The Evolution Of The Ancient Pulse Diagnosis Method And Acupuncture

The ancient pulse-taking methods mean those pulse-taking methods utilized in diagnosing and treating disease during the period from the oldest one we found to the outcome of the book 'Mai Jing' . People usually know only the wrist pulse-taking with cun,guan&chi admeasuring different zangfu in 'Mai Jing'. But this method has long been oppugned since its beginning. Different doctor has different apprehension about the theory, which affected different explanations about disease.When recovering the classics, we find that many ancient pulse-taking methods which had been used widely at that time hidden in the books. For example, there're overall pulse-taking method, three portions and nine pulse-takings, comparing renying pulse and wrist pulse,etc in Huang Di Nei Jing; taking fuyang pulse & taking shaoyin pulse in Shang Han Za Bing Lun. And the wrist pulse-taking between Nan Jing and Mai Jing is quite different. What's more, the author find some pulse-taking methods of several ancient doctors in non-medical books, some in medical books written by dubious authors.This paper try to figure out a curve about the development and evolvement of pulse-taking methods, and discuss its effect on the acupuncture, thus we can find the best pulse-taking method to fit acupuncture, and perfect the diagnosis and treating system.Through studying, the author draw a conclusion that pulse-taking method came out at the beginning of TCM(Traditional Chinese Medicine). It originated from the checking of pulse in whole body, accurately speaking, including the checking of blood vessel.The pulse-taking method had different characteristic in different periods later.The early pulse-taking method was combined by inspection.During the period of Mawangdui medical books, the pulse-taking method was raw overall pulse-taking method.Doctor checked the pulse not only with fingers but also with eye to see the pulse's activation and the color of skin. This combining method continued in Nei Jing period. Beside the combining of color-diagnosis and pulse-taking,Nei Jing has also the combining of pulse-taking and chi-skin touching.But the pulse-taking method gradually came to its independence since Nei Jing. For instance, the three portions and nine pulse-takings, comparing renying pulse and wrist pulse were both pure pulse-taking method without the combining of checking others. The pulse-taking methods in Nei Jing are all comparing method, and the comparing renying pulse and wrist pulse were the most important one.The author find some characteristic of Bianque pulse-taking method in ' the biographies of Bianque and Canggong' in Shiji and Mai Jing. He considers that Bianque used yinyang pulse-taking method and recognised the time, while the Canggong pulse-taking method can only be seen in ' the history of Bianque and Canggong', it shoud be a kind of writst pulse-taking method, and the gist was the pulse condition.Nan Jing's pulse-taking method was under the background of space-time. In the author's eyes, it is the best in all pulse-taking methods. On the foundation of basic pulse condition in every season, it draw a conclusion through checking yinyang such as the cun & chi, the site of the pulse, the minor or intensity, and then cooperated with relative acupuncture. Thus organised a diagnosis-treating system combining theory and method.Zhang Zhongjing brought the pulse-taking method from Yijing genre into Jingfang genre. He studied the ancient methods and regarded them, his pulse-taking method keeped the soul of the ancient pulse-taking methods, and it was also a kind of yinyang pulse-taking method. What's more, Zhang Zhongjing developed the method of taking fuyang pulse and taking shaoyin pulse .Mai Jing was compiled by Wang Shuhe in Xijing dynasty. Wang Shuhe excerpted some ancient pulse-taking method, such as Four-season pulse-taking method and Eight extra-meridians pulse-taking method, but they are all very simple. Wang Shuhe explained the Praise to pulse-taking method ,Which is the origin of aftertime pulse-taking method. But the dispute about the zangfu arranging on the wrist pulse's sites never came to a conclusion because of different apprehension.During the process of the evolvement of pulse-taking method, it's a bold amelioration that overall pulse-taking method evolve to the comparing of renying pulse and wrist pulse. The lung meridian and stomach meridian both depend on the push of stomach qi,they come from the same resource, so they are combined together.This is the philosophic theory and inner mechanism. And the forming of writst pulse-taking method is a greater breakthrough in theory, and the ultimate causion of the forming is the theory of the circulationg of the twelve meridians.Nowadays pulse-taking method became the main method of pulse-taking instead of ancient pulse-taking method mainly because of the great influence of 'Maijing'.The distribution of Zangfu on the wrist pulse in Nanjing is the most reasonable.The author regard that Nei Jing and Nan Jing discussed most about the relationship between pulse-taking and acupuncture. Nei Jing most emphasized on the direction of acupuncture by pulse-taking , which go through the whole process of acupuncture. While Bianque acupunctured with the direction of time and pulse condition,Canggong acupunctured with the direction of syndrome.Nan Jing emphasized on the five Shu-points,it judged deficiency and excess by yinyang pulse-taking method,and then reinforced deficiency & reduced excess by wuxing acupuncture, the cooperation of the pulse-taking method and acupuncture were perfect. Zhang Zhongjing , Huatuo and Wang Shuhe used mostly herb and only a few acupuncture. In using acupuncture, they often judged yin and yang, deficiency and excess by syndrome and pulse condition, and abided by the basic principle that yang syndrome shoud be acupunctured and yin syndrome be moxibusted , deficiency shoud be reinforced and excess be reduced.