取久用马衔铁作针最妙(精要)○煮针取乌头巴豆肉各一两麻黄五钱木鳖子肉十个乌梅
五个上
将针药同入银石器内水煮一日出洗之再用止痛药没药乳香当归花蕊石各半两又如前水煮一日
取出以皂角水洗之再于犬肉内煮一日仍用瓦屑打磨净端直菘子油涂之常近人气为妙(得效)
春气在经脉夏气在孙络长夏气在肌肉秋气在皮肤冬气在骨髓中是故邪气者常随四时之气
血而
入客也必从其经气辟除其邪则乱气不生反之则生乱气相淫并焉(内经)○病有浮沉刺有浅深各
至其理无过其道过之则内伤不及则生外壅则邪从之浅深不得反为大贼内动五脏后生大病(内
经)○春夏刺浅秋冬刺深者盖春夏阳气在上人气亦在上故当浅刺之秋冬阳气在下人气亦在下
故当深取之也(难经)
足阳明刺深六分留十呼足太阳刺深五分留七呼足少阳刺深四分留五呼足太阴刺深三分留
深二分留三呼足厥阴刺深一分留二呼手之阴阳其受气之道近其气之求疾其刺深者皆无过二分
其留皆无过一呼(灵枢)○凡上体及当骨处针入浅而灸宜少凡下体及肉浓处针可入深灸多无害
(入门)
性畏艾灸者当用火针以针置火中令热刺之即火针也(资生)○凡诸穴忌灸之处以针置火中
命热缪刺之即效乃知火不负人之说(资生)○内经有燔针法即火针也(内经)
选用长期使用的马嚼子铁片制作针具最为理想（出自《精要》）。
煮针时，取乌头、巴豆肉各一两，麻黄五钱，木鳖子肉十个，乌梅五个。将针与药物一同放入银器或石器中，用水煮一天后取出清洗。再用止痛药没药、乳香、当归、花蕊石各半两，像之前一样用水煮一天。取出后用皂角水清洗，再放入犬肉中煮一天。最后用瓦屑打磨干净，确保针身端正笔直，涂上菘子油，平时常让人体气息熏染为妙（出自《得效》）。
春气存在于经脉，夏气存在于孙络，长夏之气存在于肌肉，秋气存在于皮肤，冬气存在于骨髓中。因此，邪气常常随着四时的气候和气血运行而侵入人体，必定顺着经气进入。驱除邪气则不会导致气机紊乱；反之，则会产生乱气，相互混杂（出自《内经》）。
疾病有表里浮沉之分，针刺就有浅深之别，必须达到应有的层次，不要超过其道。刺得过深会内伤脏腑，刺得不够深则会在体表产生壅滞，邪气便会趁机入侵。深浅不当，反而会成为大害，内动五脏，日后引发大病（出自《内经》）。
春夏季节针刺宜浅，秋冬季节针刺宜深。这是因为春夏阳气在上，人气也偏于上部，所以应当浅刺；秋冬阳气在下，人气也偏于下部，所以应当深刺（出自《难经》）。
足阳明胃经针刺深度六分，留针十次呼吸的时间；足太阳膀胱经针刺深度五分，留针七次呼吸的时间；足少阳胆经针刺深度四分，留针五次呼吸的时间；足太阴脾经针刺深度三分，留针三次呼吸的时间；足厥阴肝经针刺深度二分，留针两次呼吸的时间；足少阴肾经针刺深度一分，留针一次呼吸的时间。手部的阴阳经脉，其受气的途径较近，气行较快，所以针刺深度都不超过二分，留针时间都不超过一次呼吸的时间（出自《灵枢》）。
凡是身体上部及骨骼附近的穴位，针刺应浅，艾灸宜少；凡是身体下部及肌肉丰厚处，针刺可深，艾灸多亦无妨害（出自《入门》）。
畏惧艾灸的人，可以使用火针。将针置于火中烧红后刺入，这就是火针（出自《资生》）。
凡是忌讳艾灸的穴位，将针放在火中烧红，进行缪刺（左病右取，右病左取），往往有效。由此可知，火针并不会辜负人的信任（出自《资生》）。《内经》中提到的燔针法，就是火针（出自《内经》）。
It is best to use iron from a long-used horse bit to make needles (from *Jingyao*).
