Constitution and flow of knowledge in acupuncture-moxibustion discipline from three debatable questions

Abstract

The paper studied the constitution and flow of knowledge in acupuncture-moxibustion discipline based on three questions. (1) Can a doctor of acupuncture-moxibustion be incapable of patient treatment? (2) Can acupuncture-moxibustion practice without the theoretical foundation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) be recognized as an authentic acupuncture? (3) Are scholars who had not learned acupuncture-moxibustion incompetent in making any acupuncture-related remarks? The knowledge of acupuncture-moxibustion discipline can be divided into two parts, its core and periphery. The core is the theory and practice of acupuncture and moxibustion, witch constitutes the academic knowledge system of acupuncture and moxibustion, while the periphery absorbs interdisciplinary intellectual sources, and they commonly constitute the knowledge system of acupuncture-moxibustion discipline and the knowledge flows through time, space, and the crowd regardless of its core or periphery.