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The "Ling" and "Su" classics extensively discuss zang-fu organ meridian point diseases and other theories, with seventy to eighty percent focusing on acupuncture techniques and twenty to thirty percent on herbal medicine. The ancient emphasis on acupuncture was significant, yet the practice of acupuncture is more challenging than herbal medicine, and patients often prefer taking medicine over undergoing acupuncture. Consequently, herbal medicine has flourished in later generations, while acupuncture techniques have been neglected. Today, there are ten obvious errors in the practice of acupuncture, not to mention the subtle ones. The two classics describe the entry and exit points, depths, and lateralities of the twelve meridians, which are irregular; the acupoints vary along the meridians. Modern practitioners only measure body cun in a straight line, ignoring the meridians' curves, thus making the meridians and acupoints incorrect, which is the first error.

The two classics often specify which acupoints to use for certain diseases, but sometimes they only indicate the meridian without specifying the acupoint. For example, the Lingshu-Zhongshi chapter mentions: when Renying (ST9) is full, drain foot shaoyang and supplement foot jueyin; the Juebing chapter states: for real headache, either take foot yangming、taiyin, or hand shaoyang、foot shaoyin; for deafness, take hand yangming, and for dry throat, take foot shaoyin. These do not specify the acupoints, and there are also principles like draining the son and supplementing the mother. Today, specific acupoints are assigned for each disease, which is the second error.

The two classics emphasize the importance of the five transport points: well, spring, stream, river, and sea. They suggest puncturing the well point in winter, the spring point in spring, the stream point in summer, the river point in late summer, and the sea point in autumn. When only a meridian is mentioned without specifying an acupoint, it generally refers to these five transport points. Today, this is no longer practiced, which is the third error.

The Neijing describes the methods of supplementation and drainage: insert the needle during inhalation to avoid conflict with qi; leave it quietly for a long time to prevent the spread of pathogens. Rotate the needle during inhalation to obtain qi; withdraw the needle during exhalation, ensuring all the pathogenic qi is expelled, which is drainage. Insert the needle at the end of exhalation, leave it quietly for a long time until qi arrives, then withdraw the needle during inhalation, keeping the qi inside, which is supplementation. There are many methods, but today, rotating the needle outward is considered drainage, and twisting it inward is considered supplementation, which is the fourth error.

After inserting the needle, one must wait for the qi. For excess conditions, withdraw the needle when yin qi arrives; for deficiency conditions, withdraw the needle when yang qi arrives. If qi does not arrive, continue regardless of the count; once qi arrives, withdraw the needle and do not reinsert. The Nan Jing states: first press the area to be needled with the left hand, flick and stretch it, then claw and purge. When the qi comes like a stirred pulse, insert the needle smoothly. Obtaining qi by pushing in is supplementation; moving and extending is drainage. Today, needles are rotated continuously until they feel loose, then withdrawn without considering whether qi has arrived, which is the fifth error.

The depth of needling varies with the season. Spring qi is in the hair, summer qi in the skin, autumn qi in the muscles, and winter qi in the bones and tendons. Therefore, shallow needling is appropriate in spring and summer, and deep needling in autumn and winter. Doing the opposite is harmful. Today, the depth is fixed regardless of the season, which is the sixth error.

In ancient times, acupuncture treated malaria, cold-damage disease, cold-heat cough, and all zang-fu organ seven orifices diseases. Today, it only treats meridian body wilting impediment and flexion-extension diseases, which is the seventh error.

Ancient acupuncture techniques involved significant bloodletting, as detailed in the Lingshu Xieluo Lun. For headache and lumbago, substantial bloodletting was essential, and all pathogenic blood had to be removed. If the blood was black, it had to be changed to red; otherwise, the disease would not be cured and could be harmful. Today, even a little blood causes panic among patients and doctors, hindering the cure, which is the eighth error.

The Neijing describes nine changes and twelve sections of needling techniques. The nine changes include transport needling, distant needling, meridian needling, collateral needling, intermuscular needling, major drainage needling, skin needling, contralateral meridian needling, and quenching needling. The twelve sections include paired needling, repeated needling, lateral needling, triple needling, central-square needling, direct subcutaneous needling, transport needling, short needling, superficial needling, yin needling, side needling, and repeated shallow needling. These twenty-one methods are tailored to the disease and cannot be altered; missing one method means the disease cannot be cured. Today, only perpendicular insertion is used, which is the ninth error.

Ancient acupuncture needles came in nine types: chisel needle, round needle, needle, sharp needle, pi needle, round sharp needle, filiform needle, long needle, and large needle, each used according to the disease. Using the wrong needle type would not cure the disease. Today, only large round needles and small filiform needles are used, which cannot treat chronic diseases or sudden conditions, which is the tenth error.

The major shortcomings have already been mentioned, but the key to success lies even more in the concentration of the mind and the precision of the technique. The classics say: "The spirit is in the finest detail, focusing on the patient, carefully examining the blood vessels, and applying the needle without error." It also says: "When the meridian qi has arrived, guard it carefully and do not lose it. The depth and shallowness are in the will, the distance and proximity are as one, as if standing on the edge of an abyss, the hand as if holding a tiger, the spirit not distracted by external things." It also says: "Lying in wait like a crossbow, rising like a released trigger." Such is the level of concentration and skill required. Today's practitioners insert needles casually, without due care. Even if their needle techniques are as ancient, if their will is not focused and their timing not precise, it is still feared to be ineffective, let alone when it completely contradicts ancient methods. Beyond this, there are also the order of sequence, the differences in approach, the distinctions of status, the division of labor and rest, the measure of fat and thin, the number of needles, and so on, which are too numerous to exhaust. If one can truly immerse oneself in observation and align with the sacred standards, there will surely be miraculous results. However, people tend to avoid difficulty and seek ease, completely violating ancient methods, which is why the world views acupuncture lightly and the practice is not widely adopted. As for moxibustion, the diseases it can treat are only one-tenth to one-fifth of those treated by acupuncture. Understanding the principles of acupuncture makes moxibustion even easier.