Five Elements Acupuncture

From “Acupuncture and Moxibustion Hospital of CACMS”

Five-element acupuncture is a very old and magical acupuncture method, which can not only treat various physical diseases, but also magically adjust people’s mind and spirit. The so-called mind refers to people’s emotions, personality, life, values, and other spiritual attributes. As early as in the era of Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic), sages put forward the idea of regulating the mind with acupuncture. According to Neijing, the supreme rule of acupuncture and moxibustion is to master the human mind, and then master the human body function and symptoms, and treat it accordingly. (“The truth of every stab must first cure the gods, the five zang organs have been determined, the nine hou have been prepared, and then the needle is stored…”) A qualified acupuncture-moxibustion doctor must be able to grasp the changes of the patient’s body, but a wise doctor must be able to adjust the changes of the patient’s mind. (“The coarse guard the form, the upper guard the god.”) Our body is like a house, “God” is the master of the house. “God” has absolute dominance over our body, can make the human body sick, but also can make the disease heal. Symptoms are a signal of “God” to us for help.

The history of five-element acupuncture can be traced back to the sixth century, and it was spread from China to Korea and Japan. For more than 1,400 years, the five-element acupuncture has been separated from the political, economic, and cultural development of China, so it has not undergone great changes with the acupuncture of later generations in China. In contrast, five-element acupuncture has maintained its operation and treatment concept from 1,400 years ago.

According to the five-element acupuncture, human beings are divided into five types: wood, fire, earth, gold, and water, which was recorded as early as in Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic). (“Between heaven and earth, within the six, not from the five, man should also… Five shapes of gold, wood, water, fire and earth, other five colors, different five shapes of people… The wooden man… People in the shape of fire… Earth-shaped people… The golden man… People in the shape of water…”)

The five elements of wood, fire, earth, gold, and water exist simultaneously in the human body, and each line corresponds to a way of thinking, and a person is destined from the moment of birth that one of the five lines will become the “protection line” of life. One line of protection will dominate the other four lines, affecting our personality, thinking, and physical characteristics throughout life.

Any symptom that makes the body uncomfortable or a state that makes the mind uncomfortable is a manifestation of an imbalance of the five elements. It is a manifestation of an imbalance of the five elements, such as climate, diet, stress, shock, or trauma.

The ancient five-element acupuncture and moxibustion does not completely distinguish the changes of zangfu, qi and blood, Yin and Yang based on symptoms as the basis of syndrome differentiation, but more takes the “five-type person” as the syndrome differentiation system. “Any discomfort is the appeal of the five elements.” Because of the great differences in constitution and thinking, people of the five types respond to external stimuli completely differently, and their diseases are also very different. But the same thing is that as long as it can effectively “rescue” and protect the line, it can greatly promote the self-healing ability of the human body.

Therefore, the five elements acupuncture is not in the treatment of diseases, but in the treatment of people. Therefore, the five elements acupuncture is most suitable for all kinds of psychosomatic diseases, especially in the adjustment of various psychological discomforts, such as sadness, irritability, anxiety, distress, depression, and so on, and has obvious advantages.