A Brief History of Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion -- china.org.cn (2025)

Acupuncture and moxibustion are an important invention of theChinese nation which originated as early as in the clan communeperiod of the primitive society. The activities of human beingsappeared in China about 1,700,000 years ago. It was about 100,000years ago that China entered the clan commune period which lastedtill 4,000 years ago. In the ancient literature there were manylegends about the origin of acupuncture and moxibustion such as FuXi's creation of the therapeutic techniques with stone needles, andHuang Di's invention of acupuncture and moxibustion. The abovementioned Fu Xi and Huang Di in legend actually are therepresentatives of the clan commune of primitive society.

In the classics of two thousand years ago, it was frequentlycited that the acupuncture instruments were made of stone and werenamed bian stone. For example, in Commentary on the Spring andAutumn Annals, there is a paragraph in historical records for550 BC saying: "Praise pleasant to hear that does an ill turn isworse than advice unpleasant to hear that acts like a stone." FuQian in the second century explained that "stone" here meantbian stone. Quan Yuanqi who lived around the 5th-6thcenturies pointed out: "bian stone is an ancient appliancefor external treatment and was known by three names: 1. needlestone; 2. bian stone; 3. arrow-headed stone. In fact, theyare the same thing. Because there was no iron casting in ancienttimes, the needles were made of stone." This is correlated with thefact that the stone instruments were extensively used in theprimitive society. Primitive period in China was divided into twostages, the Old Stone Age (from remote antiquity to 10,000 yearsago) and the New Stone Age (from 10,000-40,000 years ago). In theOld Stone Age the ancestors knew how to use stone knives andscrapers to incise an abscess, drain pus and let blood out fortherapeutic purposes. With the accumulation of experiences theindications of the treatment by bian stone were graduallyincreased. In the New Stone Age because of the improvement in theirtechnique of stone manufacturing, the ancient people were able tomake bian stone as a special tool with more medical usage.In China, a bian stone needle 4.5 cun long wasdiscovered in the New Stone Age ruins in Duolun County of InnerMongolia. At one end, it is oval shaped with a semicircular edgeused for incising boils and abscesses, and at other end, it ispyramid shaped with a square base used for bloodletting. Two morebian stones were discovered as funerary objects in a lateNew Stone Age grave in Rizhao County of Shandong Province. They are8.3 cm and 9.1 cm in length respectively, with three-edged andcone-shaped ends used for bloodletting and regulating Qicirculation. The discovered relics of bian stone haveprovided powerful evidence that acupuncture originated early in theprimitive society.

According to the records of Chapter 12 of PlainQuestions: "The treatment with bian stone needle wasoriginated in the east coast of China where the inhabitants livedon fishery, and moxibustion was originated in the north where thepeople subsisted on animal husbandry. Because it was cold and windyin the northern areas, people had to warm themselves by fire.Living in camps and subsisting on milk, they easily suffered fromabdominal pain and distension by cold, suitable to be treated byheat. Through long-term accumulation of experiences, moxibustiontherapy and hot compression were created."

II. The AcademicAccomplishments of Ancient Acupuncture andMoxibustion

From the twenty-first century BC when China entered the slavesociety to 476 BC, Chinese history went through the Xia, Shang andWestern Zhou dynasties and the Spring and Autumn Period. Threethousand years ago in the Shang Dynasty the hieroglyphs ofacupuncture and moxibustion appeared in the inscriptions on bonesand tortoise shells. Because of the development of bronze castingtechniques there appeared bronze medical needles. But bianstone was still as the main tool for treating diseases. During thisperiod the philosophical thinking of Yin-yang and five elements wasformed, and in the field of medicine the ancient physicians had apreliminary understanding of pulse, blood, body fluid, Qi, Shen(manifestations of vitality), essence, five sounds, five colors,five flavors, six Qi, eight winds, etc., as well as the ideology ofrelevant adaptation of the human body to natural environment. Thusgerminated the sprout of the basic theory of traditional Chinesemedicine.

