典藏书目

Treats five labors and seven injuries in both men and women, qi deficiency and blood weakness, bone-steaming tidal fever, cough with phlegm and wheezing, as well as emaciation and stubborn diseases. Use a wax cord to measure the patient's mouth length, place it on a square piece of paper, cut a small hole in the center. Take another long wax cord, step on it with the foot, align the front end with the big toe, and cut off the back end at the transverse crease of the sole. If the woman has bound feet, making measurement inconvenient, take the Jianjing (GB21) point on the right shoulder blade, measure from there to the tip of the middle finger, and cut off. Then drape it over the laryngeal prominence (Jiehou), letting both ends hang down towards the back. At the very end of the cord, mark the spot with a pen. Place the previously cut paper with the central hole over this marked spot, divide the paper into four quadrants, and moxa-burn each corner of the paper for seven moxa cones (zhuang).

Note: The "Four Flowers" acupoints were named by ancients who feared people might not know how to locate points accurately, so they established this expedient method, which should correspond to the Back-Shu points of the five zang organs. Locating points according to this method indeed fits the treatment of bone-steaming labor heat and blood deficiency with hyperactive fire, thus these points are selected for tonification. The Gallbladder is the fu organ of the Liver; since the Liver stores blood, the Gallbladder Shu point is also selected. Cui only mentioned "Four Flowers" without explicitly naming the Ge Shu (BL17) and Dan Shu (BL19) points, likely to prevent unskilled practitioners from using them indiscriminately. However, since mouth sizes and widths vary among individuals, measuring the Four Flowers by this method is not entirely accurate. It is better to palpate the spine to locate Ge Shu (BL17) and Dan Shu (BL19) correctly, and then moxa-burn the Gao Huang (BL43) points; this approach will invariably be effective.

Ge Shu (BL17): Located bilaterally below the seventh thoracic vertebra, 1.5 cun lateral to the posterior midline.
Dan Shu (BL19): Located bilaterally below the tenth thoracic vertebra, 1.5 cun lateral to the posterior midline.
Gao Huang Shu (BL43): Located bilaterally one fen below the fourth thoracic vertebra and two fen above the fifth thoracic vertebra, 3 cun lateral to the posterior midline, in the intercostal space between the fourth ribs.

Indications include deficiency and weakness of yang qi, various stubborn cold conditions caused by wind pathogens, nocturnal emission, rebellious qi ascending, hiccups, dysphagia (ge ye), madness, confusion, and hundreds of other disorders. For point location, the patient should sit flat on a bed, knees bent and aligned with the chest, wrapping both hands around the knees to spread the scapulae apart, ensuring no movement. Press slightly below the fourth thoracic vertebra by one fen and slightly above the fifth thoracic vertebra by two fen with fingers, marking the spot with ink. Draw a horizontal line with ink spanning approximately six cun, located in the intercostal space of the fourth rib, inside the scapula, in the empty space between ribs, accommodating roughly the width of a side-placed finger. Rub the surface of the paraspinal muscles, in the hollow between bones and tendons. If pressing causes pain radiating to the chest and ribs felt by the patient, this is the true acupoint. Moxa-burn up to one hundred or even one thousand cones. After moxibustion, if qi stagnation feels excessive, moxa-burn Qihai (CV6) and Zusanli (ST36) to drain fire and strengthen the lower jiao. After moxibustion, yang qi becomes abundant; one should rest appropriately for self-care and avoid indulgence in desires.