Illustrated Book on the History of Chinese Acu-moxibustion Science

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Sometimes a picture speaks more than a thousand words. In the past, research into the history of acupuncture had as its core focus textual studies of the classics and literature. Moreover, in the practical use of acupuncture, recognizing acupoints and channels (or meridians) are of the greatest concern—the art is about understanding the human body. No matter how detailed a textual description might be, it is considered more effective and convenient to learn via illustrations. Early on, ancient physicians gained insight into the practice of acupuncture by using both textual descriptions and illustrations; famous physicians, such as Sun Simiao and Wang Tao of the Tang Dynasty, supported this practice. Sun Simiao said, ‘Without the aid of illustrations, it's very hard to learn acupoints well.’ Wang Tao said, ‘Descriptions helped in elaborating the origin of diseases; and illustrations helped in demonstrating the names and positions of points. If one attempts to learn with textual descriptions only, one cannot understand the junctions and relations of the acupoints; if one attempts to learn with illustrations only, one cannot fully understand the causes of illnesses.’

The editor of this publication, Prof. Huang Longxiang, is an acknowledged expert in the field of acupuncture in mainland China, carrying out research into acupuncture and its history. This book contains descriptions of a collection of antique tools and old pictures of acupuncture being practiced, and offers readers a vast number of illustrations. The book's five main advantages are as follows: (1) it provides a collection of antique tools and old pictures of acupuncture practice collected from libraries and museums all over the world—it is to date the most comprehensive picture-book documenting the history of acupuncture; (2) it is printed in vivid color; (3) the book covers a wide range of topics, not only showing the points and channels, but also including acupuncture-related literature and pictures, tools, and more; (4) the illustrations are arranged in chronological order for readers' easy reference and for better understanding of the art's development over time; and finally, (5) it provides very detailed textual descriptions.

The categories of illustrations included in the book are (1) illustrations of antique books; (2) pictures of antique books; and (3) other images. It contains seven chapters as follows:

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Although the book was first written in Chinese, the publisher has kept English readers in mind. It is a picture-book in nature, with captions. The book has bilingual contents, including English translations of the beginning and the concluding sections of each chapter. Therefore, even if the reader does not understand Chinese, he or she will be able to understand the pictures well via the English descriptions.

After reading the picture-book, one will be able to gain a deeper understanding of the development of Chinese acupuncture and to experience how words are inadequate for explaining the study of acupuncture; e.g., the reader will understand how to draw the front, the back, and the side of the human body for use in acupuncture; what the Bronze Statue for Acu-moxibustion looks like; and what Qizhuma moxibustion (a patient sitting on a bamboo mat in order for moxibustion to be performed) is truly about. All these concepts are well-demonstrated with the aid of illustrations. To conclude, this book is indeed an important addition to the body of literature contributing to the understanding of Chinese acupuncture, the channels, and acupoints—one that should not be missed.