A comparative study of the unearthed Qin and Han meridian relic documents and 『Lingshu·Jingmai』 on the circulation of the six Yang meridians-centered on the Lao Guan Shan lacquer figure- = A comparative study of the unearthed Qin and Han meridian relic documents and 『Lingshu·Jingmai』 on the circulation of the six Yang meridians-centered on the Lao Guan Shan lacquer figure-

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In this paper, we analyze the contents of the six Yang meridians in the Mawangdui medical textiles, the 『Zú Bì ShíYī MàiJiū Jīng(足臂十一脈灸經)』, the 『YīnYáng ShíYī MàiJiū Jīng(陰陽十一脈灸經)』, the Zhangjiashan medical text 『Hàn Jiǎn Mài Shū(张家山汉简 『脈書』)』, the Shuangbao Mountain lacquer figure, the Laoguan Mountain lacquer figure, and the 『Shí èr Mài(十二脈)』 of the Laoguan Mountain medical text, which have been excavated since the 1970s. Through comparison, the meridians carved with white lines on the Lao Guan Shan lacquer figure are different from the “twelve meridians” in the 『Huáng Dì Nèi Jīng(黃帝內經)』’s Classic of Internal Medicine, and it is believed that the formation process of meridians developed from the “eleven meridians system” to the “twelve meridians system” It is believed that the development of the meridians from the “eleven-meridians system” to the “twelve-meridians system” is a result of the inconsistent naming of the early meridians, the irregular number of meridians, and the development of the meridians from a linear one-way flow to the uninterrupted circular movement of the 『Huáng Dì Nèi Jīng(黃帝內經)』.
The “eleven meridians system” of the early meridian theory was not a manifestation of the fact that the meridian theory was not yet well developed, but a result of the influence of the ancient philosophical concepts of the time, “the unity of heaven and figure”, “the six heavens and the five piles of the earth” and “the unity of heaven and figure” thinking. This concept had a significant impact on the formation of the early meridian theory and has been a constant in the development of meridian theory, which can be identified as one of the biggest factors influencing the development of meridian theory.
The “Hand Sanyang meridians” has its own characteristics in the naming of the early meridians, and is unstable compared to the development of the naming of the Foot Sanyang meridians. The order of the use of “Dà(大)”, “Tài(泰)” and “Tài(太)” in the naming of the meridians reflects the sequence of the development of the ancient script. The word “(鉅)巨Jù” in 『YīnYáng ShíYī MàiJiū Jīng(陰陽十一脈灸經)means “big” and is a dialect expression used in the Qi-Song region. The order of the meridians named in the meridian literature is recorded first after the foot meridians hand meridians, the foot meridians are longer than the hand meridians circulation route, the circulation distribution is more extensive, the main disease is more, the foot meridians is more important than the hand meridians.
The “eleven meridians system” of the Mawangdui medical text is not a manifestation of the imperfect development of the meridian theory. but is influenced by the mathematical concept of “heaven, six and earth, five”, which considers heaven as yang, earth as yin, heaven as six and earth as five. With this concept, eleven meridians were created. The lack of the foot three yin meridians in the “ten meridians system” of the Shuangbao Mountain lacquer figure is not a sign of slow development of the foot three yin meridians, but because the foot three yin meridians represent the death wait, which is a sign of death. On the contrary, during the Western Han Dynasty, the imperial nobility prayed for immortality. and believed that the Governor’s Vessel had the function of nourishing health and promoting longevity, so a Governor’s Vessel was added. The development of the twelve channels of the 『Líng Shū·Jīng Mài(靈樞·經脈)』 was influenced by the ancient “Twelve of Heaven”, which changed the number of channels from 11 to 12. It can be seen that the development of meridian theory has not been smooth and has been influenced by the impact of ancient philosophical views and cultures and the different doctrines of different medical schools.
This is a reflection of the development of the meridians and the incorporation of the superficial parts of the body into the route of the meridians, which is probably due to the need for the Lao Guanshan lacquer figure to be used as a teaching tool and to provide a more intuitive explanation. The development of the meridians from independent, straight lines to circular channels of movement “like rings without end” was influenced by the concept of “the unity of heaven and figure”, believing that the figure meridians should run uninterruptedly, like the sun and moon, in accordance with the laws of nature. The change in the direction of the flow of the meridians led to the confusion of the “branch” and “straight” routes of the foot-sun meridian of the 『Líng Shū·Jīng Mài(靈樞·經脈)』. There are only a few branches in the Mawangdui medical text, but there are 23 meridians in the 『Líng Shū·Jīng Mài(靈樞·經脈)』, which shows the rapid development of meridian branches. The function of this branch of the foot sun “into the anus” of the Laoguanshan lacquer figure is shown as the relationship between the circulation distribution of the meridians and the disease symptoms. By the time the 『Líng Shū·Jīng Mài(靈樞·經脈)』 became available with the proliferation of branches, the clinical significance was less evident, and it is presumed that the branches existed at this time more to supplement the significance of the twelve meridian theory. The question of the origin of the meridians and acupuncture points has been the focus of academic debate, and the excavation of the Laoguanshan lacquer figure has provided new evidence to resolve this academic question.
The “Twelve meridians” represented by the white lines of the Laoguanshan lacquer figure are important for studying the development of the “Eleven meridians” in Mawangdui to the “Twelve meridians” of the 『Líng Shū·Jīng Mài(靈樞·經脈)』. This transitional stage in the development of early meridian theory is of great significance, and the Laoguanshan lacquer figure can fill the theoretical gap in this stage.