This article summarizes Professor Li Ziyong's clinical experience with the round-sharp needle.As one of the core needle types in the Huang Di Nei Jing(The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic)nine-needle system,the round-sharp needle has long been marginalized in clinical practice due to historical discontinuities in its transmission and insufficient research on its morphological characteristics,resulting in its unique therapeutic value remaining largely unrecognized.Through nearly three decades of clinical practice,Professor Li innovatively proposed the acupuncture concept of"unblocking passages and guarding the pivotal mechanism",guided by the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic principle that"ordinary practitioners focus on the joints,while superior practitioners focus on the pivotal mechanisms".Under this theoretical framework,he has extensively applied the round-sharp needle in clinical settings.With its unique design combining rounded and sharp features,the round-sharp needle demonstrates remarkable clinical efficacy by intervening at the fascial layer and releasing local fascial adhesions.It exhibits rapid onset and stable therapeutic outcomes.This article systematically reviews Professor Li's understanding of the round-sharp needle,its key operational techniques,and clinical case studies,aiming to establish a replicable paradigm for its modern application and promote the clinical translation of classical acupuncture theory.

The view of"inferior practitioner guarding the gate while the superior practitioner keeping the trigger"during the clinical practive was recorded in in Huang Di Nei Jing(Huangdi's Cannon of Medicine).This paper probes into the diagnosis and treatment of bi-syndrome from the perspecitve of"guarding the gate"and"keeping the trigger".It is proposed that the lesion of five body constituents(i.e.,skin,vessel,muscle,tendon,and bone)constitutes the injured"gate"of bi-syndrome,and the disharmony of qi and blood constitutes the"trigger"of the onset of bi-syndrome.The location of lesions will be found through examining the gate,and the state of qi and blood will be confirmed after checking the trigger.For the treatment of bi-syndrome,"guarding the gate"is to enable the normality of five body constituents,and"keeping the trigger"is to maintain the abundance and harmony movement of qi and blood,which cover the consideration of focal lesions and the regulation of holistic qi and blood."Guarding the gate"is as important as"keeping the trigger",and the two are interrelated.Only by carefully examining the gate of the lesions and strictly checking the trigger of qi-blood movement,it is possible to identify the deficiency of healthy qi and the excess of the pathogens,the nature of the pathogens and the severity of illness of bi-syndrome,and then the corresponding therapeutic methods can be performed to achieve the efficacy.The view of"guarding the gate"and"keeping the trigger"expands the clinical approach to the diagnosis and treatment of bi-syndrome.