Four large woodblock-printed acupuncture charts on paper, entitled collectively "Tai yi yuan bian xing tong ren quan tu" 太醫院編行銅人全圖 ["Complete Chart of the Copper Figurine Produced & Distributed by the Imperial Academy of Medicine"] by ACUPUNCTURE CHARTS, CHINESE

and individually "Zang fu ming tang tu," "Zheng ren ming tang tu," "Fu ren ming tang tu," & "Ce ren ming tang tu," each measuring ca. 850 x 290 mm., depicting views of the human body & demonstrating the Chinese arts of acupuncture and moxibustion, each with yellow-printed borders. [China]: 1812.




A handsome and complete set of four woodblock-printed acupuncture charts, created in China for the medical profession. Chinese acupuncture broadside charts are extremely rare survivals.


The authorship of the charts is sometimes ascribed to Hua Shou 滑壽 (ca. 1304-86), with Wu Kun 吳昆 (1552-1620) listed as collator. Some of the text included in the charts does indeed occur in Hua's Shi si jing fa hui 十四經發揮 [Elaborations on the Fourteen Channels] from 1341, but it is possible that the text in both cases goes back to an older source. The ascription is probably spurious. The charts as we know them are extant in a printing from 1782 (Qianlong 47). Our set carries the date 1812 (Jiaqing renshen) and the imprint "The Hall of the Mind's Virtue, of Chen of Guangdong" 粵東陳心德堂. The charts were later included in Liu Shilian's 劉仕廉 (1809-74) Yi xue ji cheng 醫學集成 [Complete Compendium of Medical Learning] from 1873. One of the charts has the title "Complete Chart of the Copper Figurine Produced and Distributed by the Imperial Academy of Medicine," which we might take as a title for the entire set.


Unlike the charts included in books, such as Liu's work, our charts were designed to be hung on the walls of doctors' offices for reference. Each has names and locations of meridians, along with other instructions and details, printed at top and along outer margins:


1. "Zang fu ming tang tu" 臟腑明堂圖 ["Acupuncture Chart of the Internal Organs"]. The chart shows the organs, spine, brain, etc. The notes at top describe the functions of the organs of the chest and abdomen and their relationships. There are many instructional side notes.


2. "Zheng ren ming tang tu" 正人明堂圖 ["Front View Human Profile Acupuncture Chart"]. The text on top describes the number and trajectories of the channels, with starting points in the hands and feet. Notes on the side of the body explain that some channels begin at certain acupuncture points.


3. "Fu ren ming tang tu" 伏人明堂圖 ["Back View Human Profile Acupuncture Chart"]. The notes on top begin by describing the length of the channels in the human body, specifying that they move by three inches with every inhalation and exhalation. In the 13,500 breaths of a 24-hour period, the channels move 50 degrees.


4. "Ce ren ming tang tu" 側人明堂圖 ["Side View Human Profile Acupuncture Chart"]. The notes on top quote the medical classics to explain the origins of the organs - including the lungs, heart, liver, and spleen, etc. - in various acupuncture points. "You cannot be ignorant of these origins."


In overall fine condition, preserved in a wooden box. Minor fraying to extremities.