Glossary

A group of eleven points considered to be the most important points of the body, encompassing all the others in their functions and efficacy, purportedly by the Jin dynasty Daoist physician Ma Dan-Yang 馬丹陽 and recorded in the Ode to the Jade Dragon 扁鵲神應針灸玉龍經, in a poem by Wang Guo-Rui 王國瑞 (1279 - 1368) and attributed with a lineage going back to the legendary Warring States physician Bian Xue 扁鵲 (407 – 310 BC). The poem goes:

Sanli [St-36], Neiting [St-44] points, Quchi [LI-11], Hegu [LI-4] penetrated, Weizhong [Bl-40] paired with Chengshan [Bl-57], Extending down to Kunlun [Bl-60], Huantiao [GB-30] and Yanglingquan [GB-34], Tongli [He-5] and Lieque [Lu-7], If used in tandem the method is tandem, If used alone the method is alone, With a dedicated heart remember this, Do not with the lazy speak of it, 360 points are not as good as 11 points, This method few people know, All locks are opened from their doors, The moment the needle treats the illness, The results are like hot water poured upon snow. To the unscrupulous do not pass this on, Keep yourself from slipping the secrets of nature.

Taichong Liv-3 was added later by Xu Feng 徐風 (1439) to make the current grouping and popularised further by Gao Wu 高武 (1529). They can be used alone or in paired groupings.

References: Nugent-Head, A. (2012). Ode to the Jade Dragon. Journal of Chinese Medicine, 98: 5-12.