From the Warring States Period (475 BC-221 BC) to the QinDynasty (221 BC-207 BC) and to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD24), it was the establishing and strengthening stage of the feudalsystem in China. With the introduction and application of ironinstruments, bian stone needles were replaced by metalmedical needles. This broadened the field of acupuncture practice,bringing about a development of acupuncture by leaps and bounds. Asrecorded in the book Miraculous Pivot, there were ninekinds of metallic needles at that time with different shapes andusage. They are named as nine needles, including the needles forpuncturing, surgical incision and massage as well. In 1968, inMancheng County, Hebei Province, an ancient tomb of the Western HanDynasty buried in 113 BC was excavated. Among the relics, therewere four golden needles and five decaying silver ones. Thesediscoveries demonstrate the original shapes of the ancient needles.The doctors of this period treated diseases with multipletechniques. For example, the famous doctor Qin Yueren (or namedBian Que) who lived in about the fifth to fourth century BC, had agood command of medical knowledge in various clinical branches; hetreated patients by needling, moxibustion, herbal decoction,massage and hot compression. He rescued a critically ill prince byacupuncture, and this story went down in history. Another famousdoctor Chunyu Yi of the second century BC was good atacupuncture-moxibustion and herbal treatment. There is an accountof his case reports of twenty-five patients in the bookHistorical Records, in which four cases were treated byacupuncture and moxibustion. In the period of Warring States,ancient doctors began to generalize and summarize medicine andpharmacology, and writings on acupuncture and moxibustion appeared.Two silk scrolls recording meridians and collaterals written in thethird century BC, were discovered in excavation of the No. 3 HanTomb at Mawangdui, Hunan Province, which reflected the earliestoutlook of the theory of meridians and collaterals. The bookThe Medical Classic of the Yellow Emperor passed on to nowis a medical classic concerning the theory of traditional Chinesemedicine, with its authorship ascribed to the ancient EmperorHuangdi (the Yellow Emperor). It includes two parts: MiraculousPivot, in another name Huangdi's Canon ofAcupuncture, and Plain Questions. On the basis ofprevious literature, it takes the theories of Yin-yang, fiveelements, zang-fu, meridians and collaterals, mentality and spirit,Qi and blood, body fluid, five emotions and six exogeneouspathogenic factors as the basic knowledge of traditional Chinesemedicine, and acupuncture and moxibustion as the main therapeutictechnique; it explained the physiology and pathology of the humanbody, the principles of diagnosis, the prevention and treatment ofdiseases from the perspective of atheism, holistic conception, theviewpoint of development and change, and the relationship betweenthe human body and the natural environment. This laid a theoreticalfoundation of Chinese medicine and pharmacology, includingacupuncture and moxibustion. During this period also appeared thebooks The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Eighty-oneDifficulties and Essentials of Points,Acupuncture and moxibustion, both related to thefundamental theories of acupuncture and moxibustion, but the latterbook has been lost.

From the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220) to Three KingdomsPeriod (220-265), another generalization and summarization oftraditional Chinese medicine and pharmacology was made. Many famousdoctors paid great attention to the study of acupuncture andmoxibustion. For example, Hua Tuo who was the pioneer to applyherbal anesthesia for surgical operations only selected one or twopoints in acupuncture treatment and took much notice to thepropagation of needling sensation. He was ascribed the authorshipof Canon of Moxibustion and Acupuncture Preserved inPillow (lost). The outstanding medical doctor Zhang Zhongjingalso mentioned the methods of acupuncture, moxibustion, fireneedling, warm needling, etc. in his book Treatise onFebriles. He stressed very much on combining acupuncture withmedicine herbs as well as applying the treatment according to thedifferentiation of symptom complex. During this period the basictheories of acupuncture and moxibustion had already been formed,but the locations and names of acupuncture points were neitherunified nor systemized. A bamboo scroll of medicine of the EasternHan Dynasty which was excavated from Wuwei County in GansuProvince, mistook Zusanli to be located "five cun belowthe knee." Hua Tuo located Back-Shu points as "one cun bilaterallyalong the spine," with a great difference in locations and names ofthe points when compared with other books. Because the earliestacupuncture books contained mistakes and differences, and hadmissing information, the famous medical doctor Huangfu Mi compiledthe book Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustionin 256-260 by collecting the materials of acupuncture andmoxibustion from the ancient books Plain Questions, Canon ofAcupuncture and Essential of Points, Acupunctureand Moxibustion. The book consists of 12 volumes with 128chapters, including 349 acupuncture points. He edited and arrangedthe contents according to the following order: the theories ofZang-Fu, Qi and Blood, channels and collaterals, acupuncturepoints, the pulse diagnosis, manipulating techniques of acupunctureand moxibustion, and their clinical application in various branchesof medicine. It is the earliest exclusive and systemized book onacupuncture and moxibustion which has been one of the mostinfluential works in the history of acupuncture andmoxibustiom.

