Conference Proceedings

Abstract

The rise of acupuncture and moxibustion can be traced back to more than two thousand years ago. Usually the knowledge of both medical skills has been accumulated and handed down to later generations by four ways. The first way is family heritage. The second way is disciple heritage. The third way is common practices found among people. The fourth way is the heritage of acupuncture literature and canons. Of course, the most influential legacy of acupuncture and moxibustion comes from canons. Earliest canons such as Foot and Arm Eleven Meridian Moxibustion Classic, Ying Yang Eleven Meridian Moxibustion Classic, Huangdies Internal Classic, Classic of Difficult Issues, and A-B Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion have the greatest impact on later generations. The later acupuncture and moxibustion literature just follow, revise, and add extra information and data to make this ancient medical technique more colorful and better. This essay is to concentrate on acupuncture rhymed songs and odes from earliest to the present literature canons as a way to show how knowledge and practice of both acupuncture and moxibustion are handed down from generation to generation.