To boil the needles, take one liang of Aconitum carmichaelii Radix (Wutou, 乌头) and Datura metel Seed (Badou, 巴豆) flesh, five qian of Ephedrae Herba (Mahuang, 麻黄), ten seeds of Momordica cochinchinensis (Mubiezi, 木鳖子) flesh, and five dried fruits of Phyllanthus emblica (Wumei, 乌梅). Place the needle and herbs together in a silver or ceramic vessel, boil in water for one day, then remove and wash. Next, use half a liang each of Myrrha (Moyao, 没药), Boswellia carterii Gum Resin (Ruxiang, 乳香), Angelicae Sinensis Radix (Danggui, 当归), and Porphyroclastis (Huaruishi, 花蕊石) as pain-relieving agents. Boil again in water for one day as before. Remove, wash with Gleditsia sinensis Fruit juice (Zaojiao, 皂角) water, then boil in dog meat for one day. Finally, polish clean with tile dust until the needle tip is straight and true, coat with Brassica campestris var. oleifera seed oil (Songziyou, 菘子油), and it is ideal to keep it close to human body heat regularly (from *Defxiao*).
In spring, Qi resides in the meridians; in summer, in the collateral vessels (Sunluo, 孙络); in late summer, in the muscles; in autumn, in the skin; and in winter, in the bone marrow. Therefore, pathogenic factors often enter the body following the seasonal Qi and blood flow, invading along the meridian Qi. Expelling the pathogen prevents chaotic Qi generation; conversely, chaotic Qi arises and mixes turbidly (from *Neijing*).
Diseases manifest as superficial or deep, so acupuncture depth must be shallow or deep accordingly. One must reach the proper tissue layer without exceeding the correct pathway. Exceeding it causes internal injury; failing to reach it results in external stagnation, allowing pathogens to invade. Incorrect depth becomes a major harm, disturbing the internal Zang organs and leading to severe illness later (from *Neijing*).
Acupuncture should be shallow in spring and summer, and deep in autumn and winter. This is because Yang Qi is superior in spring and summer, and human Qi also rises upward, so shallow needling is appropriate. In autumn and winter, Yang Qi sinks downward, and human Qi also descends, so deep needling is required (from *Nanjing*).
For the Foot-Yangming Meridian, insert to a depth of six fen and retain for ten breaths; for the Foot-Taiyang Meridian, insert to five fen and retain for seven breaths; for the Foot-Shaoyang Meridian, insert to four fen and retain for five breaths; for the Foot-Taiyin Meridian, insert to three fen and retain for three breaths; for the Foot-Jueyin Meridian, insert to two fen and retain for two breaths; for the Foot-Shaoyin Meridian, insert to one fen and retain for one breath. For the Hand Yin and Yang meridians, the pathways for receiving Qi are proximate, and Qi moves rapidly; thus, insertion depth should not exceed two fen, and retention time should not exceed one breath (from *Lingshu*).
For points on the upper body and near bones, insert needles shallowly and apply less moxibustion. For points on the lower body and in thick muscle areas, deeper needle insertion and more moxibustion are harmless (from *Rumen*).
For those who fear moxibustion, fire needles may be used. Place the needle in fire until hot, then prick; this is called a fire needle (from *Zisheng*).
For acupoints where moxibustion is contraindicated, place the needle in fire until red-hot and perform Miu Ci (counter-point needling), which yields effective results. Thus, it is known that fire needles do not fail the patient (from *Zisheng*). The "Fan Zhen" (burning needle) method mentioned in the *Neijing* is the fire needle (from *Neijing*).