[Deliberation on the pronunciation and meaning of Miu Ci]

As one of the acupuncture approaches mentioned in the Nei Jing, Miu Ci has been widely used in clinical practice, but diverse opinions on Miu's pronunciation and meaning limit its application. Ancient and modern literature has shown that the meanings of 'Miu' include 'difference', 'wrong' and 'cross', and it has mainly two different pronunciations, i.e. 'miü' and 'jiü'. However, 'Miu' always means 'difference' in the Nei Jing, e.g. 'Miu Chu', 'Miu Ci', 'Qi Miu', and in this case, its pronunciation should be 'miü'. Scholars such as YANG Shang-shan, WANG Bing, MA Shi, ZHANG Jie-bin and DANBO YuanJian all held this point of view. We can see that there was no disagreement over Miu's pronunciation and meaning in ancient times. It is a controversy generated in modern times. Therefore, the original written form and pronunciation of 'Miu' should be highly valued.