Valuable Points for Acupuncturists to Know and Use

Ma Danyang (originally named Ma Yu) was a famous Daoist (1). He was born around 1123 A.D. to a very wealthy family in Haining (Shandong Province), and as a young man developed talents in the fields of acupuncture and poetry. In fact, he is well known today for his poem (ode, song) about 12 acupuncture points, relayed in this article. Soon after marrying Sun Bu'er, he and his wife followed the Daoist Wang Chongyang (1113-1170). Wang was one of the leading Daoists of China, and wrote several important works, including the text Chongyang Zhenren Jinguan Yusuo Jue (Master Wang Chongyang's Instructions on the Golden Gate and Jade Lock) which described, among other things, visualizations of the world within the body as part of a meditation practice in cultivating qi. Ma and his wife built a Daoist retreat for Wang, gave up their extensive family property holdings, and became Daoist monks, living a simple and peaceful life. Eventually they separated in order to pursue their celibate meditative activities in solitude. Before his death, Wang conferred on Ma the secret method of the Complete Perfection (quanzhen). Ma practiced this and became known as one of the Perfect Ones Who Embrace Oneness. He was thus acknowledged as one of the seven perfect ones of the north, as was his wife (see the Appendix). He had written two books: Shenguang Can (Brilliance of Divine Light) and Dongxuan Jinyu Ji (Gold and Jade Essays of the Pervasive Mystery). The name that he took, Danyang, translates as Cinnabar Yang, meaning Yang Elixir.

Ma Danyang had written an ode to 11 miraculous acupuncture points, which was published within the text of Jade Dragon Manual in 1329. A century later, Xu Feng (who is known for introducing the eight extraordinary meridians) added a 12th point and gave the ode the new name: Song of the Twelve Points Shining Bright as the Starry Sky and Able to Heal All the Many Diseases. This song was translated to English and published as an appendix to The Golden Needle and Other Odes of Traditional Acupuncture by Richard Bertschinger in 1991 (2). The original name of the 11 point song by Ma Danyang is instructive: Song of the Eleven Points Responding to the Stars in the Sky. It is likely that Ma was thinking not only of the wondrous nature of the points, later described as shining bright as the starry sky, but also about the influence of the stars on the points, as part of the Daoist interpretation of acupuncture.

The ode (song) is structured very simply. Each verse is comprised of phrases of five characters; also, except for the introduction, all verses (describing each of the acupuncture points) are comprised of 8, 10, or 12 of these five-character phrases. After an introduction naming all the points and indicating that certain points might be used in pairs, each of the 12 points is described in three parts:

First, there is a brief description of the point's location and methods of finding it.
Second, there is a list of conditions that can be treated by using this acupuncture point. The conditions are primarily those with a sudden onset of symptoms, but they may also be problems that are recurring or continuous. Spasms, pain, stiffness, swellings, fullness, fevers, and digestive system disorders are the main ones mentioned.
Third, there may be a comment about how to perform the treatment, such as depth of insertion or use of moxibustion, and there is always a comment about the wonderful effects of the treatment, usually pointing to immediate results, or to bringing peace, or magically vanquishing the disorder.
The 12 points are presented in the table below, including a concise listing of the indications given by Ma Danyang in the ode (the point LV-3 is the 12th point that was added later and described in the same style as used by Ma). After the table, the entire ode is provided, with slight editing of the translation by Bertschinger.

Ma Danyang's 12 Star Points

Point Name	Translation	Meridian Location	Indications According to Ma Danyang's Song
Zusanli	Three Miles	ST-36	swollen belly, cold stomach, intestinal noises, diarrhea, swollen leg, sore knee or calf, injury from cold, weakness or emaciation, parasites, aging
Neiting	Inner Courtyard	ST-44	chill in the hands and feet, hatred of voices, skin rashes, sore throat, continuous yawning, toothache, intermittent fevers without appetite
Quchi	Crooked Pond	LI-11	aching elbow, hand cannot close, arm very weak, throat closes up, repeated or persistent fevers, severe lesions over the whole body
Hegu	Joining Valleys	LI-4	headache with a swollen face, malarial fevers, burning then cold, tooth decay, nose bleed, lock jaw and unable to speak
Weizhong	Middle Equilibrium	BL-40	lumbago, especially when severe and leading up the back, aching muscles which cannot extend, rheumatism which returns irregularly, knee stiffness
Chengshan	Receiving the Mountain	BL-57	severe back-pain, hemorrhoids, bowel difficulties, swollen ankles and knees, repeated or continuous tremors or aches, cramps and spasms
Taichong	Supreme Rushing	LV-3	sudden fits and convulsions, swollen throat or breast, both feet unable to walk, all types of hernias, cloudy mist in front of the eyes, aching waist
Kunlun	Kunlun Mountains	BL-60	spasms and pain in the tailbone, difficulty in breathing, fullness in the chest, being unable to walk or even step out, painful movement
Huantiao	Jumping Circle	GB-30	lower back pain, rheumatism aggravated by cold or damp, pain running down from thigh to calf
anglingquan	Yang Mound	GB-34	swollen knee accompanied by numbness, one-sided pains due to cold, inability to raise the foot, sitting or lying as someone old and weak
Tongli	Penetrating Within	HT-5	stammering and stuttering, distress, irritation, palpitations, limbs go heavy, head, face, and cheeks turn red, lack of appetite and expression
Lieque	Narrow Defile	LU-7	migraine, the whole body lifeless with wandering pains, phlegm incessantly blocks above or in lockjaw

The appearance of the verses, in Chinese characters, was like this one for Zusanli (3):

Here is the translated text of the entire song:

Song of the Twelve Points Shining Bright as the Starry Sky and Able to Heal All the Many Diseases

[1] [2] [3] [4]