In the history of Chinese medicine, especially the history of acupuncture, the contribution of medical scientist Wang Weiyi is indelible. His contribution is mainly reflected in the fact that he presided over the creation of the world-famous Bronze Figure of Acupuncture, wrote the epoch-making masterpiece of acupuncture "The Bronze Figure of Acupoints and Acupuncture on the Bronze Figure", and engraved the "Illustrated Classic" on stone to make it known to the public. It can be said that Wang Weiyi contributed rare treasures to Chinese acupuncture medicine.
Wang Weiyi (987-1067), named Weide, was a famous physician in the Northern Song Dynasty and one of the famous acupuncturists in my country. He once served as a medical officer in the Hanlin Academy, a minister of medicine in the palace, and taught medicine in the Imperial Medical Bureau. He was good at acupuncture. "History of the Song Dynasty·Yiwenzhi" contains three volumes of Wang's "Mingtang Jing". Unfortunately, due to various reasons, this book is not included in the list. The book has not been circulated in the world. Wang Weiyi devoted his whole life experience to the research and compilation of literature on acupuncture, especially Huang Fumi's "Acupuncture and Moxibustion Classics A and B". He sorted out many inconsistent works on acupuncture and moxibustion, removing the false and retaining the true.
Before the Song Dynasty, doctors mainly used acupuncture and moxibustion to treat diseases according to the human body meridian points specified in the "Huangdi Ming Jing" of the Tang Dynasty. However, the "Huangdi Mingtang Sutra" was lost due to the war in the late Tang Dynasty, which caused the subsequent acupuncture point selection to lose its standard. In order to re-establish national standards for acupuncture points, in the fourth year of Tiansheng of the Song Dynasty (1023), Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty ordered the Medical Officials Academy, the country's highest medical institution, to compile the "New Bronze Human Acupuncture Illustrations". The Medical Officials Academy assigned this task to Wang Weiyi, who served as medical officer in Song Renzong and Song Yingzong dynasties. After three years of hard work, Wang Weiyi completed 3 volumes of the new national standard for acupuncture and moxibustion acupuncture points, "New Bronze Figure of Acupuncture and Moxibustion on Acupoints", which was promulgated nationwide as a legal textbook. ("Lei Jing·Ren Zhi Si Hai" states: "Shu, Shu, and Shu are all common in this classic." Therefore, acupoints are also called Shu points and Shu points, and are also called acupoints, acupoints or channels.) For the convenience of preservation , and engraved them on five stone tablets. Song Renzong believed that "communicating one's mind is not as good as meeting one's eyes, and writing words is not as good as the form of a case." So he once again ordered the acupuncture bronze figures to be cast according to the "New Bronze Figures of Acupuncture".
Wang Weiyi is also the person in charge of the design of the acupuncture bronze figure. At that time, the imperial court organized skilled craftsmen from all over the country to cast, and in 1027, two identical acupuncture bronze figures were cast, which were later praised as the "Song Tiansheng Acupuncture Bronze Figures". The acupuncture bronze man is made of bronze and is about the same height as a young man, with a handsome face and a strong physique. The head has hair and a crown; the upper body is bare, and the lower body has shorts and a belt; the human figure is upright, with both hands stretched out, palms facing forward. The bronze figure is cast into two parts, front and rear, which can be disassembled and assembled using special plugs. There are a total of 657 acupoints on the bronze man's body, with 354 acupoint names marked on them. All acupoints have small holes drilled into them, and the acupoints are about 1.2 minutes deep. There are wood-carved internal organs and bones in the cavity of the bronze human body. Not only the outer shell can be opened, but also the thorax and abdominal cavity can be opened, and the internal organs and six internal organs in the thorax and abdominal cavity can be seen. The position, shape and size ratio of the organs are similar to those of normal adults. In the bronze human body, The fourteen meridians of the human body are engraved on the surface of the body, and the acupoint names of each meridians are marked in detail in strict accordance with the actual proportions of the human body. Even more peculiar is. It is very practical and the joints of the limbs can also be moved. Song Tiansheng Acupuncture Bronze Figure can be applied not only to acupuncture, but also to anatomy. It not only reflects the impeccable human body aesthetics of the working people at that time, but also reflects the exquisite casting craftsmanship of our ancients.
