[Brief discussion on traditions and contemporary problems of acupuncture-moxibustion historiography]

This paper introduces the concept of acupuncture-moxibustion historiography and reviews five approaches to acupuncture-moxibustion historiography, namely, biographical and bibliographical tradition, academic history, cultural history, disciplinary history, and intellectual history; and puts forward the characteristics and limitations of each traditional approach. The comprehensive value of intellectual history is emphasized particularly. It is believed that the historiographical approach to intellectual history is capable of transcending the boundaries between internal and external medical histories to comprehensively examine the development of acupuncture-moxibustion knowledge. Additionally, the paper analyzes the theoretical inertia problems in acupuncture-moxibustion historiography, the challenges of historical writing within a global context, as well as the preservation of the autonomy in knowledge production of acupuncture-moxibustion. It proposes deconstructing traditional central narratives, embracing knowledge evolution from cross-cultural perspectives and expecting more diverse approaches to acupuncture-moxibustion historiography.