During the Jin Dynasty and the Northern and Southern Dynasties(265-581), the chaos was upheaved by wars. The physicians advocatedacupuncture and moxibustion therapy very much because of itsconvenient use in times of turmoil, and the masses of Chinesepeople also knew something about moxibustion therapy. The famousdoctor Ge Hong wrote the book to Prescriptions forEmergencies to popularize medical knowledge, especially thetherapeutic methods of acupuncture and moxibustion. From the JinDynasty to the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Xu Xi's family wereexpert in the art of healing for several generations, including XuQiufu, Xu Wenbo and Xu Shuxiang, all well known in the history ofacupuncture and moxibustion. In this period there appeared more andmore monographs on acupuncture and moxibustion, and charts ofacupuncture points, such as Acupuncture Chart from Lateral andPosterior Views and Diagrams of Meridians and Points.

During the Sui (581-618) and Tang dynasties (618-907), China wasundergoing the process of economical and cultural prosperity of thefeudal society. The science of acupuncture and moxibustion also hadgreat development. The famous physician Zhen Quan and hiscontemporary Sun Simiao both had good command of the knowledge oftraditional Chinese medicine and made deep study on acupuncture andmoxibustion. The Tang government, in the years around 627-649,ordered Zhen Quan and the others to revise the books and charts ofacupuncture and moxibustion. Sun Simiao compiled PrescritionsWorth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies (650-652), and ASupplement to the Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold(680-682)in which a great deal of clinical experiences inacupuncture treatment of varies schools were included. He alsodesigned and made Charts of Three Views, in which "thetwelve regular meridians and the eight extra meridians wereillustrated in various colors, and there were altogether 650points." They are the earliest multicolored charts of meridians andpoints, but have been lost. In addition, Yang Shangshan of TangDynasty compiled Acupuncture Points in Internal Classic,which revised the relevant contents of Internal Classic; Wang Taowrote the book The Medical Secrets of an Official, inwhich a host of moxibustion methods of various schools wererecorded. During this period there appeared monographs on thetreatment of special diseases, for example, the bookMoxibustion Method for Consumptive Diseases written by CuiZhidi, in which moxibustion treatment of tuberculosis wasdescribed. It has been found that the earliest block-printededition of acupuncture and moxibustion is A New Collection ofMoxibustion Therapy for Emergency, which appeared in the year862, specially describing the moxibustion therapy for emergencies.In the seventh century, acupuncture and moxibustion had alreadybecome a special branch of medicine, and those specialized in thisfield were entitled acupuncturists and moxibustionists. During theTang Dynasty, the Imperial Medical Bureau responsible for medicaleducation was divided into four departments of medical specialitiesand one department of pharmacology. And the department ofacupuncture was also one of them, in which there were one professorof acupuncture, one assistant professor, ten instructors, 20technicians and 20 students. The acupuncture professor was incharge of teaching the students the meridian-collaterals andacupuncture points, pulse diagnosis, and manipulating methods ofneedling.

