Landscape and architecture – Names of acupuncture points and their functions

In Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, it indicates where the Qi flows out gets a related name on the point.  In the book Additional Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold, it states that the names of acupuncture points are not from fantasy but are given with profound thought and deep meanings.

The name given to an acupuncture point has certain characteristics, one of it is to name a point as landmark in the geographic setting, such as guan关(pass), dao 道 (way), lou路(road);  san Li 三里 (three miles), wu li 五里(five miles); or to name it as a nature site in landscape, such as xi 溪(creek), quan泉(spring), chi池 (lake), gu谷(valley) , ling陵 (hill), shan山(mountain), kong空 (hole), que缺 (concave).

Another feature is to name a point as a Chinese architecture or a part in architecture, such as gong 宫 (palace),  fu府 (residence), she舍(house), shi室 (chamber), tang堂 (big hall), ting庭 (courtyard), cang仓 (grannary), zhu柱 (pole), shu枢 (pivot), men门 (gate, door) and chuang窗 (window).

In this lecture, Dr. Yifan Yang will present and explain the names and functions of important acupuncture points by analysing the Chinese characters and let participants understand the meanings; she will show and analyse photos of landscape and Chinese ancient architecture to let you feel and understand the flow, the change of the Qi as well as its speed and the space that the Qi can reach. In this way, the participants get orientation to select points to strengthen, accelerate and regulate the Qi. Moreover, she will introduce commonly used points and point combinations following the names. Afterall participants will also get ideas by following ancient Chinese philosophy, language, and culture.