Research on medical needles excavated from the tomb of LIU He, Marquis of Haihun in Nanchang.
10.13703/j.0255-2930.20241114-k0003
- Author:
Zhenhua WU
1
;
Chuning WANG
2
;
Qi ZHOU
3
;
Jun YANG
1
Author Information
1. Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Nanchang 330095, China.
2. Department of History, Peking University; Institute of Chinese Studies, Peking University.
3. Institute of Chinese Medical History Literature, Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700; Key Scientific Research Base of TCM Heritage (Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences), National Cultural Heritage Administration, Beijing
- Publication Type:English Abstract
- Keywords:
Haihun Marquis tomb;
Lingshu;
needles of acupuncture and moxibustion;
nine needles
- MeSH:
Acupuncture Therapy/instrumentation*;
Needles/history*;
China;
Humans;
History, Ancient;
Moxibustion/instrumentation*;
Medicine, Chinese Traditional/instrumentation*
- From:
Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion
2025;45(6):861-866
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Several metal needles were unearthed from the tomb of LIU He, the Marquis of Haihun in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. Based on the inscription on the signboard unearthed from the tomb and the handed down literature, these needles should be closely related to the "nine needles" mentioned in the handed down medical classics. These needles should be used in acupuncture and moxibustion at that time, and their diameters are close to the specifications and dimensions of the needles in the modern time, which provides the important cultural relics data of the Han Dynasty for the research of early acupuncture and moxibustion of traditional Chinese medicine. This article uses the method of mutual verification of unearthed cultural relics, unearthed documents, and handed down documents to investigate the acupuncture method of medical needles unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Haihun, and to sort out and demonstrate the development of acupuncture and moxibustion in the Western Han Dynasty. The medical needles unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Haihun and their needling techniques can be confirmed by the "nine needles" in the Lingshu (Miraculous Pivot), the "acupuncture treatment" in the bamboo slips of the Han Dynasty in the Northwest, and the "acupuncture atlas" on the Han portrait stone. It proves that the manufacturing of needles for acupuncture and moxibustion and the therapeutic methods and techniques of acupuncture had been greatly developed in the middle and late stages of the Western Han Dynasty.
