Inheritance and development of Lian ZHU’s acupuncture academic thought in the construction of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences

Abstract

This paper exhibits the construction and development of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (CACMS), based on Lian ZHU’s acupuncture academic thought, focusing on the practice of the hospital development during the past 74 years, from 1951 to 2025, and by analyzing the development trajectory and elaborating the four-dimensional collaborative development mode guided by Lian ZHU’s thought, grounded in clinical evidence, driven by scientific innovation, guided by international standards, and rooted in educational inheritance. (1) After more than 70 years of development, Acupuncture and Moxibustion Hospital of CACMS has developed into the typical small-scaled general hospital of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with acupuncture-moxibustion as the main intervention, and has obtained a fruitful achievement in academic research. (2) The Hospital has led and participated in the formulation of a number of clinical practice guidelines of China Association of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, is entitled as the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for traditional medicine, and has been ranked among the top in the outpatient visits of acupuncture-moxibustion department of TCM hospitals in Beijing for years. (3) There is a well-known professional team of acupuncture-moxibustion of TCM in the Hospital, and with the characteristic modes of acupuncture-moxibustion diagnosis and treatment delivered, the remarkable curative effects have been obtained in treatment of diseases in neurological, gynecological diseases, orthopedic departments, as well as pain disorders, allergic diseases. (4) In the future, facing the opportunities and challenges in the development of global healthcare, it is necessary to deepen the research on “intelligent acupuncture and moxibustion”, integrating modern technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, exploring the potential value of acupuncture and moxibustion, discovering and innovating theoretical research on acupuncture and moxibustion, establishing scientific methods, standardizing clinical operation techniques, and driving the creative transformation of TCM. (5) The hospital lays the great consideration to the cultivation of acupuncture-moxibustion talents by means of multiple approaches, in order to deeply grasp the essence of TCM and improve the comprehensive quality of talents. (6) The hospital keeps on the leading role of international communication, advancing the international exchange and cooperation of acupuncture and moxibustion, and contributes more eastern wisdom to global health governance, and promote acupuncture and moxibustion of TCM, the treasure of the Chinese nation to display its importance in the world.