How Acupoints Came to Be and Why Acupuncture Can Treat Illness？

It's important to note that when we talk about acupuncture, it actually consists of two treatments: needling and moxibustion. Needling involves inserting stone or silver needles into the body's acupoints, while moxibustion uses lit moxa sticks to heat the acupoints. But why can acupuncture treat diseases, and why must acupuncture target specific acupoints?

Before answering this, let's first discuss why humans have acupoints. As previously mentioned, humans are part of the universe, created through the union of heaven and earth. Humans were not randomly created but are a microcosm, a miniature version of the universe, based on the larger cosmic system. The movement of qi (energy) in the universe is expressed and manifested in the human body.

Western medicine views the formation of the human body as a result of genetic material, which determines protein expression, and thus how we are formed. However, this is a case of mistaking the effect for the cause. Genetic material is the result, not the cause. Humans were created first, and then came the species and DNA—not the other way around.

Returning to the main topic, why do humans have acupoints, and why are there exactly 365 of them? This corresponds to the sun's annual cycle, which completes one degree per day over 365 days. The movement of qi in heaven and earth follows this pattern, so the qi in the human body also moves in this way. The qi of heaven and earth runs in a grand cycle within the human body, moving one degree per day, completing a full cycle in a year. The specific position of this daily movement in the body forms an acupoint. Just as we celebrate festivals on specific days in the year, acupoints correspond to the "nodes" of qi in the body.

Some people, misunderstanding the origin of acupoints, think they were discovered through clinical experience and were accidental. Some even mistakenly believe that ancient doctors used to poke themselves with sticks, and wherever it hurt, they marked it as an acupoint. This is incorrect. Acupoints are a natural result of the correspondence between heaven and humanity. The structure of the human body mirrors the structure of the universe.

When the body is invaded by pathogenic qi, the body's righteous qi will fight against it. Qi moves in cycles, both large and small. If one catches a cold in winter, for instance, this pathogenic qi can remain for a year, following the annual cycle of seasonal diseases. Just as we live our lives according to the cycles of years, days, and hours, the body's righteous qi cannot pass through if obstructed by pathogenic qi. The acupoint, as a node of qi, becomes the site of this struggle.

If the righteous qi wants to move, but the pathogenic qi blocks it, the struggle manifests as pain, swelling, or even abscesses and tumors. For example, when the gums swell and pus forms, releasing the pus brings relief. Ancient people treated such conditions by releasing the pathogenic qi using a technique called bian stone therapy—an ancient form of surgery. This technique was highly advanced, and the phrase "bian stone therapy" even became a Chinese idiom. Western surgery was, in fact, learned from Chinese medicine in modern times.

Later, the Yellow Emperor found bian stone therapy too painful and damaging to the body's righteous qi, and since herbal medicines could be toxic, he developed acupuncture as a substitute. Compared to bian stone therapy, acupuncture is minimally invasive. The reason acupuncture can treat illness lies in its ability to target the point where righteous and pathogenic qi intersect, releasing the pathogenic qi and curing the disease. Acupuncture is highly advanced and difficult to master, requiring an understanding of astronomy and calendrical science to accurately locate the pathogenic qi within the body. Due to its complexity, acupuncture gradually fell out of mainstream medical practice after the Tang Dynasty.

Today, many people use acupuncture, sometimes inserting multiple needles at once. If the needles miss the acupoints, this can severely deplete the body's yang qi. Instead of defeating the pathogenic qi, it's like firing a machine gun at oneself. Acupuncture is not something to be taken lightly, and needles should not be casually inserted into the body. Excessive medical treatment, especially using acupuncture for health maintenance when there's no illness, is dangerous. Moxibustion, which operates on similar principles, should also not be used for health maintenance without illness, as it can harm the body's righteous qi. If there is no pathogenic qi, who are you fighting against?