[Bafa in Tianhui medical bamboo slips].

Abstract

In 2012, a total of eight medical books were compiled from Tianhui medical bamboo slips unearthed in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, which for the first time, recorded bafa (ba technique) and acupuncture technique. Bafa is only found in Tianhui medical bamboo slips. Based on the records in medical bamboo slips, it is believed that the essential theory of bafa refers to an outlook of life for the harmony between form and spirit, meaning "the heart mind is the monarch of form". It is the initial view of physique centered on five-zang organs. In clinical application, bafa is used for prevention of diseases in four seasons, specially for wubi (five-bi disorders) and wufeng (five-wind disorders), covering a extensive parts of the body. Compared with the stone technique, "bafa must work on meridian points, while stone on meridians". Bafa is often used for deficiency syndrome, while stone technique is for excess syndrome. Hence, these two types of technique should be applied cautiously. It is speculated that bafa is an external therapeutic method based on the theory of meridian medicine in the Han Dynasty.