Moxibustion, 'Riding the Bamboo Horse', Chinese woodcut

Wenren Qinian's Beiji jiufa (Emergency moxibustion) was composed in the Song period (960-1279). This illustration is taken from an edition published in 1890 (16th year of the Guangxu reign period of the Qing dynasty). Riding the Bamboo Horse' (qi zhu ma) was a moxibustion technique used to treat abscesses and carbuncles on the back. The illustration shows the technique in action. A thick bamboo pole is balanced between two high benches about a metre apart. The patient straddles the pole, supported by the practitioner and an assistant(?), his feet dangling. The points where moxa is placed are marked with dark circles on his back. According to the text, this technique was used by the ancients to treat abscesses and carbuncles caused by stagnated heart fire and was infallibly efficacious. This is the earliest recorded reference to this technique, whose ultimate origin is unknown.

Figure 4