A small book that I personally like very much. The acupuncture point names look very complicated, but this book explains them in an intuitive and easy-to-understand way. For example, it uses 讨论锁骨下肌的临床意义兼针灸老师推荐——汤立新、张学丽 here.
In addition, I have also found some more official evaluations as follows:
Researcher at Heilongjiang Provincial Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, “Explanation of Acupuncture Point Names” was published in 1982. It is the first monograph dedicated to the interpretation of acupuncture point names and is highly welcomed by a wide range of readers.
The author of the book is Gao Shiguo, Director of the Acupuncture and Meridian Research Office at the Heilongjiang Province Institute of National Medicine (now Heilongjiang Provincial Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine). He is over eighty years old, has been practicing medicine for more than fifty years, possesses superb medical skills and profound knowledge, and is a highly respected famous senior traditional Chinese medicine doctor. He is one of the few contemporary experts on the “Inner Canon of Huangdi” in China. He has written books such as “Corrections and Additions to the Inner Canon” and “Five Animal Frolics.” The explanation of acupuncture point names is precisely the result of his thirty-year dedication and efforts accumulated during long-term research on classical medical texts such as the “Inner Canon.”
Acupuncture, which acts on the body’s surface, initially involved the stimulation site issue, which later became the acupuncture points. From unstable positions to relatively fixed ones, from no names to specialized names, and from few to many—the process was long and represents an inevitable transition from a lower to a higher stage. Currently, there are discrepancies domestically and internationally regarding some acupuncture point naming issues, reflecting this process from different perspectives. However, this also constitutes a negative factor that acupuncture medicine must urgently overcome to continue advancing. The most urgent issue to resolve is the unification of acupuncture point names and their pronunciations, which depend on the interpretation of the names’ meanings. The “Qianjin Fang” states rightly: “Every hole and point has its name not for nothing; each has deep meaning.” How to explain these seemingly strange and peculiar point names is indeed a recognized difficulty. Most of the meridian points were discovered successively before the Jin dynasty, and relevant historical materials are scarce. The accessible records are limited to the surviving Volume 1 of Yang Shangshan’s “Annotations on the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon Ming Tang” from the Sui dynasty, the “Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon Tai Su,” and the Qing dynasty’s “Understanding of Medical Classics” Volume 3 by Cheng Fusheng, many of which are incomplete and flawed. In recent times, a small number of scholars at home and abroad have also tried to offer explanations or even research but without satisfactory outcomes. Under these specific historical conditions, the publication of “Explanation of Acupuncture Point Names” is undoubtedly a very meaningful event for the acupuncture academic community.
The entire book explains 341 acupuncture point names across fourteen meridians, from the Governing Vessel starting point to the Liver meridian endpoint. The explanatory features are based on each point’s particularities—points that require no extensive explanation are briefly covered, even in just a few words, such as Qian Gu and Jian Liao; points needing detailed accounts are elaborately detailed, referencing classics and expressing personal insights, sometimes offering multiple interpretations side by side, like Shou San Li and Qi Hai. Some explanations rely on classical texts, some on local anatomical features, some on deeper viscera, others on functional properties of points, relationships with affiliated or nearby meridians, as well as insights from health practitioners, among others. In short, this book synthesizes ancient knowledge from various domains, speculating on the ancient scholars’ conceptualizations when naming acupuncture points. It requires familiarity not only with classical medical classics and acupuncture meridian knowledge, but also knowledge of ancient philosophy, literature, astronomy, history, and meteorology.
To express the ancient intentions as accurately as possible, the author used classical literary language throughout the text, producing highly concise writing. To facilitate understanding for today’s broad readership, the author skillfully incorporated modern insights and personal clinical experiences. As a result, the reading is not obscure or difficult; rather, it feels coherent and logical. With rich content and strong argumentation, readers not only gain a sense of exceptional insight and find it an excellent work but also feel they have attended an advanced acupuncture course, helping deepen the understanding of the acupuncture academic essence. This reinforces the conviction that the practice of encoding acupuncture point names is unfeasible.
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