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A Study of Daoist Acupuncture & Moxibustion
The author, Dr. Liu Zheng-cai, helps clarify what the specifically Daoist contributions to the practice of acupuncture actually are. Included in this book are numerous short biographies of Daoist physicians, detailed explanations on the clinical use of such chrono-acupuncture techniques as midday/midnight point selection and the magic turtle eight methods, moxibustion techniques for longevity and emergencies, and other secret Daoist acupuncture lore. 260 pages. (7X10" format)
223 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 21, 2007
Liu Zheng-Cai’s Blue Poppy publication is mostly a historical primer of Daoist contributions to acupuncture. Readers will find some familiar terrain, as well as new concepts.
My particular interest was in noting how the pendulum is slightly swinging away from prevalent ideas that Confucianism is the basis of Chinese medicine, to the argument that Daoism is actually more responsible. After all, when the “Cultural Revolution” gained ground, and consolidated an “approved” version of Chinese Medicine, it made good sense (from their atheistic perspective) to excise as many references to Daoism as possible, while painting with a thin veneer more acceptable Confucian concepts relating to statecraft, and at the most “extreme” harmless naturalistic paradigms.
Liu Zheng-Cai’s data and debate is influential enough, that publisher Bob Flaw’s, in his forward, remarked that it gave him pause for thought (Flaw’s famously has upheld the notion of a Confucian origin).
A particularly interesting chapter (although too brief) concerned Ma Dan Yang’s “Heavenly Star Points”. According to Zheng-Cai, these points were once held in high esteem, and treated with great secrecy among Daoist practitioners, as they were regarded as having potency not only in physical conditions, but in meditative work likewise. Quite curiously, as I was reading this, a tract by Dr. Jerry Allen Johnson came to my attention, concerning Daoist exorcism, which collaborated Zheng-Cai’s thesis. In fact, Johnson goes a little further (as his audience is somewhat different) and details point protocols using Ma Dang’s points in exorcism.
Also admirable in Zheng-Cai, are his descriptions of manipulation techniques, and their Daoist sources. However, many of these will already be familiar to readers of the standard literature.
My particular interest was in noting how the pendulum is slightly swinging away from prevalent ideas that Confucianism is the basis of Chinese medicine, to the argument that Daoism is actually more responsible. After all, when the “Cultural Revolution” gained ground, and consolidated an “approved” version of Chinese Medicine, it made good sense (from their atheistic perspective) to excise as many references to Daoism as possible, while painting with a thin veneer more acceptable Confucian concepts relating to statecraft, and at the most “extreme” harmless naturalistic paradigms.
Liu Zheng-Cai’s data and debate is influential enough, that publisher Bob Flaw’s, in his forward, remarked that it gave him pause for thought (Flaw’s famously has upheld the notion of a Confucian origin).
A particularly interesting chapter (although too brief) concerned Ma Dan Yang’s “Heavenly Star Points”. According to Zheng-Cai, these points were once held in high esteem, and treated with great secrecy among Daoist practitioners, as they were regarded as having potency not only in physical conditions, but in meditative work likewise. Quite curiously, as I was reading this, a tract by Dr. Jerry Allen Johnson came to my attention, concerning Daoist exorcism, which collaborated Zheng-Cai’s thesis. In fact, Johnson goes a little further (as his audience is somewhat different) and details point protocols using Ma Dang’s points in exorcism.
Also admirable in Zheng-Cai, are his descriptions of manipulation techniques, and their Daoist sources. However, many of these will already be familiar to readers of the standard literature.
March 1, 2007
This book is an interesting, but slightly biased overview of Daoist acupuncture. It provides a nice history of of the influence of Daoism on the practice of Chinese Medicine as well as some really interesting needling practices and diagrams. I'm about 100 pages in, so I'll put up a more complete review once I've finished.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews