Discover Tung acupuncture
Knowledge & Clinical Thinking
Explore the history, the theories, the sources, the transmissions and the clinical thinking that shape Tung acupuncture.
Understanding beyond the points
The Tung Encyclopedia lets you explore the points, the indications 主治, the Shénjīng 神經, the meridians 經絡 and the documented sources of Tung acupuncture.
Knowledge completes that exploration by gathering what it takes to understand the tradition as a whole: its history, its theories, its sources, its transmissions and the different ways of thinking about its practice.
Tung acupuncture is not a list of points. To understand a point you also have to be able to place its history, its transmission, its indications and the different interpretations that grew around it.
That diversity is part of the history of Tung acupuncture. Knowledge does not set out to impose a single interpretation, but to give access to what it takes to understand, compare and question the available knowledge.
History and transmission of Tung acupuncture
Understanding Tung acupuncture also means understanding where it comes from, how it developed and how it was passed on.
This section explores the history of the tradition through the people, the teachings, the sources and the contexts in which Tung acupuncture developed.
What is Tung acupuncture?
An introduction to its history, its heritage, its characteristics and the different ways the tradition is understood today.
Master Tung
The life, the teaching and the place of Master Tung Ching-chang 董景昌 in the modern history of Tung acupuncture.
The transmissions
The disciples, the lineages and the different ways the teachings were passed on and developed.
Tung acupuncture in Taiwan
The role of Taiwan in the transmission, the teaching and the contemporary development of the tradition.
Historical context
The historical and medical contexts that shaped the development and the spread of Tung acupuncture.
Theory and core concepts
History explains where the tradition comes from. The theory of Tung acupuncture explains the concepts used to interpret it and to practise it.
This section gathers the core concepts, the theoretical models and the different perspectives developed across the transmissions.
Core concepts
The notions you need in order to understand the main principles of Tung acupuncture.
Different theoretical perspectives
The different ways of reading the points, the Shénjīng 神經, the meridians 經絡 and the indications 主治.
Interpretations and transmissions
How certain concepts have been read, taught and interpreted by different generations of practitioners.
The aim is not to reduce the tradition to a single theory, but to let the reader understand the different frames of thought that developed around Tung acupuncture.
Sources of Tung acupuncture
Understanding Tung acupuncture also means going back to the sources through which it was passed on and studied.
This section gathers the books, the texts, the editions, the translations and the documents used to study the history and the practice of the tradition.
Texts and books
The publications that document the points, the indications, the theories and the practices of Tung acupuncture.
Editions and documents
Comparing editions shows how certain teachings were transmitted, reformulated or modified over time.
Translation and terminology
Choices of translation and terminology can change how a text is understood. This section documents the terms and the questions that call for a careful reading of the original sources.
Sources and transmissions
Sources also make it possible to set the different transmissions of Tung acupuncture side by side, and to understand where they converge and where they differ.
Clinical Thinking: reasoning with Tung acupuncture
Knowing the points is one thing. Knowing how to connect them to a clinical situation is another.
Clinical Thinking gathers content devoted to clinical reasoning, therapeutic approaches, clinical cases and the questions that arise in the practice of Tung acupuncture.
Reasoning from knowledge
How to connect the points, the indications, the Shénjīng and the meridians to build a clinical hypothesis.
Exploring different approaches
Comparing the different ways of selecting and using points in clinical practice.
Observing practice
Clinical cases, examples and analyses showing how reasoning is built, tested and can be reassessed.
A method of its own
The SMI Method
The SMI Method offers a frame for relating three principles present in Tung acupuncture: Shénjīng 神經 · Meridian 經絡 · Indication 主治.
Knowledge hosts the content that explores and illustrates that reasoning. The SMI page presents the Method itself.
Open knowledge
The aim of Knowledge is to make the knowledge of Tung acupuncture more accessible, more legible and easier to study.
Sources, historical knowledge, theories and the different transmissions should all be open to consultation, comparison and discussion.
We are not trying to present one interpretation as definitive. We are trying to document the sources, to tell what is established from what is still debated, and to let everyone understand the different perspectives.
The sources are yours.
Reasoning is learned.
Start exploring
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