As the cornerstone of the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, the elaboration of the acupuncture and moxibustion parts of the Neijing undoubtedly contains the true meaning of the theory of acupoints. However, with the passage of time, later scholars seem to have gradually stepped into a misunderstanding when interpreting and interpreting the Neijing. In terms of the positioning of acupoints, there are certain differences and characteristics between the records of the Neijing and the famous works of later generations. First of all, the description style of the "Neijing" is simple and concise, and it seems to be relatively general and vague. For example, for the location of the well, only the "at the finger end" is simply mentioned, and there is no specific description and qualification. This ambiguity and generalization make the acupoint positioning of Neijing appear scattered and dynamic. The records of later masterpieces gradually changed to clarity and concreteness, showing the characteristics of miniaturization, condensation and static solidity of acupoint positioning. For example, for the positioning of the well, specific descriptions such as "removing claw nails such as leek leaves" have been added to make the positioning more clear and specific. This shift from vague to clear, from general to specific, reflects the trend of continuous refinement and solidification of acupoint positioning. In modern times, the description of acupoint positioning in relevant literature has reached the peak of precision. This precision is almost at its limit, which greatly improves the certainty and accuracy of acupoint positioning. This further confirms the process of continuous development, continuous refinement and solidification of acupoint localization from dispersion to aggregation, from active state to static solid, and from difficult to certain to determinable in history.
The understanding of the essence of acupoints in the Neijing has penetrated into the two levels of function and material basis, which shows that its positioning of acupoints is not limited to the surface position, but pays more attention to its functional role in the human body. At the same time, the "Neijing" also believes that the positioning of acupoints is not isolated, but there is a cyclic spiral law of aggregation and dispersion interaction, dynamic and static interaction, and dynamic and static interchange, which reflects the original ecological characteristics of acupoints. Compared with the positioning of acupoints in later generations, the positioning method of "Neijing" is more flexible, emphasizing both the aggregation and dispersion of acupoints, which has more vitality and space for exploration. For example, there is no obvious difference in the efficacy of using Shaoshang acupoint** sore throat and using Zhiyin acupoint to correct the fetal position, and performing the operation according to the "Neijing" or later works. This shows that the theory of the Neijing is irreversible and may contain a deeper truth. Although it is of great significance to accurately determine the location of acupoints to improve the curative effect, it is necessary to have a scientific and reliable theoretical and practical basis and repeatedly demonstrate its feasibility when compiling classic works with regulations. This is because too limited and detailed acupoint positioning may limit our exploration and understanding of acupoints. The acupoint positioning method of "Neijing" is mainly based on movement, combining movement and static, and this dynamic positioning method is more in line with the actual situation of acupoints. For example, the "pain-oriented" mentioned in the chapter "Lingshu Meridian Tendons" refers to the positioning of unfixed pain points, which indicates that the acupoints are dynamic. For another example, the eight volumes of the "Lingshu" have a separate chapter on the back of Yu, which also mentions the static solid-state positioning method, such as "the lung Yu is between the three jiao (when the finger vertebrae), and the heart Yu is between the five jiao", and "all the ridges are three inches apart". However, the book also states: "If you want to get it, you should find it in the middle, and it should be relieved in the middle." This means that if there is no "pain" response when pressing on a certain area, then that location may not be the location of the acupoint. This further underscores the importance of dynamic targeting. The description of acupuncture sites in the Neijing is not limited to the acupoints, but also involves a broader concept. In the Neijing, acupoints are only one type of acupuncture site, and acupuncture sites include four aspects: meridians, parts, sick places and acupoints. The distribution of these four aspects on the body surface is different, and the difference between points, sheets (surfaces) and lines is consistent with the lineal, band, sheet and block positioning of the ancient meridian structure. Xu Lingti, a famous doctor of the Qing Dynasty, once regretted the loss of the meridians in the "Theory of the Origin of Medicine", which shows that in ancient medicine, the positioning of the meridians is very