakening of the Qing government and the encroachment of Western ideas at the end of the Qing Dynasty devastated the practice and development of moxatherapy, and it followed its sister fields of acupuncture and herbal medicine to the brink of extinction.
After the birth of postmodern China, moxatherapy and its fellow fields achieved significant redevelopment. Following the advancement of scientific techniques, the millennia old therapeutic technique increasingly showed wide promise and future potential. The authors firmly believe that moxatherapy has the capacity to contribute greatly to the health of peoples throughout the world, in its role as both prevention and treatment, by achieving sustainable, affordable