In the Five Dynasties (907-960), Liao Dynasty (916-1125), SongDynasty (960-1279), Kin Dynasty (1115-1234) and Yuan Dynasty(1206-1368), the extensive application of printing techniquegreatly promoted the accumulation of medical literature and speededup the dissemination and development of Chinese medicine andpharmacology. Supported by the Northern Song government, the famousacupuncturist Wang Weiyi revised the locations of the acupuncturepoints and their related meridians, and made a supplement to theindications of acupuncture points. In 1026, he wrote the bookIllustrated Manual on the Points for Acupuncture andMoxibustion on a New Bronze Figure, which was block printedand published by the government. In 1027, two bronze figuresdesigned by the Wang Weiyi were manufactured, with the internalorgans set inside and the meridians and points engraved on thesurface for visual teaching and examination. These achievements andmeasures promoted the unification of the theoretical knowledge ofacupuncture points and meridians. The famous acupuncturist WangZhizhong of the Southern Song Dynasty wrote book Canon on theOrigin of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, in which he said stresson practical experiences including folk experiences, exerting agreat influence on later generations. The famous doctor Hua Shou ofthe Yuan Dynasty did textual research on the pathways of meridiansand collaterals as well as their relationship with acupuncturepoints. In 1341 he wrote the book Exposition of the FourteenMeridians, which further development the theory of meridiansand acupuncture and moxibustion. Some of them laid emphasis on thetheory and technique of a particular aspect. So different branchesof acupuncture and moxibustion were formed. For example, thepublication of Canon of Acupuncture and Moxibustion forChildren's Diseases (lost), Moxibustion Method forEmergencies, The Secret of Moxibudtion for Abscess and Ulcerand so on, showed the deep development of acupuncture andmoxibustion into various branches of the clinic. Xi Hong of theearly Southern Song Dynasty, who was from a famous acupuncturefamily, particularly stressed the manipulating technique ofacupuncture. And his contemporary Dou Cai wrote a book entitledBian Que's Medical Experiences, in which he highly praisedthe scorching moxibustion, and even gave a general anesthesia toavoid pain while applying scorching moxibustion. At the same time,Yang Jie and Zhang Ji observed autopsies, and advocated selectingacupuncture points in the light of anatomical knowledge. He Ruoyuand Dou Hanqin of the Kin and Yuan dynasty suggested that theacupuncture points should be selected according toziwuliuzhu (Chinese two-hour time on the basis of HeavenlyStems and Earthly Branches).

In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) acupuncture and moxibustion werework up to a climax that many problems studied deeper and broader.There were more famous doctors specialized in this field. Chen Huiof the early stage of Ming Dynasty, Ling Yun of the middle stage,and Yang Jizhou of the later stage, all were known far and wide inChina, and exerted a tremendous influence upon the development ofacupuncture and moxibustion. The main accomplishments in the MingDynasty were: 1. Extensive collection and revision of theliterature of acupuncture and moxibustion, e.g. the chapter ofacupuncture and moxibustion in the book Prescriptions forUniversal Relief (1406), A Complete Collection ofAcupuncture and Moxibustion by Xu Feng in the fifteenthcentury, An Exemplary Collection of Acupuncture andMoxibustion by Gao Wu in 1529, Compendium ofAcupuncture in 1601 based on Yang Jizhou's work, SixVolumes on Acupuncture Prescriptions by Wu Kun in 1618, andAn Illustrated Supplement to Systematic Compilation of theInternal Classic by Zhang Jiebin in 1624, etc. All these workswere the summarization of the literature of acupuncture andmoxibustion through the ages. 2. Studies on the manipulationmethods of acupuncture. On the basis of single manipulation ofacupuncture, more than twenty kinds of compound manipulation weredeveloped, and an academic contention was carried out aboutdifferent manipulation methods. Questions and AnswersConcerning Acupuncture and moxibustion by Wang Ji in 1530 wasthe representative work of that academic dispute. 3. Development ofwarm moxibustion with moxa stick from burning moxibustion with moxacone. 4. Sorting out the previous records of acupuncture siteslocated away from the Fourteen Meridians and formation of a newcategory of extra points.

From the establishment of the Qing Dynasty to the Opium War(1644-1840), the medical doctors regarded herbal medication assuperior to acupuncture, therefore acupuncture and moxibustiongradually turned to a failure. In the eighteenth century Wu Qianand his collaborators compiled the book Golden Mirror ofMedicine by the imperial order. In this book the chapter"Essential of Acupuncture and Moxibustion in Verse" took thepractical form of rhymed verse with illustrations. Li Xuechuancompiled The Source of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (1817),in which selection of acupuncture points according to thedifferentiation of syndromes was emphasized, acupuncture and herbalmedication were equally stressed, and the 361 points on theFourteen Meridians were systematically listed. Besides these books,there were many publications, but none of them were influential. In1822, the authorities of the Qing Dynasty declared an order toabolish permanently the acupuncture-moxibustion department from theImperial Medical College because "acupuncture and moxibustion arenot suitable to be applied to the Emperor."

