Historical origin of the "indications of the five-shu" in Nanjing and analysis on the five-elements ideological background

Abstract

Nanjing (Yellow Emperor's Classic of Eighty-one Difficult Issues), as one of the classics of traditional Chinese medicine, is concerned as the supplement and summarization of some theory recorded in the Huangdi Neijing (Inner Canon of Yellow Emperor). Five-shu point is one of the commonly used important acupoints, the "indications of the five-shu" raised by Nanjing has been weighing a lot since the beginning, not only in the constructing of acupuncture-moxibustion theory, but in clinical practice. However, "indications of the five-shu" was actually deduced from the five-elements theory in the first place. On the one hand, by analyzing its original idea and method during construction, the fallacies in theoretical building of the "indications of the five-shu" were clarified. On the other hand, under the comparison of Huangdi Neijing and Nanjing, the research argues that the similar texts on the relation of five-shu and seasons have fundamental differences. By a further discussion on the social ideological background of the relation of five-shu points and seasons in Huangdi Neijing, the main problem of the "indications of the five-shu" recorded in Nanjing is put forward, both theoretically and methodologically. In conclusion, the use of theories like the "indications of the five-shu " should be revaluated rather than directly put into practice.