10
“Body Energetics” – Energetic structure of the body
B
1 The Channels of
Acupuncture
經絡
Jing Luo
The channels of acupuncture surround and contain the
body like a net or a web. The most appropriate image
is the weaving loom with the heavy threads, which
are stretched vertically and tightly (warp) giving the
material its main shape and strength and the lighter
threads (woof) which are woven horizontally from
left to right and right to left, completing and giving
substance to the fabric (Fig. 1).
The Chinese expression for the channels
“Jing Luo”
evokes precisely this image:
Jing
經
Pathway, road,Waterway, channel, longitude,
meridian, warp, trunk of the tree, revered
text
Luo
絡
Connect, net, separate, woof, branches of the
tree A third term, “Mai”, in Chinese acu-
puncture designates the channel concept and
conveys rather the concept of a vessel:
Mai
脈/脉
Blood vessel, pulse, channel, river, acupunc-
ture channel Channels are defined as con-
veyers of Qi
≈
Energy and of Xue
≈
Blood,
hence the image of rivers and canals. They
link and connect all the body parts, the depth
and the surface, the interior and the exterior,
hence the image of a web.
The channels of acupuncture are intimately connected
to other anatomical structures: the vascular system,
lymphatic circulation, peripheral nervous system,
muscles and the fascia. As conductors of energy, the
channels do not have amaterial base.Their anatomical
reality has never been demonstrated, explaining the
initial translation by the French authors of the term
“Jing-Luo”
as “Meridian”. Meridians are imaginary lines
traced from north to south, referred to as longitudes.
This term, although it conveys certain aspects of the
notion of
“Jing”
, is nevertheless quite restrictive and is
now being replaced by the more common expression
of “Channel”. It is very important not to see the chan-
nels as simple vessels or pipes carrying energy back and
forth, but rather as lines of resonance, responding to all
internal and external impulses.They can be compared
to the strings of a musical instrument. Each string has
its own tension (potential) and will resonate with a
specific vibration. This vibration may be transmitted
from the inside, as is the case in organic and emotional
functions, similar to a finger plucking the strings of
the instrument. Or the vibration may be the result of
resonance with an outside source. In both cases the
string of the instrument will convey this vibration
along its length as well as in to the surrounding space,
hence the notion of resonance
Ganying
≈
感應
.
A very modern and appropriate image of the channel
would be the World Wide Web, which, although it
does not posses a physical reality, links all the points
of the globe together.
Historically, the earlier descriptions of the channels
presented them with the notion of
“Gen
≈
Roots”
and
“Jie
≈
Terminations. This ancient system of channels
presented them all starting at the extremities to end
on the trunk or the head. The present notion of root,
knot and branch relates to this ancient system.
The oldest texts dealing with channels are the Nei Jing
texts. Written or compiled approximately around 200
BC, the Nei Jing
today consisted of 2 books:
Su Wen
(Simple questions), Ling Shu (Spiritual axis). Accord-
ing to oral transmission there existed two other books
that were lost:
Tai Shu
, developing general medical
tehories as well as
Mu
≈
Alarmand
Xi
≈
Cleft points, and
the
Ming Tang,
on the location of acupuncture points.
The Nan Jing (Classic of difficulties), which comments
and analyzes the Ling Shu, constitutes the third of the
present day classics dealing with acupuncture
.
The Nei Jing establishes the channel system as a con-
tinuum of a defined sequence. Although the channels
do correspond to the
Zang-Fu
through their deeper
pathways, on the surface they also establish an inde-
pendent continuum through which other aspects of
physiology or pathology may be explained.
1.1 Classification of the
Channels
Roughly divided into “Primary” and “Secondary”
channels.
Primary Channels
are the twelve
Zheng Jing,
having
a defined axis and direction from top to bottom or
from below to above.
Warp
Woof
Fig. 1
The Primary channels are the warp of the fabric,
the secondary channels constitute the woof