III. Modern Decline andNew Life of Acupuncture and Moxibustion

Following the Opium War in 1840, China fell into a semi-feudaland semi-colonial society. The Revolution of 1911 ended the rule ofthe Qing Dynasty, but the broad masses of Chinese people were indeep distress until the founding of People's Republic of China, andacupuncture and moxibustion were also trampled upon. Introductionof Western medicine to China should have been a good turn, but thecolonists used it as a medium for aggression. They claimed:"Western medicine is vanguard of Christianity and Christianity isthe forerunner promoting the sale of goods." With such a purpose,they denounced and depreciated Chinese traditional medicine, andeven defamed acupuncture and moxibustion as medical torture andcalled the acupuncture needle a deadly needle. From 1914, thereactionary government of China continuously yelled to bantraditional medicine and adopted a series of measure to restrictits development, resulting in a decline of Chinese traditionalmedicine including acupuncture and moxibustion.

Because of the great need of the Chinese people for medicalcare, acupuncture and moxibustion got its chance to spread amongthe folk people. Many acuouncturists made unrelenting efforts toprotect and develop this great medical legacy by foundingacupuncture associations, publishing books and journals onacupuncture, and launching correspondence courses to teachacupuncture. Among those acupuncturists, Cheng Dan'an made aparticular contribution. At this period, in addition to inheritingthe traditional acupuncture and moxibustion, they made efforts onexplaining the theory of acupuncture and moxibustion with modernscience and technology. In 1899, Liu Zhongheng wrote a bookentitled Illustration of the Bronze Figure with Chinese andWestern Medicine, paving the way for studying acupuncturethrough combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine inthe history of acupuncture. In 1934 The Technique andPrinciples of Electro-acupuncture and the Study ofElectro-acupuncture written by Tang Shicheng et al. startedthe use of electro-acupuncture in China.

At this period, acupuncture and moxibustion gained its new lifein the revolutionary base area led by the Communist Party of China.In October of 1944, after Chairman Mao Zedong made a speech on theUnited Front of Cultural and educational workers inShanxi-Gansu-Ningxia border region, many medical doctors trained inWestern medicine began to learn and to do research work onacupuncture and moxibustion, and to spread its use in the army ofthe base area. In April 1945, an acupuncture clinic was opened inthe International Peace Hospital in the name of Dr. Norman Bethunein Yan'an. This was the first time that acupuncture and moxibustionentered into a comprehensive hospital. In 1947, the HealthDepartment of Jinan Military Area Command compiled and publishedPractical Acupuncture and moxibstion. An acupuncture trainingcourse was sponsored by the health school affiliated to the HealthBureau of the People's Government in northern China in 1948. Allthese efforts like the seeds spread over the liberated area, andpromoted the understanding of acupuncture and moxibustion forWestern medical doctors.

IV. Rejuvenation ofAcupuncture and Moxibustion in People's Republic ofChina

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, theChinese Government has paid great attention to inheriting anddeveloping the legacy of traditional Chinese medicine andpharmacology. In 1950 Chairman Mao Zedong adopted an importantpolicy to unit the doctors of both Western and traditional schools;in the same year, Zhu De wrote an inscription for the book NewAcupuncture, pointing out, "Chinese acupuncture treatment hasa history of thousands of years. It is not only simple andeconomical, but also very effective for many kinds of diseases. Sothis is science. I hope that the doctors of both Western andtraditional schools should unite for the further improvement of itstechnique and science." Deng Xiaoping also inscribed in the bookNewly Compiled Acupuncture with the following statement:"It is an important job for us to critically assimilate andsystematize our multifarious scientific legacies." With the supportand concern of the government leaders, authorities of differentlevels took a series of measures to develop Chinese medicine. Inthis way acupuncture and moxbustion were unprecedentedlypopularized and promoted.

In July 1951, the Experimental Institute ofAcupuncture-Moxobustion Therapy affiliated directly to the Ministryof Public Health was set up. It became the Institute of Acupunctureand Moxibustion attached to the Academy of Traditional ChineseMedicine in 1955. Since then the research organizations oftraditional Chinese medicine and pharmacology on provincial,municipal and autonomous regional levels have been set up one afterthe other, in which the research divisions of acupuncture andmoxibustion are included. In a few provinces and cities institutesof acupuncture and moxibustion have also been established. Thereare teaching and research groups of acupuncture and moxibustion inevery college of traditional Chinese medicine, and in some of thecolleges departments of acupuncture and moxibustion have beenfounded. In many city hospitals, special clinical departments ofacupuncture and moxibustion have been set up. Acupuncture andmoxibustion have been carried out even in commune hospitals. Manyinstitutes and colleges of Western medicine have put it into theteaching curriculum and taken it as a scientific research item.