According to historical records, in the Song Dynasty, acupuncture medical examinations were held every year in the Medical Officer's Hospital. During the examinations, mercury was injected into the body of an acupuncture bronze man, and then the body was coated with yellow wax to completely cover the meridians and acupuncture points. The test taker cannot see the traces of mercury injection at all, and can only rely on experience to apply the needle. Once the test taker accurately inserts the acupuncture point, the mercury will flow out of the acupuncture point. Medical history books once called this strange phenomenon "the needle goes in and the mercury comes out."
The "Song Tiansheng Acupuncture Bronze Figure" is the earliest acupuncture bronze figure cast in China and even the world. It pioneered the use of bronze figures as human models for acupuncture teaching in the world, both in our country and in the world. All attracted great attention. Its successful casting provided a blind image mold for acupuncture teaching, making the teaching more standardized, visual and intuitive. At that time, it was very practical for guiding students in Taiyuan Hospital to learn acupuncture meridian points.
It can be said that the "Song Tiansheng Acupuncture Bronze Figure" is a rare treasure, but its wonder and peculiarity seem to have destined it to have a rough fate and vicissitudes of experience.
In 1126 AD, the Jin soldiers invaded the south in a large scale, broke through Bianjing, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, and plundered rare treasures. Since then, the two "Song Tiansheng Acupuncture Bronze Figures" have disappeared, which is undoubtedly a great loss.
So, where is the "Song Tiansheng Acupuncture Bronze Man" living?
Later generations have different opinions on the whereabouts of the lost bronze casters of the Song Dynasty. A common theory at present is that after the Jin army invaded Bianjing, one of the "Song Tiansheng Acupuncture Bronze Figures" may have been looted by the Jin army, and the other may have flowed into Xiangyang Prefecture.
Historical records have recorded: In the second year of Jingkang, Kang Wang Zhao Gou succeeded to the throne in Nanjing (now Shangqiu, Henan Province), and it was called the Southern Song Dynasty in history. Shortly after Zhao Gou ascended the throne, Xiangyang Prefecture sent the "Song Tiansheng Acupuncture Bronze Figure" back to the Southern Song Dynasty court. In 1232 AD, the Yuan Dynasty army attacked Bianjing, the capital of the Jin Kingdom.
After the Song Dynasty, rulers of all dynasties cherished the "Song Tiansheng Acupuncture Bronze Figure". The bronze figure experienced ups and downs in the past dynasties, and was finally repaired and moved to Beijing in the Yuan Dynasty. It remained there until the war in the late Ming Dynasty. annihilated in it. The eighth year of the reign of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty (1443).
After hundreds of years of disrepair, the acupuncture points and meridians of the bronze statue had become dim and blurred. Yingzong immediately ordered the bronze figure to be recast to replace the bronze figure of the Song Dynasty. People call him the "Bronze Man of Orthodox Acupuncture in the Ming Dynasty". The "Ming Zhengtong Acupuncture Bronze Figure" and the "Song Tiansheng Acupuncture Bronze Figure" are almost identical. However, the misfortune of his acupuncture bronze man was not over yet. In 1900, the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing and Qingtai Hospital was ransacked. It was occupied by Russia as the embassy area. It is said that the "Ming Zhengtong Acupuncture Bronze Figure" was probably robbed at this time. Later, researchers from the my country Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture discovered the "Ming Dynasty Orthodox Acupuncture Bronze Figure" in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. When the my country Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture requested the "Ming Dynasty Bronze Figure" from Russia through diplomatic channels, "Orthodox Acupuncture Bronze Man", he was politely rejected. So far, the whereabouts of this "Song Tiansheng Acupuncture Bronze Figure" are also unknown.
The Bronze Man and the Picture Book played a great role in the medical teaching and medical officer examination at that time, and made great contributions to the unification and development of acupuncture in our country.
From the advent of the "Illustrations", stone tablets, and bronze figures, it can be seen that Wang Weiyi's main academic thought is to standardize the meridian theory. Then, the "Tongren Acupuncture Illustrated Classic", published as an official document, systematically summarized the achievements of acupuncture before the Song Dynasty, and promoted the development of acupuncture in the Song Dynasty and later generations. The design and manufacture of the acupuncture bronze figure is a major innovation in the history of medicine. As the earliest human models and intuitive teaching aids for acupuncture, the two bronze figures are of great significance in the history of medicine and have been highly praised by acupuncturists throughout the history. Even today, the bronze figures of acupuncture still have high learning and research value.