[Development of acupuncture-moxibustion discipline]

After summarizing the ancient and modern literature and the development of acupuncture-moxibustion, the history of acupuncture-moxibustion from the traditional to the modern was introduced, and the relationship between acupuncture-moxibustion and medicine explained. It is proposed that acupuncture-moxibustion has completed the transition from "technique" to "medicine", therefore it should be identified as "acupuncture-moxibustion medicine". In response to the problem that acupuncture is often labeled as "alternative medicine" and "body surface medicine", it is clarified that acupuncture-moxibustion belongs to neither alternative medicine nor body surface medicine after identifying the relationship between them. The suggestions have been put forward on how to promote acupuncture-moxibustion as a first-level discipline, so as to foster the development of the discipline of acupuncture-moxibustion.