To apply modern scientific knowledge to the research work on thebasis of exploring and inheriting the traditional acupuncture andmoxibustion is the prominent characteristic of the present researchon acupuncture and moxibustion. In the early 1950s, the main workwas to systematize the basic theory of acupuncture and moxibustion,to observe its clinical indications, and to make a systematicexposition of acupuncture and moxibustion with modern methods. Fromthe later stage of 1950s to the 1960s, the following were carriedout: deep study of the ancient literature, extensive summarizationof the clinical effect on various disease entities, propagation ofacupuncture anesthesia in clinical use, and experimental researchto observe the effect of acupuncture and moxibustion upon thefunctions of each system and organ. From the 1970s up to now,investigations have been done on the mechanism of acupunctureanesthesia and acupuncture analgesia from the viewpoints ofoperative surgery, anesthesiology, neuroanatomy, histochemistry,analgesia physiology, biochemistry, psychology and medicalelectronics, on the phenomena and nature of the meridians from theviewpoint of propagated acupuncture sensation and other angles, andon the relationship between acupuncture points and needlingsensation, between acupuncture points and zang-fu organs. Now theaccomplishments of acupuncture and moxibustion research gained inChina including sorting out of the ancient legacy, the clinicaleffect and the theoretical research by modern scientific methodsare in the forefront of the world.

V. The Dissemination ofAcupuncture and Moxibustion to the World

In the sixth century, acupuncture and moxibustion wereintroduced to Korea. The Emperor Liangwu sent medical doctors andcraftsmen to Baiji in AD 541. The Xinluo royal court of Korea in AD693 gave the title of Acupuncture Professor to those who taughtacupuncture students. It was also in the sixth century thatacupuncture and moxibustion were passed on to Japan. The ChineseGovernment presented the book Canon of Acupuncture to theMikado of Japan in AD 552. Zhi Cong of Wu County brought Chartsof Acupuncture and Moxibustion and other medicalbooks to Japan. In the seventh century, the Japanese governmentsent many doctors to China to study Chinese medicine. In AD 702 theJapanese government issued an Imperial Order to copy the medicaleducational system of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and set a specialityof acupuncture and moxibustion. Since the introduction of Chineseacupuncture and moxibustion to Japan Korea, acupuncture andmoxibustion have been regarded as an important part of theirtraditional medicine and handed down up to now. With the culturalexchanges between China and foreign countries, acupuncture andmoxibustion were also disseminated to Southeast Asia and thecontinent of India. In the sixth century, MiYun from Dun Huang ofGansu Province introduced Hua Tuo's therapeutic methods andprescriptions to Daochang State of north India. In the fourteenthcentury, Chinese acupuncturists Zou Yin went to Viet Nam to treatdiseases for the Vietnamese nobles, and he was given the honor ofMagi Doctor. Acupuncture and moxibustion began to be introduced toEurope in the sixteenth century. Later more and more people engagedin the cause of acupuncture and moxibustion. France made an earlycontribution to spreading this therapy through Europe.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, thepropagation of acupuncture and moxibustion to the world has beenspeeded up. In the 1950s, China gave assistance to the Soviet Unionand other Eastern European countries in training acupuncturists.Since 1975, at the request of the World Health Organization, theInternational Acupuncture Training Courses have been run inBeijing, Shanghai and Nanjing, and acupuncturists have been trainedfor many countries. Up to now, more than one hundred countries havehad acupuncturists, and in some countries teaching and scientificresearch on acupuncture and moxibustion have been carried out withgood results. Since its founding in 1979, All-China Association ofAcupuncture and Moxibustion has strengthened the connections andexchanges with the corresponding academic organizations of variouscountries; and China will make greater contributions tointernational development of acupuncture andmoxibustion.

(Source: Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Foreign Languages Press,1987)