(1) Discipline Introduction:

Honors: The discipline started the specialty of acupuncture and massage in 1983, and the master's program of acupuncture and massage in 1984. It was included as the key discipline in Zhejiang Province in 1990, and as the key discipline of traditional Chinese medicine in Zhejiang Province in 2001. It was listed as the key constructed profession in colleges and universities of Zhejiang Province in 2003. In 2004, the Zhejiang Acupuncture and Yuina Hospital (now the Third Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang Chinese Medical University) was established and was listed as the key discipline in colleges and universities of Zhejiang Province in 2005. In 2007, the department of acupuncture and moxibustion was listed as the Key Specialty Construction Unit of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine during the "11th Five-Year Plan", and in 2008, the profession of acupuncture and massage was approved as the National First-Class Characteristic Specialty. In 2009, the discipline of acupuncture and tuina was listed as the Most Important Discipline in Colleges and Universities of Zhejiang Province, and the Key Discipline of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the state. As the key discipline and specialty of the province and the national first-class characteristic specialty, it was also funded as the most important discipline in colleges and universities of Zhejiang Province in 2009. It has the teaching innovation team of the Provincial Department of Education of 2009. And in 2011, it was added as a new doctoral degree authorization point of acupuncture and massage. The discipline cooperated with Suzhou Medical Products Factory Co., Ltd. to establish the university-enterprise scientific research and development center. The department of acupuncture was listed as the National Key Clinical Specialty of the Ministry of Health. In 2012, the profession of acupuncture and massage was listed as the Advantageous Profession of Zhejiang Province during the "12th Five-Year Plan", and in 2014, the team of science, technology and innovation of acupuncture was selected as the Key Provincial Science, Technology And Innovation Team. In 2014, it was selected as the first batch of Standardized Training Bases For National Resident Doctors Of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 2015, it was selected as one of the first-class disciplines of Zhejiang Province in the direction of acupuncture, moxibustion and tuina. In 2017, acupuncture neurobiology and acupuncture encephalopathy were selected as the Key Disciplines Of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Zhejiang Province during the "13th Five-Year Plan", and the acupuncture and massage direction was listed as advantageous characteristic disciplines of key constructed colleges and universities in Zhejiang Province. In 2018, it was approved to establish the Zhejiang Provincial Center for the Rehabilitation and Prevention of Stroke by Traditional Chinese Medicine. Also in this year, the laboratory affiliated to the discipline was approved as the Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Acupuncture Neuropathy. In 2019 and 2020, it was approved the construction project of the China-Belarus Traditional Medicine Overseas Center by the International Cooperation Program of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 2020, the profession of acupuncture and massage was selected as the Provincial High-Level Undergraduate Professional Construction Project. And in 2021, it was selected as the National High-Level Undergraduate Professional Construction Project. In 2023, it was selected as the Construction Project of High-Level Key Disciplines of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Discipline Planning: The discipline focuses on the research of pain diseases and encephalopathic diseases, featured in the research and promotion of characteristic therapies of acupuncture and moxibustion. It aims to improve the efficacy and study the in-depth mechanisms of treatment of pain diseases and encephalopathic diseases, so as to strengthen the clinical base construction and scientific research platform construction of the discipline to provide a good platform for the training of high-level talents of the discipline and improve the status of acupuncture discipline in China.

Achievements: The clinical base of the discipline is the provincial renowned traditional Chinese medicine hospital, Key Specialized Construction Unit of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the department of acupuncture is the characteristic leading specialty; the teaching base is the national first-class characteristic profession, national high-level undergraduate professional construction project, the first batch of standardized training bases for national resident doctors of traditional Chinese medicine, and the doctoral program of traditional Chinese medicine. It is responsible for the training work of multiple levels from undergraduate to doctoral. The basic research base is the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine third-level key laboratory, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Acupuncture Neuropathy, and is the only acupuncture basic research platform in Zhejiang Province, with the potential to cooperate and develop intelligent acupuncture equipment and promote the industrialization of traditional Chinese medicine. The discipline is a key discipline of acupuncture and moxibustion, and an excellent construction unit during the "12th Five-Year Plan" period. In recent five years, it has undertaken more than 80 research projects of various types, won more than 20 awards for achievements, obtained more than 10 invention patents, and transferred one achievement. The subject has a provincial college innovative team with reasonable structure and high professional quality. There are more than 30 provincial and ministerial level titles like "Qihuang Scholars". In recent five years, its members have published more than 200 academic papers related to this subject as first author or corresponding author, including 93 SCI papers. 

(2) Academic Leader

Fang Jianqiao, currently serves as Chairman of Zhejiang Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion. He is a Qihuang Scholar of the "Hundred Thousand Ten-Thousand" Talent Project for Inheriting and Innovating Traditional Chinese Medicine, a National Famous TCM Doctor in Zhejiang Province, a Famous TCM Doctor in Zhejiang Province, an expert in the construction project of studios for inheriting veteran TCM experts nationwide, a young and middle-aged expert with outstanding contributions in Zhejiang Province and the Ministry of Health, a key funded talent in Zhejiang Province's "New Century 151 Talent Project", a healthcare leading talent in Zhejiang Province, and enjoys the special government allowance from the State Council. He has won many honors including the National Outstanding Scientific and Technological Researcher, the National Outstanding Hospital President, the Outstanding Teacher in Zhejiang Province, the Famous Teaching Teacher in Zhejiang Province, and the First Model of Teacher Ethics in Zhejiang Province.

Director Fang Jianqiao has long been engaged in teaching, clinical practice and scientific research in acupuncture and moxibustion. He has profound accomplishments in basic and clinical research on analgesic effect and immune regulation of acupuncture and moxibustion, as well as research on visceral protective effect in acupuncture anesthesia. He presided over 1 National Key Research and Development Program, 1 National "973" Program, 7 NSFC projects, and 8 provincial and ministerial projects such as major research program of science and technology of Zhejiang Province, and key projects of NSFC of Zhejiang Province. He is the leader of National Clinical Key Specialty (Acupuncture and Moxibustion), National Key Discipline of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Acupuncture and Moxibustion), National Characteristic Specialty (Acupuncture and Tuina), First-Class Discipline of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Zhejiang Province (Acupuncture and Tuina), Top Discipline of "Utmost Importance" in Zhejiang Province (Acupuncture and Tuina), Innovative Team of Key Sci-Tech in Zhejiang Province (Acupuncture Medicine), and Innovative Team in Zhejiang Universities and Colleges (Key Technology Research of Acupuncture and Moxibustion). He has won over 20 provincial and ministerial awards, including Science and Technology Award of Zhejiang Province, Science and Technology Award of China Association of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Award for Excellent Achievements in Scientific Research of Higher Education by Ministry of Education, and Science and Technology Award of China Association of Chinese Medicine, among which 6 were first prizes at provincial and ministerial level. He has edited over 10 textbooks including National Planned Textbook Acupuncture and Moxibustion Techniques. 

(3) Research Directions of the Discipline

1.Clinical multidimensional effect and neurobiological mechanism of analgesia of acupuncture and moxibustion

2. Effect and mechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion in treating neurological diseases

3. Research and promotion of characteristic acupuncture and moxibustion therapies

4. Basic research on R&D application of new intelligent acupuncture treatment equipment