important. However, in modern clinical application, people often pay too much attention to the selection of acupoints, and ignore the importance of taking meridians and parts. In fact, in order to better adapt to clinical needs, we need to take into account all four aspects when choosing acupuncture sites. At present, although cupping to take the parts, acupuncture to take the meridians and other methods are still in use, in the application of all external treatments, the phenomenon of focusing on acupoints and ignoring the meridians and parts is still widespread. Therefore, we should expand the focus of acupuncture selection to optimize all acupuncture parts, which has important corrective significance for improving the best effect. For the selection of acupoints, we should not only affirm its specific side, but also see its non-specific side. At present, although the specificity of acupoints has been widely recognized, it still needs to be strengthened. At the same time, we must also note that the non-specific space of acupoints is large and requires special attention. A series of problems that have arisen in history are also worthy of our deep consideration. For example, why have thousands of extra-meridian acupuncture points continued to emerge throughout the ages?Why is it that the literature records that one acupoint treats multiple diseases and uses multiple acupoints for one disease?Why did the ancients say that "every inch and every human body is a hole" and put forward the "Four Total Cave Songs"?Why did the Jin Yuan era appear "distinguishing the time and taking the acupoints" instead of "distinguishing the evidence and taking the acupoints"?Why has the "holographic needle" acupuncture point taken and ear acupuncture, head acupuncture, facial acupuncture, nose acupuncture, eye acupuncture, neck acupuncture, abdominal acupuncture, hand acupuncture, palm acupuncture, foot acupuncture, wrist and ankle acupuncture and other acupuncture methods of the whole body several times?These phenomena are related to the non-specificity of the acupoints. Especially in the 60s and 70s of the last century, scholars engaged in acupuncture and anesthesia research in major medical research institutions in Beijing, Shanghai and other places published more than 40 reports in major newspapers and periodicals, all of which determined that the acupoint effect is non-specific and specific. This suggests that we must combine the two**, which is important for both improving efficacy and rewriting and reconstructing acupoint theories. In the current application of external treatment, we should not ignore the non-specific role of acupoints, but should fully consider its wide application prospects. Only by combining specific and non-specific effects can we better exert the best effect of acupoints and provide more effective means for clinical practice.
The clinical research team led by Professor Chen Rixin has achieved remarkable results in the study of the law of acupoint heat sensitization. They not only realized that there are two states of resting and sensitization in the acupoints, but also found that the heat-sensitive parts of the acupoints are dynamic and do not completely coincide with the original meridian acupoints. This discovery is of great significance for understanding the nature and properties of acupoints. Through clinical practice, they found that the use of heat-sensitive acupoints to apply moxibustion can improve the ** effect, which is consistent with the acupuncture point theory of the Neijing. In addition, Professor Wei Jia's article "Moving Acupoints" published in the "Bulletin of Traditional Chinese Medicine" put forward the view that acupoints should be divided into two categories: dynamic and static. Although Professor Wei Jia's acupoints are mainly based on pressure-sensitive point positioning, Chen Rixin et al.'s research is based on heat-sensitive point positioning. This achievement obviously enriches and develops the theory of moving cavitation, and provides new methods and means for the application of moving cavitation detection. The description of the positioning of acupoints in the Neijing reflects the characteristics of acupoints, which are dispersed, dynamic and static, and reflects the original ecological characteristics of acupoints. This is significantly different from later generations' views on the location of acupoints. Whether the theory of acupoints in the Neijing is more in line with the materialist dialectical viewpoint and the law of the development of things is worthy of our in-depth consideration. At the same time, we should also seriously think about how to return to the basics and truly reflect the original appearance of the acupoints. Finally, it should be emphasized that acupoints and acupuncture are two different concepts in the Neijing, and their connotations are also different. This point needs special attention in clinical practice to avoid misdiagnosis and mistreatment. Through in-depth research and the acupoint theory of the Neijing, we can better understand the core ideas and clinical practice of acupuncture and moxibustion of traditional Chinese medicine, and make greater contributions to the cause of human health.