Page 429 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

39 0 TH E ENCYCLO PEDIA OF TAOISM A- L

Fig. 31. Control Channel (dumai, left) and Function Channel (renmai, right). The asterisks (*)
show the locations of the baihui point on the Control Channel and the huiyin point on the
Function Channel.

for a precursor of the dumai is earlier than that for the renmai: it appears as a
red line along the spine on a black lacquer figurine of the second century Be E,
excavated in 1993 from Mianyang AA! ~ (Sichuan; see He and Lo 1996). Both
are mentioned at various points in the *Huangdi neijing, but not as a pair. For
instance, in Suwen ~ rQ~ I (Plain Questions; see Huangdi neijing), the renmai is
held to be responsible for female fertility: it is said to be "connected" (tong iN)
at fourteen years of age, and considered to be depleted at forty-nine years.
The dumai is mentioned, for instance, in Lingshu 1fi~ 10 (Numinous Pivot; see
Huangdi neijing) as the conduit that forms an "assembly" (hui Wn with the last
of twelve conduits in the body, the liver conduit (see *jingluo). Over time, dumai
and renmai eventually came to be classified among the "eight extraordinary
channels" (qijing bamai ~~~J Jjj) which, generally speaking, are important
for regulating the overall flow of *qixue (,breath and blood").
There are several acupuncture and moxibustion loci along these two con-
duits that are said to have therapeutic functions. Among them are the baihui
a Wl (Gathering of the Hundred [Yang channels]) in the dumai, on the highest
point of the head, which is needled for treating epilepsy, apoplexy, and mental
conditions, and the renzhong A9=' (Center of Man), situated in the groove
beneath the nose: in the case of a coma, pressing this locus is supposed to